How to debug iMessage apps in development?

I am making a 2-player turn-based iMessage game, and I am having difficulty getting a workflow together. It seems the SImulator cannot be used because it stops the debug process when you switch user accounts, so I have attempted to connect both my iPhone and iPad to Xcode, and send iMessages to myself to emulate the back-and-forth between players. But I cannot even start a game this way because Xcode launches my Messages app into the last "real" conversation, taking me out of the conversation with myself.


Surely there has to be a way to get a process working, or GamePigeon wouldn't have been able to develop so many games? Anyone who's done this kind of thing before: I'm all ears.


Thanks in advance!