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Google Maps knows where Waldo is for April Fools' Day

The Google Maps April Fools' Day joke tries to answer one of the most vexing questions of our time: "Where's Waldo?"

Amanda Kooser
Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
Amanda Kooser
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Google Maps' April Fools' prank lets you search for Waldo across the globe.

Google

Google Maps has always been good at tracking things down. For April Fools' Day, it's helping the world find Waldo, the elusive star of the Where's Waldo illustrated book series.

You can update your Maps app on your smartphone or go to the Google Maps desktop version to get started. Look for the candy-cane-striped dude waving at you from the side of the screen, click him and hit play to get going on a globe-trotting adventure.

Waldo isn't alone on Google Maps. His friends Wenda, the dog Woof and Wizard Whitebeard are along for the ride. The dastardly villain Odlaw is hiding out, too. 

The game will whisk you around to various locations where you'll have to squint your way through Waldo illustrations to find all the characters. 

Google is encouraging players to share their Waldo-finding exploits by tagging @GoogleMaps and using the hashtag #WaldoMaps on Twitter and Instagram.

Google Maps loves to play game-related pranks for April Fools' Day. Waldo is the just the latest in a lineage that turned the mapping service into a playable Pac-Man game in 2015 and foreshadowed the arrival of Pokemon Go back in 2014.

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