Game on: The Guardian launches new daily football quiz in ex...

The Guardian today (1 October) kicks off a new chapter in puzzles with the launch of its first daily football game as part of an expansion of its puzzles hub. On the ball marks the first time the Guardian’s popular puzzles offer has gone beyond word and number games, and signals its commitment to investing in a fast-growing part of its digital offer.

On the ball, which challenges users to guess a men’s top league footballer in just five attempts, promises to test even the most avid football fans.

It is the first of a new series of Guardian puzzles which also includes a new mini crossword and another interactive game for film buffs called Film reveal – a challenging tile-based game where players have to guess film titles from different clues.

These new puzzles follow the launch of a revamped Guardian app in May, which introduced a puzzles hub alongside a major homepage redesign, new features, and a more personalised, premium experience for the app’s one million daily active users. To date, more than 1.7 million readers have been enjoying the Guardian’s puzzle hub across web and app.

Clare Margetson, Saturday Guardian editor, says:

“We know how Guardian readers love their puzzles. As they become ever more popular across all ages, we felt it was time to bring in two totally new games to challenge our readers in areas we know many of them feel passionately about – football and film. We’ve worked hard to build these new games with the same rigour and wit puzzlers have come to expect, and I hope readers find them as fun and challenging as we did creating them.”

Liz Wynn, chief supporter officer, Guardian Media Group, says:

“In a busy news cycle, we want to offer Guardian readers a fun way to upgrade their downtime. We believe that puzzles are an excellent way to do this. On the ball and Film reveal represent the first in a series of new games to be launched over the coming months that help to build on our recently redesigned app and puzzles hub. Our ambition is to bring more people to the Guardian and to become a destination for games enthusiasts.”

The new games can be accessed in the Puzzles tab of the Guardian app. The launch will be accompanied by a broader marketing campaign in October celebrating the popularity of Guardian puzzles.

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About Guardian Media Group

Guardian Media Group is one of the world’s largest and most-trusted quality newsbrands, publisher of the Guardian, theguardian.com and the Guardian app.

Founded over 200 years ago, the Guardian now serves audiences through five editions: Australia, Europe, International, UK and US. With no billionaire owner, the Guardian is renowned for its fearless investigative journalism, holding power to account and amplifying the stories that need to be told. Its independent ownership structure means it is free from political or commercial influence.

Today, millions of people worldwide choose the Guardian’s journalism every day and more than two million readers across 180 countries have supported the Guardian’s work.

Audiences can listen to the Guardian’s top-rated podcasts, watch its award-winning documentaries and interact with its growing digital portfolio, from a premium live news app to the recipe app Feast.