Facebook on Tuesday rolled out a feature that allows users to play popular games such as Pac-Man and Space Invaders through the messaging app.

Messenger just got more fun - or competitive - depending on how you look at it, with the ability to play games right in your messaging conversations. So when you're looking for a reason to connect with your best friend who lives on the other side of the world, you can kick off a round of Words with Friends: Frenzy; or try again to beat your roommate at PAC-MAN just once; and of course, you always have time to challenge your brother to EverWing, SPACE INVADERS, TRACK & FIELD 100M, Galaga, and many other Instant Games.

This gaming experience will first roll out to 30 countries, and is available for newer iOS and Android operating systems.

This is how you play: In the latest version of the app, open a conversation with a friend (or friends), tap on the game controller icon just below where you type your message, and choose a game to start playing right away. After you finish a round, people in the conversation will see your score and will have the opportunity to challenge you back. People can also discover games within the Messenger search field, or on Facebook News Feed where they can play solo or challenge friends back in Messenger.

Facebook made Messenger a standalone app in 2014, a move that initially irked many users. The app, however, gained popularity after the company added a host of features to it.

The social network has also added instant video and payment facilities to the app.

Facebook boasts of having more than one billion users for its messaging app, making it one top three apps in the world.