Catch spirits with up to seven friends, or play against random players from across the world.
Google has offered up a Halloween treat for users of its search engine with its first Doodle to feature a multiplayer game.
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Trick-or-Treat: The Great Ghoul Duel is the first multiplayer Google Doodle (Google/PA)
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Doodles, used to mark significant occasions and commemorate holidays, have included a number of interactive elements in recent years but Trick-or-Treat: The Great Ghoul Duel is the first time users have been able to participate in a game together.
Users can invite up to seven other players to join, simply by sharing a unique web link generated each time you choose to host a session.
Trick-or-Treat: The Great Ghoul Duel is the first multiplayer Google Doodle (Google/PA)
Alternatively, if no-one else is available to play, you can take on random players from across the world.
The aim is pretty simple – collect as many spirits as you can before the time runs out and deliver them to your team’s safe house. You’ll run into your friends along the way and be able to steal their spirits, but be warned, they can do the same too.
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Google made the multiplayer game possible by running it with its own Google Cloud Platform and an open source matchmaking framework.
But as with all Doodles, it will only last for the duration of the day, so you’ll need to get playing pretty quick.
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NEW YORK (AP) — Samsung is saying goodbye its namesake texting app, at least for United States customers.
According to an end of service announcement published on the tech giant's U.S. support website, Samsung Messages will be discontinued in July. Impacted owners of Samsung smartphones and other gadgets are being asked to switch to Google Messages in the meantime, “to maintain a consistent messaging experience on Android.”
All Samsung Galaxy phones run on Google's Android operating system. To switch to Google Messages, Samsung's website gives users instructions to download the app from the Play Store, if not already on their phone, and set it as the default. Some people may also receive an in-app notification to guide them through the process.
Samsung says switching to Google Messages will give users access to updates like the latest artificial intelligence features from Google's Gemini — which includes an experimental feature called “Remix” to generate images during conversations and AI-powered reply suggestions — and the ability to share higher quality photos between Android and Apple iOS devices through RCS-enabled messages.
Users of older Android operating systems (dating back to Android 11 or older) will not be impacted by the end of Samsung Messages, the company noted. To check what Android OS you have on a Samsung device, open the settings app, click on “software information” and scroll to “Android version.”
Meanwhile, owners of Samsung's latest Galaxy 26 lineup and other newer phones cannot download the Samsung Messages app from the Galaxy Store today.
All devices will no longer be able to download Samsung Messages after it's officially discontinued in July, the company noted. Samsung said users can check their app for the exact date for when service will go offline.
Samsung confirmed in an update on its website Tuesday that this end of service guidance only applies to the U.S. market.
FILE - Samsung unveils its latest Galaxy smartphones during a showcase in San Francisco, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Haven Daley, File)
