To The Tardis! There's A 'Whodle' Taking Over The Web!

NPR | By Mark Memmott

Published November 22, 2013 at 1:32 PM EST

Warning: You may find yourself in a time trap.

On this eve of Doctor Who's 50th anniversary there's an alien force spreading across Google's platforms around the world.

If you're fan of the good Doctor, you may not be able to resist.

Google has launched what CNET thinks is "the most marvelous Google Doodle yet." As of early Friday afternoon, we were seeing it on Google U.K., Google New Zealand, Google Canada and several of the Web browser's other international domains (but not as of then on the U.S. homepage).

Call it the Whodle — an "8-bit multilevel platform game [that] is a masterpiece of interactive theater," as CNET says.

Now, we are by no means Doctor Who aficionados. But we do know a potentially addictive game when we see one. The object is to "rescue" the letters G-O-O-G-L-E from a Dalek. You get to choose your favorite Doctor. Buzzfeed does a good job of explaining the game.

As for the show's anniversary, there's a global simulcast Saturday (starting at 2:50 p.m. ET) that the BBC says has the Doctors (yes, that's plural) going on their "greatest adventure."