The object of the 2016 game was for Momo the cat to defeat a lot of menacing ghosts in the Magic Cat Academy where she was studying wizardry. When 2016 rolled around, Momo was a full-blown character (based on a real cat named Momo, no less). The inspiration for Momo came from the previous year’s Doodle, which featured a very popular but unnamed cat. Last year, Google turned its annual Halloween Doodle into an exciting game about a magical cat named Momo. But, as it turns out, this particular Google Doodle - about an enterprising ghost named Jinx and the band of trick-or-treaters Jinx runs into - is actually a sequel of sorts to last year’s Halloween Doodle. If you’ve seen this year’s heartwarming Halloween Doodle, a short video about a lonely ghost who longs to go trick-or-treating, it’s possible you thought it couldn’t get any more adorable.

But Google’s annual holiday Doodle gives the holiday an unexpected warm and fuzzy side. Either way, as we enter the season of florals and Easter bunnies, it’s time to dust the cobwebs off the Great Ghost Duel-or rather, to dust them back on.On Halloween, we look forward to scares, tricks, and chills. Maybe you missed the opportunity to play the first time around, or maybe you played the game at Halloween and then forgot about it. Turns out, it’s equally entertaining when you’re playing one-on-one, though it may destroy friendships and professional relationships when you defeat a worthy foe by just three flames.

The Great Ghoul Duel also lets you host private matches, which I tested out with a few of Slate’s finest gamers.

And the two-minute time limit is ideal if you’re just looking for a quick break-even if the game’s competitive nature makes it oh-so-tempting to keep hitting the button to play again … and again … and again … Really, who can blame any of us for returning to the game? The thrill of stealing a strand of flames from an opponent is intoxicating, as are the power-ups you earn as you collect them, from mere speed boosts to the supreme ability to walk through walls.

Google halloween game