In the opening round, called “Get the Message (or Texting with the Stars on some episodes),” each team is given two questions based on fictional text message conversations, each consisting of a question being asked and a reply being a series of emojis.

[2][3] In the second round, called “In-App Purchase” each team is shown a category and an emoji-based clue.

[4] If the team that was originally trailing overtakes their opponents, they are allowed to finish out their round in an effort to win additional money.

[2] In the event of a tie at the end of this round, both teams are shown a sudden-death emoji message.

[6] Game Show Network (GSN) first announced Emogenius at their 2017 upfront presentation in New York on March 17, 2017.

[5] Due to copyright logistics, GSN was forced to develop their own emoji designs for the series' usage.

GSN Publicist Melissa Carr noted, "On the show, we have to develop our own set of emojis — the others are copyrighted.

Writing for The Boston Globe, Michael Andor Brodeur argued that while the show may feel like an advertisement for emoji, "the most satisfying part is watching self-proclaimed enthusiasts of the form stumble through their symbols once the difficulty is ever-so-slightly notched up....watching so much get lost in translation feels like a win.