Google And OnePlus' Crackables 2.0 Could Be The Perfect Pandemic Distraction

Back in 2018, OnePlus teamed up with UNIT9, Sleep Deprivation Lab, and Google to launch a mobile game called Crackables. The game had players racing to solve cryptography puzzles over multiple rounds, with the "ultimate gaming setup" waiting at the end for the grand prize winner. Crackables is making a comeback this year, with OnePlus announcing Crackables 2.0 today.

It sounds like Crackables 2.0 will follow the same kind of structure the original Crackables did in 2018. That means it'll be another race to solve these crypto-puzzles and go toe-to-toe with other players for a grand prize. While the grand prize was a gaming setup last time around, this time the prize players will be competing for is straight up cash – specifically, the grand prize winner will get $10,000 for themselves and an additional $10,000 "to donate to a charity supporting those affected by COVID-19."

Crackables 2.0 is based on Google technology (with the big G helping conceptualize the game as well) and is primarily made by UNIT9 and Sleep Deprivation Lab. OnePlus promises that puzzle difficulty will start low and ramp up from there, so if you're not sure if crypto-puzzles are for you, you'll be able to get your feet wet with some easy puzzles to start. In its announcement today, OnePlus said that players will need to travel through "gates" to move between levels, and that some of those gates will involve community-oriented challenges that will have you working together with others.

The game will open up to everyone on April 14th, and the first 10 players to solve the final puzzle will have the chance to square off in a grand finale tournament for that $10,000 prize. Regular gameplay wraps up on April 30th – a little more than two weeks after the game begins – and the tournament will be live-streamed for everyone to watch beginning on May 7th.

If Crackables 2.0 is something that you want to participate in, you can register for the game beginning today over on the OnePlus website. Registration will run until April 14th, when the game will kick off for everyone.