TikTok Effects Are My New Mobile Gaming Obsession

When you make a TikTok, you can add effects, and these can do anything from giving you flawless skin to predicting what you’ll look like at 70. My new favorite obsession is playing with the TikTok effects that double as games.

TikTok Games Are Simple but Weirdly Engaging

TikTok has a bunch of games hidden away in its Effects library. These games overlay your camera so that you can play and record your reactions at the same time.

If you are active on TikTok, you might already have seen a couple of these games. A really popular one is the Perfect Pitch challenge, which a lot of musicians have been playing.

The games in the TikTok Effect library are pretty simple. For example, Perfect Pitch, which I mentioned earlier, has one objective: get the coin through the holes by singing in the correct pitch.

But simple as they are, these games are still lots of fun. Many of them are really difficult, so they’re perfect for fun little challenges with your friends. Perfect Pitch alone has over 5 million videos under it, and celebrities like Charlie Puth, and the Jonas brothers have even jumped on the trend.

Another fun thing about these games is not just playing them, but finding creative new ways to break them. Perfect Pitch, for instance, has this hack where if you sing at a high enough pitch, you can bypass all obstacles and skip to the end.

TikTok Games Have Fun New Controls

TikTok games come in all shapes and sizes, but my favorites are the ones with weird controls.

For example, in Scream Chicken, you try to move a chicken across an obstacle course with your voice. Scream too loud, and your chicken might miss its landing and end up in a ditch.

Then there’s Face Puzzle, which strips you of all your facial features. You then have to try to align them by blinking. There’s also Funny Face Challenge, where you try to match your facial expressions with the corresponding emoji.

TikTok games have wildly different controls, and as someone who’s used to button-mashing when I’m playing games on my phone, it’s a nice change of pace.

Share the Fun (and Fails) With Friends

Playing games on TikTok is fun, but the real magic is sharing your attempts with friends. The way these games record you while you play, combined with their wacky controls, makes for some hilarious videos that you can send to friends.

I’ve sent my friends a few clips of me trying the Pitch Perfect challenge, and let’s just say it’s far from perfect. But that’s the best part! You get to laugh at yourself and share the fun with your friends, and if they are up for it, they may even send one back. If you’re feeling brave, you could even post your attempts online for the whole world to see.

My Favorite TikTok Games and How You Can Play Them

There are lots of TikTok games, and more are being added all the time. Some of my absolute favorites are:

• Scream Chicken: Get the chicken across the obstacle course with your screams
• Perfect Pitch Challenge 2: Thread the coin through the holes by singing the right notes
• Funny Face Challenge: Match your expression to the emoji
• Face Puzzle: Arrange your facial features by blinking
• Crazy Road 3: Tap to drive across a crazy road
• IQ-Which Color: Choose the correct color
• Million Cut 4: Slice the fruit into pieces by tapping
• Tap Trap 3–Circle: Tap to divide the circle into smaller pieces

To play any of these TikTok games, open the app and tap the “+” button.

Then, hit the “Effect” icon on the left.

This will bring up the Effects library. From there, you can use the search bar to find the game you want.

Once you pick the right effect, the game will pop up on your screen. Choose how long you want your video to be—I usually go for 10 minutes, so I have plenty of time to get all my attempts in. When you’re ready, hit the record button and start playing.

If, while scrolling, you come across someone playing a TikTok game you’d like to try later, you can easily bookmark it for later. First, click on the Effect icon at the bottom of your screen.

Then tap “Add to Favorites”.

This will save the effect to your Favorites, where you can find it under “Effects.”

If you want a good laugh with friends, give some of these TikTok games a try. And if you stumble upon a hidden gem, don’t forget to share it with us! If you still want to socialize with friends while playing games, check out these Discord games or explore some of the best co-op Android games.