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Apple is following the footsteps of NEW York Times by adding yet another game to the News+ App. This time it is the Quartiles game a game that seems very similar to Connections game launches a few months ago by the New York Times, which was also was very similar to ‘Only Connect’ quiz game by Coren Mitchell(read more).

As connections is becoming one of the most popular games of New York Times, apple decided to tackle this game market segment by challenging us to form syllable words from a grid of about twenty syllables. The tile based word forming puts you on a mission to detect words ranging from 1 to 4 letters. When you are able to spot five 4-letter word or “quartiles”, you get 20 bonus points.

Enriching the News Only App

Although Apple News/+ has always been primarily focused on news content, it seems to have understood the value and potential of including small puzzle games on its platform. Surely you must remember the pandemic game hit Wordle, which quickly became a record breaking game played by millions and gave rise to similar games. The success was quickly noticed by New York Times competitors and since then, many have tried to replicate the success of the game. The incorporation of games is great way to keep news users informed and entertained at the same time.

The Apple Mini Crossword and the Main Crossword already available on News Plus is paving the way for apple to transition into games and diversify the platform so the users will spend more and more time playing puzzles besides getting top news content. The platforms must always adapt to the dynamics of the markets and the audience demands.

Whats new in Quartiles?

While some say quartiles resembles the NYT Connections game it also offers its unique perspective and game experience that may also be close to the game style of Scrabble or Boggle. It’s not a surprise that Quartiles is making a buzz because the word games are becoming increasingly more popular especially among the younger generations, this can be noticed on social media platforms where many popular channels on tiktok or instagram are focusin on solving popular games.

It is very difficult to make a viral game in fact there is no recipe. Nobody expected wordle or connections to become such hit games. So there is no telling whether Quartiles from apple will join the giants, at least not for now. We are noticing a trend that many companies are implementing. It would seem like this cross of news and games is becoming a standard and something that users might be expecting to have.

How to play?

To play Quartiles you must Upgrade to iOS 17.5 Beta
> Tap Following in the bottom right section
> Tap Puzzles.

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