Warren Buffett is one of the largest investors in Apple, and the reasonably positive relationship between the two is not a secret. But apparently Buffett though he’d get some help from the company to launch a brand new mobile game heavily inspired by the 1985 classic, Paperboy.

In Buffett’s defense here, Warren Buffett’s Paper Wizard doesn’t look or play anything like that original title. Moreover, Buffett’s known for having been a paper-thrower when he was a kid. And Buffett even hosts a paper-tossing competition at the annual Berkshire Hathaway meeting. The most recent one saw a surprise appearance from Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook.

They showed off a short film where Buffett visited a secret Apple laboratory, where he discussed with Cook new inventions and applications for mobile devices. Buffett suggested a time travel device so Buffett could tell his childhood self to buy into Apple stock even sooner than he originally did. But Cook brings it back to reality and offers another idea: a paper-tossing app, inspired by Buffett’s younger days.

Well, that app is real and you can play it right now. Warren Buffett’s Paper Wizard is available right now as a free download. It apparently does not offer any in-app purchases, and according to the app’s FAQ page, the developer (Wildlife Design Inc.) does not have any plans on offering expansion packs. So you will need to deliver papers in Omaha, Nebraska and Cupertino, California, to complete the game.

There is a leaderboard for high scores, so there’s a bit of competition to be had with the new mobile game. The difficulty of the game will increase as you go along, with unique obstacles in each level to make delivering those digital papers even more exciting. Here’s the official description of the game:

“Think you can toss a newspaper like the legendary Warren Buffett? Test your paper-flinging skills as you make your way from the streets of Omaha, Nebraska, all the way to Cupertino, California. Avoid vehicles and birds as you deliver papers to buildings near and far. Will anyone collect enough Warren Bucks to dethrone the Paper Wizard? Probably not.”

The other reason this game is something of a gem is the fact that the game is copyrighted to Apple, and the FAQ says Buffett “had a little help from his friends at Apple”, means this is partly an Apple game, too. That would mean this is Apple’s first game since Texas Hold’em, which was released for iOS way back in 2008.

Will we see more first-party titles from Apple? The company does have Apple Arcade on the horizon, which will obviously serve as a huge launchpad for third-party games. But it could also be a solid foundation for Apple to start developing its own games, too.

You can find a link to download the game below. Reviews seem generally positive, but there are a few funny ones in there, too. You should check them out, because a few seem trying too hard in the sarcasm department.

And if you try out the game, be sure to let us know what you think in the comments below.

Download

  • Warren Buffett’s Paper Wizard — Free

[via MacRumors; Omaha World-Herald; CNN]