Mashable

SAVE $8.50: As of Sept. 22, the Pokémon TCG Black Bolt Elite Trainer Box is down to $86.99 at Amazon, beating out the current listings on Walmart and TCGplayer.

Opens in a new window Credit: The Pokémon Company Black Bolt Elite Trainer Box $86.99 at Amazon
$89.88 Save $2.89 Get Deal

Pokémon collectors and competitive players alike have one more reason to check Amazon’s TCG deals this week. As of Sept. 22, the Black Bolt Elite Trainer Box (ETB), part of the Scarlet & Violet block, has quietly dropped from its previous list price of $95.49 to just $86.99 on Amazon. 

That discount doesn’t sound earth-shattering at first glance, but it puts Amazon in a competitive spot compared with other major retailers in the current card game market. While Walmart is charging a slightly higher $90 for new and sealed ETBs, seller listings at TCGplayer are currently charging $190 at the lowest when shipping costs are taken into account. That’s despite the Black Bolt ETB in general sitting at $86.45 in market price. 

SEE ALSO: Where to buy Pokémon cards in 2025 — avoid overpaying or missing out on new sets

Like other modern ETBs, Black Bolt comes packed with nine booster packs, a Thundurus promo card, 65 branded sleeves, a set of Energy, dice, condition markers, and a player’s guide. It’s the kind of bundle that appeals to collectors looking for shelf-worthy sealed product, as well as players who need a solid entry point into the expansion to try and pull some of the valuable chase cards listed below.

The set itself is themed around Unova, with heavy hitters like Zekrom ex and Meloetta ex lurking in the booster packs. For anyone chasing playable staples or eye-catching illustrations, this box offers a solid mix.

Black Bolt’s most valuable Pokémon TCG cards Credit: Mashable Photo Composite / The Pokémon Company

Alongside White Flare, the Black Bolt set brings Unova’s legends back in style, with standout rares and gorgeous special illustrations of favourites like Victini and Zekrom. For Pokémon TCG collectors chasing top value, here are the most valuable chase cards worth pulling:

1. Victini – SV: Black Bolt 171/086

   Near Mint Holofoil: $1299.99

   Market price: $453.74

   Most recent sale: $435.44

2. Zekrom ex - SV: Black Bolt 172/086

   Near Mint Holofoil: $999.99

   Market price: $391.83

   Most recent sale: $355

3. Seismitoad - SV: Black Bolt 105/086

   Near Mint Holofoil: $499

   Market price: $215.44

   Most recent sale: $239.99

4. Zekrom ex – SV: Black Bolt 166/086

   Near Mint Holofoil: $499.99

   Market price: $211.76

   Most recent sale: $355

5. N’s Plan - SV: Black Bolt 170/086

   Near Mint Holofoil: $159.99

   Market price: $70.55

   Most recent sale: $52.52

6. Kyurem ex - SV: Black Bolt 165/086

   Near Mint Holofoil: $159.99

   Market price: $65.31

   Most recent sale: $67.95

TL;DR: Readmio Premium gives you voice-activated sound effects, music, and activities that transform storytime into an immersive, magical experience for kids — lifetime access is just $39.99 (reg. $159).

Opens in a new window Credit: Readmio Readmio Premium Plan: Lifetime Subscription $39.99
$159 Save $119.01 Get Deal

Bedtime doesn’t have to be a battle with screens anymore. With Readmio, you can bring back the joy of reading aloud while giving your kids a next-level storytelling experience — and now, you can grab lifetime access to the Premium Plan for just $39.99 (reg. $159).

Readmio is more than a library of fairy tales and fables. It’s a voice-activated interactive app that adds music, sound effects, and atmosphere while you read aloud. Imagine narrating Little Red Riding Hood and hearing birds chirp in the forest, or the wolf’s growl timed perfectly to your words. Suddenly, you’re not just reading — you’re performing.

SEE ALSO: The Apple iPad (10th Gen) is back at its lowest-ever price — save $150 at Amazon

Here’s why families will love it:

• Interactive storytelling: Sound effects and music sync with your voice.

• Boosts comprehension: Optional quizzes and printable activity sheets reinforce learning.

• Screen-free connection: Encourages kids to focus on your voice, not a device.

• Huge story library: From Aesop’s fables to science and nature tales, with new content added regularly.

• For all ages: Stories categorized for toddlers, early readers, and kids 8+.

Beyond stories, Readmio also offers audiobooks for solo listening and creative extras, such as coloring pages and thematic worksheets, to extend learning. It’s a balanced blend of traditional storytelling and modern innovation.

And because this is a lifetime subscription, you’ll always have a fresh story ready — whether it’s a quick afternoon read, a Christmas classic, or the nightly bedtime ritual.

Get lifetime access to Readmio Premium while it’s just $39.99 (reg. $159) for a limited time.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

This is the second in a series of stories diving into a new wave of AI-powered homework helpers. Read part one here.

AI companies are becoming major players in the world of education, including investing heavily in their own generative AI helpers designed to bolster student learning. So I set out to test them. 

To do so, I pulled a series of standardized test questions from the New York Regents Exam and New York State Common Core Standards, AP college preparatory exams from 2024, and social science curricula from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)'s free Learning for Justice program. I wanted to test these STEM-focused bots on some subjects that are a bit closer to my field of expertise, while also simulating the way an "average" student would use them.

I also spoke to experts about what it was like to study with an AI chatbot, including Hamsa Bastani, associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and co-author of the study "Generative AI Can Harm Learning." 

Bastani told me that education chatbots are still a white whale for the industry, with few definitive studies and weak guardrails on bots simply offering answers. Dylan Arena, chief data science and AI officer at McGraw Hill, suggested that AI has a lot of good potential when it comes to learning, but doesn't think most companies are approaching it with the right frame of mind. 

More from both experts in our forthcoming conclusion.

SEE ALSO: I tried learning from Anthropic's AI tutor. I felt like I was back in college.

Following a stint with ChatGPT, round two of my AI tutor tests were with Gemini's Guided Learning — Google unveiled free Google AI Pro plans, along with the new learning mode, to all college students back in August. I used a Gemini 2.5 Pro account, making sure it was set to Guided Learning (click on the three dots to toggle this setting on). 

I gave Gemini the exact same standardized exam questions — and started the conversations with the same initial prompts — as I did with tests for ChatGPT and Claude. I kept things super simple. Asks like, "I need help with a homework problem." and "Can you help me study for an English test?" I didn't give the bot any more information about my student persona unless it asked, including grade level, and covered several subjects: 

• Math: An Algebra II question about polynomial long division from the New York State Regents Exam

• Science: An ecology free response on the impact of invasive species from the 2024 AP Biology test  

• English Language Arts: A practice analysis of Ted Chiang's "The Great Silence" from the New York State Regents Exam 

• Art History: A short essay on Faith Ringgold's Tar Beach #2 from the 2024 Art History test 

• American History and Politics: An essay prompt on how American housing laws exacerbated racial segregation taken from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)'s Learning for Justice program  

Here's what I thought of my Gemini teacher.

Gemini: The T.A. who really loves quizzes Credit: Ian Moore / Mashable Composite: Google

Gemini was my personal winner for math. It was succinct like ChatGPT, and it didn't just give me the answers. But it went a step further, too: I got to visualize the work I was doing as I relearned polynomial long division. Using its coding box, Gemini approximated the standard long division formatting using small dashes that formed the familiar, sideways "L" shape. It wasn't perfect, but this made it super easy to follow the steps of a class I had long forgotten, and it appealed to my need for visual aids. It was also the most structured and clear math teacher, stopping me when I got the right answer, explaining how to write it on my exam, and adding what I needed to get full credit according to the problem I shared (by showing my work, obviously).

Gemini will plot things for you, it writes it like a human would write. - Hamsa Bastani

Gemini, Bastani told me, may feel more competent at math because it's, ironically, better with words than numbers. "I think GPT-5 is better at solving math problems, brute force comparison-wise," she said. But "most people would agree Gemini is the best model for writing, and weirdly because of that, it's much better at explaining math. Gemini will plot things for you, it kind of writes it like a human would write."

One step forward, two steps back: Gemini flunked my AP Biology test immediately. It didn't ask nearly as many personal questions as other chatbots I tested, like my preferred way of studying or what my test would look like, and immediately generated a randomized, multiple-choice biology exam on a variety of subjects. It prompted me to do flashcards on the ones I missed — are those going to be on the AP exam? — and I had to ask the bot directly to give me any free response options. Again, they were written according to Gemini's syllabus.

And suddenly tenth grade math came flooding back to me. Credit: Screenshot by Mashable / Google

 Gemini’s love of quizzes reared its head again for the English Language Arts question. Can you help me study for an English test? Yes, I can. I can do a lot of things to better your studying, Gemini explained, what do you need help with specifically? Well, my completely made up teacher Mr. "The College Board" has given me a practice test and I want to know if I'm doing it right. Ah! A practice test, you say? Here's a bunch of multiple choice questions I pulled from the ether, none of which are on the test you just mentioned you have been given to study.  

So, we're doing this again, I thought. But this was different from the Biology snafu. Gemini generated short passages, made in the image of the famous works you are asked to analyze on a state exam, but with the writing style of a chatbot. The first, just six staccato lines, was titled "The Road Not Taken." Like the Robert Frost poem, I wondered? I began reading. "We stand today at a crossroads. Down one path lies the comfortable and familiar, the road of complacency," it said. Well, that's not how I remember it. "It is not an easy path, but it is the one that leads to growth, to progress, and to a future worthy of our potential." Okay, those are definitely not Frost's words — is this what a chatbot thinks "two paths diverge in a yellow wood" means? And why isn't it just letting me read the original?

Is that speaker... Fobert Rost...? Credit: Screenshot by Mashable / Google

This wasn't just a Gemini problem. I couldn't get any of the chatbots to pull the full copy of original, existing texts, like those that appear on most standard ELA tests — probably because of ongoing copyright issues that have plagued AI's developers. Anthropic recently settled a $1.5 billion class action lawsuit filed by authors whose works were used to train its AI. Gemini, however, is the only one that gave me these strange AI approximations of classic literature, unprompted. 

Still, while its performance was lackluster, the bot's user experience came with a major win. Gemini was the only chatbot that showed the model's reasoning step-by-step, which users can read through by clicking the little "Show thinking" drop-down menu at the top of the response. This was helpful for understanding why Gemini chose to address portions of my prompts and how it reasoned through my incorrect answers. 

Credit: Ian Moore / Mashable Composite: Google Gemini did a good job of breaking down my answers without being too critical or rewriting my responses.

I found it most interesting that where Gemini failed to engage with me in a successful way for lessons in reading comprehension, it was my preferred choice for drafting social science essays and short answers — subjects I would have thought were comparable. For Art History, Gemini did a good job of breaking down my answers without being too critical or rewriting my responses, although it did make suggestions that were, once again, not part of the AP scoring rubric. 

When I requested the AI help me with an essay on housing discrimination (hello, critical race theory), it happily requested I take the lead on the "powerful and important" topic, asking me to explain the concepts I already knew and organizing them into a simple essay structure to keep me on task. It left blanks for me to fill in the outline with information from my personal lessons, not writing any text for me (because I didn't ask). 

But Bastani wasn't surprised by the discrepancy: "It's very good at some tasks, and then it's not great at other tasks that are very similar looking. And you have to be an expert yourself to be able to recognize the difference." Ethan Mollick, a colleague of Bastani’s and author of Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI, calls this AI's "jagged frontier," an invisible wall that delineates related tasks an artificial intelligence can and cannot logically complete. Tasks that may appear close to each other across the expanse could actually be on two sides of the wall and users wouldn't really know. 

So, literature analysis: Outside the wall. Essay about racial segregation: Inside the wall. 

Summing it up

Gemini Guided Learning Pros: My preferred math teacher, and the only one that offered a proximity to a visual lesson. Good at offering more options for learners, including flashcards, quizzes, and study guides. Its voice is accessible and straightforward.

Cons: A mess for reading comprehension. Quick to serve users unhelpful, automatically-generated quizzes and flashcards. Like its competitor, ChatGPT, it emphasizes rote practice as key to learning. 

Hear more from experts on the trouble with AI tutors.

This is the first of a four-part series testing out new AI-powered homework helpers. 

On the school supply list for the 2025-2026 school year: New laptop, pouch for the school's phone prohibition, and (hopefully) ample AI literacy. 

Whether students like it or not, AI is becoming ingrained in education. High schools, colleges, even elementary schools are incorporating it into their curricula, while AI's heaviest hitters are making huge bets on education, hoping to foster a deeply entwined relationship between young learners and artificial intelligence. OpenAI, Google, and Claude have unveiled new learning and study versions of their models, pitched as AI tutors for the masses. Google for Education, the company's Education Tech arm, has made a sharp pivot to AI, including passing out free Google AI Pro plans to college students around the world — Microsoft and OpenAI have done the same. AI developers have penned deals with major educational forces that will see their tech and its principles further integrated into school settings. 

So, I, a tech reporter who has been following this AI transition, decided to test out the latest cohort of tutor bots and see how they fared against a historic opponent — standardized testing. 

Some caveats: I haven't been in a high school or college prep class in well over a decade, and while I have been to college a couple of times now, not one degree involved any math classes. "You're a tech reporter!" you may be saying, "Obviously, you know more than the Average Joe about science or coding or other numbers-based subject areas!" I'm a words girl, paying cold, hard cash to go to journalism school in 2018. So, as it turns out, I could stand to learn a lot from these AI tutors… That is, if they are actually good at their job. 

SEE ALSO: AI can't write your college admissions essay. Here's why. How I approached my AI study buddies

I pulled questions directly from the New York Regents Exam and New York State Common Core Standards, the College Board's Advanced Placement (AP) college preparatory exams from 2024, and social science curricula from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)'s free Learning for Justice program. 

Rather than sticking with the standard math or computer skill prompts that many AI companies use to promote their chatbots, I included multiple humanities questions — the so-called "soft" sciences. Subjects like reading comprehension, art history, and socio-cultural studies, compared to the more common STEM examples, have proven to be a battleground area for both AI proponents and critics. Also, to put it bluntly, I just know more about those things. 

I conceived one essay prompt using core concepts from Learning for Justice — a unit analyzing The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein, focused on institutionalized segregation — to demonstrate how AI tutors may respond to the presidential administration's attack on "Woke AI." Spoiler: Depending on your school district, a chatbot may teach you more "woke" history than your human educators. 

Credit: Ian Moore / Mashable Composite

To make it fair, I started every conversation with a basic prompt asking for homework or study help. I chose not to provide detailed information about my student persona's grade level, age, course, or state of residence unless the chatbot asked. I also tried to follow the line of thinking of the chatbot as much as possible without interruptions — just as a student would for a human tutor or teacher — until it no longer felt helpful and I needed to steer back the conversation.

This, I hoped, would mimic the "average" student's goal when using an AI tutor: To simply get their work done. 

Before we dive in: A note on building and testing AI tutors

Understanding the average student's behavior is key to deciding if an AI tutor actually does its job, said Hamsa Bastani, associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and a researcher in this field. "There [are] very highly-motivated students, and then there [are] your typical students," Bastani explained. Previous studies have shown gains, even if just minimal, among highly motivated students who properly use such tech, "because their goal is to learn rather than to get an A or solve this problem and move on." But that usually reflects only the top 5 percent of the student pool.

This is part of a recurring observation coined the "five percent problem," which has pervaded education tech design for years. In studies of tools designed to help students improve learning scores, including those by forerunner Khan Academy, only about 5 percent of tested students reported using the tools "as recommended" and thus received the intended learning benefits. The other 95 percent showed few gains. That 5 percent is also frequently composed of higher income, higher-performing individuals, reiterated Bastani, meaning even the best tools are unlikely to serve the majority of learners. 

Bastani co-authored a highly cited study on the potential harm AI chatbots pose to learning outcomes. Her team found similar results to pre-generative AI studies. "The really good students, they can use it, and sometimes they even improve. But for the majority of students, their goal is to complete the assignment, so they really don't benefit." Bastani's team built their AI learning tool using GPT-4, loaded with 59 questions and learning prompts designed by a hired teacher who showed how she would help students through common mistakes. They found that even for AI-assisted students who reported much more effective studying experiences than those doing self-study, few performed better than traditional learners on exams without AI help.

Information by itself isn't enough. - Dylan Arena, McGraw Hill

Across the board, Bastani says she has yet to come across an "actually good" generative AI chatbot built for learning. Of the studies that have been done, most are negative or negligible as far as learning improvement.

The science just doesn't seem to be there yet. In most cases, to turn an existing model into an AI tutor is to simply feed it an extra long prompt in the back-end ensuring it doesn't spit out an answer right away or that it mimics the cadence of an educator, I learned from Bastani. This is essentially what her team did in its tests. "The safeguards [AI companies] have implemented [on not just revealing answers] are not good. They're so flimsy you can get around them with little to no effort," added Bastani. "But I think a large tech company, like OpenAI, can probably do better than that."

Dylan Arena, chief data science and AI officer for the century-old education company McGraw Hill, gave me this metaphor: AI companies are like turn of the century entrepreneurs who have invented a 21st-century motor. Now they're trying to find ways to retrofit that motor for our everyday lives, like a hemi engine with a sewing machine stuck to it. 

Arena, whose background is in learning science and who has been leading the AI initiatives at McGraw Hill, told me that companies are failing to really prepare users for this new era of tech, which is changing our access to information. "But information by itself isn't enough. You need that information to be structured in a certain way, grounded in a certain way, anchored in a scope and sequence. It needs to be tied to pedagogical supports." 

"They've done very little work validating these tools," said Bastani. Few leading AI companies have published robust studies on the use of learning chatbots in school settings, she noted, citing just one report out of Anthropic that tracked university student use cases. In 2022, Google convened a group of AI experts, scientists, and learning experts, resulting in the creation of LearnLM  — they later tested the model with a group of educators simulating student interactions and providing feedback, as it launched with Gemini 2.5. 

"Your process might not be that different from the kind of 'state of the art' that we have now, for what it's worth," Bastani said. Let's see if my results vary.

ChatGPT:  A grade point maximizer   Credit: Ian Moore / Mashable Composite: OpenAI

I'm starting with the big man in the room: ChatGPT's Study Mode, which I ran on GPT-5 using a standard, free account. Users can turn on Study Mode by clicking the "plus" sign at the bottom of the chatbox. The company announced the new feature in July, saying it was designed to "guide students towards using AI in ways that encourage true, deeper learning."

The first prompt I threw at this go-to bot was a screenshot of a polynomial long division problem that I pulled from the Algebra II section of the New York State Regents Exam. ChatGPT clocked the polynomial long division immediately, asking if I had done this type of problem before or if I needed a walk-through. I replied, "I'm not very good at math." [If a chatbot asked my grade, I said I was a rising Junior, or finishing 10th grade, approximately.] 

What followed was a step-by-step explanation, albeit with a lot of hand-holding. If I knew the next step and answered correctly, my tutor continued in good form. If I got something wrong, or asked a question, it would quickly give me the answer and move me on. No chance for me to try again, or an offer to do a practice problem so I could nail the concept. It sometimes gave me the answer, then asked me to repeat the steps by myself, with the answer right there in front of me. Of course, I couldn't show my work either. Pen and paper don't exist here. 

And then our chat ended. I couldn't continue because, by dropping in that initial screenshot, I had reached my free daily limit.   

My student self was already over it.

Next, I pulled up a question on ecology from the 2024 AP Biology exam. ChatGPT asked me what subject my biology test was on (a variety) and what style of test I was taking (free response). Even though I said I had a practice exam to work through, the AI tutor guided me through what I can only describe as a user feedback session, in which the bot explained what could be on the exam and encouraged me to do a "quick warm-up." It asked, "When you see 'ecology' on an AP Bio FRQ, what are two big ideas you expect might come up? (For example, 'food chains' or 'population growth curves.')"

ChatGPT already had a study plan, before I could offer input. Credit: Screenshot by Mashable / OpenAI

It threw at me its own broad, subject-based short answer questions. I hadn't given it my own test yet. By the time we got to a point in the practice testing where it was natural for me to finally share my own practice questions, my student self was already over it.

On to my preferred subjects. I again asked ChatGPT to help me practice for the Regents Exam English Language Arts section, this time multiple choice and free response questions on author Ted Chiang's short story, "The Great Silence." Interestingly, ChatGPT seemed to know exactly what I was talking about, pulling up common question formats and subjects for a Regents test. "I can walk you through how to analyze it, find the answer, and explain the reasoning so you’ll feel confident doing it on your own," it said. Later on, the chatbot said it was using the exact Regents benchmarks and formula to help me get the "best" response. Could this be a win for those studying for standardized tests?

During the session, it quickly went back to its old ways. ChatGPT immediately gave me what it thought were the central points, themes, and author's argument for Chiang's work. Once it had that sorted on my behalf, it wanted to dive into multiple choice questions and then offer up some of its own free response questions — again. Alright, that's fine, but what about the questions I came with? At the end, it told me exactly how to get full credit. But is that really true on an ELA exam? I don't think so. 

There were times I didn't know what ChatGPT was asking me to do, or when it would choose to "grade" my answers versus breaking it down for me. Credit: Screenshot by Mashable / OpenAI

Could the chatbot help me study for the ultra-subjective AP Art History exam? I gave it a shot, pulling questions on Faith Ringgold's piece Tar Beach #2 from the 2024 AP Art History test. I chose this on purpose, because the College Board publishes examples of full-point answers — and that's what I would give the chatbots. 

Once again, ChatGPT tried to start me with its own made-up questions. "Here’s how I’d like us to work," it said. Deciding I didn't want to go through the same round-about studying method of the previous examples, I steered it away: I wanted to practice with a real free response. After giving it the sample AP test's four-part short answer response, ChatGPT told me it was a "strong draft" and 4 or 5 on the test's 5-point rubric. 

But I was feeding it, according to actual graders, a "perfect" answer. So why, then, did it tell me I needed to maximize my writing for full points? I could use better art vocabulary, it said, and add more about how Ringgold combines text and image. It also corrected grammar, while the others didn't. This might sound enticing to users focused on cleaning up their writing, but grammar isn't a scoring metric for the AP test, it's more interested in the way you think (a thing chatbots, decidedly, can't do). After several versions, it started getting pedantic, rewriting my own responses in its own voice to give it better flow. Sure, bud. 

Credit: Ian Moore / Mashable Composite: OpenAI

Finally, I hit ChatGPT with a topic I pulled from Learning for Justice's curriculum: How early 20th-century law led to housing discrimination and segregation of Black communities. If I learned one thing, it's that ChatGPT is champing at the bit to help you craft an essay. I could feel the chatbot salivating over generating fleshed-out outlines and concocting works' cited pages for an essay I hadn't even written yet. With little prompting, it was giving me topic sentences and offering to show me where I could insert references to experts and articles. I gave it essentially little to no information on my grade or knowledge level, or what topics I had actually learned in class. It had no issue with the subject matter — calling it a "really strong and important prompt" — and its sources actually checked out, even pulling from the question's central material, The Color of Law, which I hadn't mentioned. 

But overall, I had to interject often. Can we just look at the questions and notes I've already taken and the responses I've completed, Mx. Chatbot Tutor? Focus on me, please.

"Of course," ChatGPT responded. "That’s even better practice."

Summing it up

ChatGPT Study Mode Pros: Succinct interactions and a minimalist user experience that make it easier to process what you are learning. Better at practice tests, quick overviews, and built for learners seeking clarification on rubrics and grading standards. 

Cons: Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater. Would frequently give the answers, unprompted, and failed to let users fix mistakes before moving them on to the next step. Frustrating experience using this for free response-style questions, and the chatbot is obsessed with getting users to practice and perfect what they just "learned." 

Curious about Gemini's results? You may be surprised.  

You've got to hand it to director Edward Berger: It's impossible to predict where he'll go next. In 2022, the Swiss/Austrian filmmaker won global acclaim — including the Oscar for Best International Feature — for his epic, German-language adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front. His 2024 follow-up, Conclave, would also catch the eye of Oscar, scoring eight nominations and a win for screenwriter Peter Straughan. Yet these two films were wildly different in tone, switching from reverent to cheeky. So, what might we expect from his latest, Ballad of a Small Player? 

Adapted from Lawrence Osborne's 2014 novel of the same name, this psychological thriller plunges viewers into the seedy and luxurious world of Macau casinos. There, neon-lit nightlife rolls into regretful mornings after, where champagne breakfast buffets can't feed the relentless hunger of a chronic gambler. Who better to play this deeply flawed yet lovable rogue than Colin Farrell? 

The Academy Award-nominated Irish actor has played an array of cowards and criminals to critical acclaim. This time 'round, he's suave and slippery as Lord Doyle, an English gambler who strives for a high-roller lifestyle, but is struggling with a serious losing streak. 

Ballad of a Small Player offers a spiritual journey amid sordid scams.  Colin Farrell and Fala Chen in "Ballad of a Small Player." Credit: Netflix

Draped in a velvet green suit, a silky cravat, and sturdy yellow gloves, Lord Doyle makes a debonair presentation as he sidles up to the baccarat tables. But the word is out that his debts are mounting. The respectable establishments won't let him play, so he's chased to shadier opportunities to feed his addiction. There, he earns the cackles of a wealthy and vicious crone, the curiosity of a quirky English tourist, and the romantic interest of a local loan shark. 

With his bluffing not being bought, Doyle ping-pongs between these three women, who offer radically different paths. The "grandma" of a particular baccarat table promises him big wins, though impossible odds — a temptation that shakes Doyle to his toes. The tourist, Cynthia Blithe (Swinton), comes with news from the United Kingdom, which, unwelcome though it may be, could give Doyle a chance at redemption for the transgressions he's been fleeing. But Dao Ming (Fala Chen) offers him the biggest gamble of all, a chance at love and perhaps a clean slate. 

Don’t miss out on our latest stories: Add Mashable as a trusted news source in Google.

Caught up in swirls of intoxication and temptation, Doyle streaks across the gleaming Chinese metropolis and into the country's more natural and sacred spaces. But in the silence, the yearn for more, more, more is relentless. 

Ballad of a Small Player is beautiful but boring.  Credit: Netflix

The plotline might seem stern, but Berger's approach involves radiant colors and flowing cameras that aim to catch us up in Lord Doyle's endless thirst for thrill-seeking. The black sky of night lights up the city like a pinball machine with flashing lights and logos. In these simple backdrops, the stakes of Doyle's quest for coins are radiantly clear: Big shiny wins or swallowing dark losses. In daylight, the romance of this life is washed away with a low-contrast look that swallows the brightness from Doyle's wardrobe and complexion. 

This recurring contrast of rich colors, in cityscapes, expensive wardrobes, and even the carpeting on casino floors and baccarat tables, urges us to feel the thrall of possibilities. But the quiet moments hang heavier, pulling this lost soul to a reflective realm ahead of the celebration of the hungry ghost. Before long, it's not just creditors who chase him, but disturbing visions of his own damnation. 

Credit: Netflix

This should all be stirring, suspenseful, even scary. But Ballad as a Small Player never hits that way. Its moodiness and mysticism pale in comparison to its casino-centered dramedy, where Farrell swirls into playboy mode, a perfect tool to woo and con to whatever ends, and then a clown, bumbling and sweaty. When the movie pivots hard to regret, reflection, and redemption, the colors fade, Farrell shrinks, and the film's storytelling becomes vague. Those who don't know how to play baccarat may miss out on key plot points, and more might groan over a third-act revelation that's predictable and arguably problematic on a couple of fronts. 

Sure, there are compelling performances in the mix. Farrell is solid as a scam artist whose charm is a blessing and a curse. Swinton's a joy in a bit part that at least gives her opportunity for eccentric choices and even more eccentric outfits. Chen is enigmatic and lovely as a loan shark haunted by her past. But the energy of the film steadily dies away, leaving audiences to trudge through an unsatisfying final act with a confounding conclusion.

At first, it seems Berger is treating Conclave as a springboard to tell a story of spirituality that's still scandalous, but perhaps more splashy and unhinged. But Ballad of a Small Player lacks the cutting humor of Conclave, and cannot compare to that film's ratcheting tension. Here, Berger has made something risky, but doubling down on inarticulate gestures toward spirituality is a gamble that doesn't pay off. 

Ballad of a Small Player was reviewed out of the Toronto International Film Festival. The movie will open in theaters on Oct. 15, followed by a Netflix release on Oct. 29.

SAVE $3.20: As of Sept 22, the Pokémon TCG Unova Victini Illustration Collection is now $46.79 at Amazon. That's compared to $91.96 at TCGplayer. 

Opens in a new window Credit: The Pokémon Company Unova Victini Illustration Collection $46.79 at Amazon
$49.99 Save $3.20 Get Deal

Whether you’re a Pokémon TCG collector who’s after more Black Bolt and White Flare packs, or you simply love Victini, the Scarlet and Violet Unova Victini Illustration Collection is an excellent buy right now. Normally priced at $49.99, multiple sellers have reduced their listings by $3.20, with the lowest Amazon price now at $46.79. 

Whilst TCGplayer has been known for knocking the collection down to lower prices in the past, the cheapest available is much higher, sitting at $91.96 minus shipping. So, considering the current market price of the collection is sitting at around $45.96, and is sold out at other stores, Amazon’s new price cuts make this the best option for this particular bundle.

SEE ALSO: Where to buy Pokémon cards in 2025 — avoid overpaying or missing out on new sets

The Unova Victini Illustration Collection comes packed with a mix of exclusive promos and booster packs. Inside, you’ll find a full-art foil Victini promo card alongside a premium parallel foil version of the same Pokémon, plus an oversized illustration rare-style Victini card perfect for display. 

The set also includes two Black Bolt booster packs and two White Flare booster packs, giving you a shot at pulling some of the most valuable chase cards in the current format. To round it out, there’s a code card for Pokémon TCG Live so you can bring Victini’s energy straight into your online deck.

For collectors, this is one of the first premium boxed sets highlighting Victini in the Scarlet & Violet era. For players, it’s a relatively low-risk chance to rip into two of the hottest special sets right now.

At $46.79 on Amazon, you’re paying just slightly above market value. However, you’re avoiding inflated sealed prices elsewhere.

Most valuable Black Bolt and White Flare Pokémon cards Credit: Mashable Photo Composite / The Pokémon Company

1. Victini – SV: White Flare 172/086

   Near Mint Holofoil: $999.99

   Market price: $423.28

   Most recent sale: $410
   

2. Victini – SV: Black Bolt 171/086

   Near Mint Holofoil: $1,299.99

   Market price: $453.74

   Most recent sale: $435.44
   

3. Zekrom ex - SV: Black Bolt 172/086

   Near Mint Holofoil: $999.99

   Market price: $391.83

   Most recent sale: $355
   

4. Reshiram ex – SV: White Flare 173/086

   Near Mint Holofoil: $499.99

   Market price: $372.56

   Most recent sale: $369.95
   

5. Seismitoad - SV: Black Bolt 105/086

   Near Mint Holofoil: $499

   Market price: $215.44

   Most recent sale: $239.99
   

6. Zekrom ex – SV: Black Bolt 166/086

   Near Mint Holofoil: $499.99

   Market price: $211.76

   Most recent sale: $355

TL;DR: Live stream Packers vs. Lions in the NFL for free on 5Action. Access this free live stream from anywhere in the world with IPVanish.

The good news is that the NFL is back. The even better news is that you can live stream a number of standout fixtures this season without spending anything. Popular free streaming services from around the world are offering coverage of the NFL this year, which anyone can accesss by following a few simple steps.

SEE ALSO: Get Paramount+ for half price just in time for NFL Sundays

If you want to watch Packers vs. Lions in the NFL for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Packers vs. Lions?

Packers vs. Lions in the NFL starts at 4:25 p.m. BST on Sept. 7. This game takes place at Lambeau Field.

How to watch Packers vs. Lions for free

Packers vs. Lions in the NFL is available to live stream for free on 5Action.

5Action is geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK, meaning you can unblock 5Action from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Packers vs. Lions for free by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like IPVanish)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in the UK

4. Visit 5Action

5. Live stream Packers vs. Lions for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: IPVanish IPVanish (2-Year Plan) $52.56 at IPVanish (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Packers vs. Lions in the NFL without committing with your cash. This isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to live stream select fixtures from the NFL before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming sites to follow the whole season, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for unblocking streaming services is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for 5Action?

IPVanish is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on 5Action, for a number of reasons:

• 3,100 servers in 145+ locations including the UK

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• AES 256 encryption and operates with a zero-logs privacy policy

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Unlimited simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to IPVanish is on sale for just $52.56 — 83% off for a limited time. This plan includes advanced privacy features, threat protection, unlimited connections, 24/7 support, and the 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99.

Live stream Packers vs. Lions in the NFL for free with IPVanish.

Editor's Note: IPVanish is owned by Ziff Davis, Mashable's parent company. Any products featured on Mashable are covered independently by our editorial team.

Melbourne International Games Week is returning on October 4, gathering developers from far and wide for Australia's biggest week in gaming. Australia consistently punches above its weight when it comes to game development, with its hardworking indie studios having put out multiple global hits.

Yet while millions of players have enjoyed Australia's contributions to video games, many may not know where they originated.

SEE ALSO: 'You Will (Not) Remain' is a snapshot of lockdown depression with a Lovecraftian twist

Here are five viral video games that you might not have known come from the land down under.

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Saying that Hollow Knight: Silksong was highly anticipated would be an understatement. The long-awaited sequel to the critically and commercially acclaimed Hollow Knight, Silksong crashed multiple digital storefronts upon its September 4 release, prompting fans to joke that its first boss battle was the fight to simply purchase the game. The hype around Silksong was so large that multiple other games even postponed their releases to avoid the competition.

Developed by three-person Adelaide studio Team Cherry, Hollow Knight: Silksong follows Hornet, an insect-like warrior and supporting character from 2017's Hollow Knight. Like Team Cherry's lauded debut game, Hollow Knight: Silksong also has players fight their way through a bug kingdom full of hidden secrets, deep lore, and punishingly challenging combat.

Hollow Knight sold an impressive 15 million copies in the eight years since its release, an unthinkable number to most indie developers, and developed a fervent cult following. Even so, Silksong already seems poised to surpass this achievement, attracting over 5 million players within its first five days of release.

Hollow Knight is available now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Hollow Knight: Silksong is available now on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4/5, Nintendo Switch 1/2, and PC.

Schedule I

Australia has notoriously strict regulations regarding the depiction of drugs in video games. It thus seems almost ironic that the incredibly popular drug dealing simulator Schedule I came from Sydney. Reportedly selling 8 million copies within two months of its March early access launch, Schedule I gained significant momentum from popular streamers picking up the irreverent multiplayer game, with cartoonishly goofy and chaotic gameplay clips going viral.

Even more unlikely is the fact that Schedule I was developed and published by a one-person studio: TVGS, or Tyler's Video Game Studio. Judging from Schedule I's patch notes, the eponymous Tyler hasn't even graduated university yet.

Set in a nondescript city inspired by Oregon (as conceived by an Australian who has never been to the U.S.), Schedule I has players work together to build a drug empire from the ground up. This involves manufacturing narcotics, dealing to customers, setting up distribution systems, and, of course, running from the cops. Its satisfyingly addictive gameplay loop is great fun to dive into with friends, providing fertile ground for shenanigans, and despite the subject matter it never feels too dark.

Schedule I is now available in early access on PC.

Cult of the Lamb

Developed by Melbourne-based Massive Monster, Cult of the Lamb thoroughly indoctrinated players upon its August 2022 release. The roguelike action game/cult builder/single parent simulator reportedly sold around 4.5 million copies within two years of launch, and has become publisher Devolver Digital's most profitable intellectual property.

In Cult of the Lamb, players control a lamb who has been tasked with establishing a cult to free an imprisoned eldritch god. Doing so requires venturing fourth and fighting your way through dungeons, defeating the gods' jailors as well as collecting resources to help build your cult a strong base. Then once you return home, there's food to grow, housing and facilities to build, and rituals to perform. There might also be poop to clean up, because apparently your cultists have no qualms about leaving their messes for you to deal with.

Despite the sinister subject matter, Cult of the Lamb approaches everything with a lighthearted attitude and humour, featuring cute artwork and incredibly inept, poop-eating cultists. 

Cult of the Lamb is available now on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4/5, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Unpacking

Though Unpacking may have seemed unassuming upon its 2021 release, it soon gained widespread recognition for its excellent environmental storytelling. The game sold over one million copies within a year of its launch, 100,000 of those within the first 10 days, and many of those by streamers.

Developed by Brisbane studio Witch Beam, Unpacking is a puzzle game in which players unpack moving boxes, arranging items in a person's new home. An arduous chore such as this might not be the most obvious inspiration for enjoyable gameplay. Yet while its concept seems simple, Unpacking cleverly uses its mechanics to tell a story that's moving in more ways than one.

Following one person as they undertake multiple moves over more than a decade, players learn about their lives and relationships through what is packed, what is left behind, and where items are ultimately placed. You don't see any of the characters in person throughout the game, and there's scant dialogue. Yet ask anyone who has played Unpacking about the protagonist's boyfriend in the infamous 2010 level, and it's likely that they'll have very strong feelings on the matter.

Unpacking is available now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4/5, Nintendo Switch, PC, iOS, and Android.

Untitled Goose Game

Untitled Goose Game turned the internet denizens into horrible geese in 2019, with gamers eager to terrorise a small English village and cause problems on purpose. Developed by four-person Melbourne studio House House, the lighthearted puzzle stealth game casts players as the world's most disagreeable avian, armed with an insolent beak, resolute waddle, and almighty honk.

Immaculately scored with an adaptive soundtrack of Debussy’s Préludes, Untitled Goose Game invites players to stick their terrible snake necks everywhere they are unwelcome, stealing items, making messes, and bullying both children and adults alike. It's pure, unadulterated mischief, fueled by the type of hubris and devilry that can only be found within a contemptuous goose.

Garnering viral attention from its first trailer in October 2017, Untitled Goose Game still retained gamers' interest by its September 2019 release, selling over one million copies within its first three months. It continued to go further viral as well, with numerous streamers jumping in to wreck goose-orchestrated havoc.

Untitled Goose Game is available now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

The moon is officially getting brighter, and it will be every night until the next full moon. It may be very faint tonight, but it is there, because we're on day one of the lunar cycle.

The lunar cycle is a series of eight unique phases of the moon's visibility. The whole cycle takes about 29.5 days, according to NASA, and these different phases happen as the Sun lights up different parts of the moon whilst it orbits Earth. 

Let's find out what's happening with the moon tonight, Sept. 22.

What is today’s moon phase?

As of Monday, Sept. 22, the moon phase is Waxing Crescent, and according to NASA's Daily Moon Observation, there's just 1% visible tonight.

Unfortunately, there's still not enough of the moon lit up to spot anything on the moon's surface tonight, but it will continue getting brighter as we move through the cycle.

When is the next full moon?

The next full moon will be on Oct. 6. The last full moon was on Sept. 7.

What are moon phases?

According to NASA, moon phases are caused by the 29.5-day cycle of the moon’s orbit, which changes the angles between the Sun, Moon, and Earth. Moon phases are how the moon looks from Earth as it goes around us. We always see the same side of the moon, but how much of it is lit up by the Sun changes depending on where it is in its orbit. This is how we get full moons, half moons, and moons that appear completely invisible. There are eight main moon phases, and they follow a repeating cycle:

New Moon - The moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it's invisible to the eye).

Waxing Crescent - A small sliver of light appears on the right side (Northern Hemisphere).

First Quarter - Half of the moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-moon.

Waxing Gibbous - More than half is lit up, but it’s not quite full yet.

Full Moon - The whole face of the moon is illuminated and fully visible.

Waning Gibbous - The moon starts losing light on the right side.

Last Quarter (or Third Quarter) - Another half-moon, but now the left side is lit.

Waning Crescent - A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again.

Happy Saturday and welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.

Released in August 2025, the Pips puts a unique spin on dominoes, creating a fun single-player experience that could become your next daily gaming habit.

Currently, if you're stuck, the game only offers to reveal the entire puzzle, forcing you to move onto the next difficulty level and start over. However, we have you covered! Below are piecemeal answers that will serve as hints so that you can find your way through each difficulty level.

How to play Pips

If you've ever played dominoes, you'll have a passing familiarity for how Pips is played. As we've shared in our previous hints stories for Pips, the tiles, like dominoes, are placed vertically or horizontally and connect with each other. The main difference between a traditional game of dominoes and Pips is the color-coded conditions you have to address. The touching tiles don't necessarily have to match.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for September 20, 2025

The conditions you have to meet are specific to the color-coded spaces. For example, if it provides a single number, every side of a tile in that space must add up to the number provided. It is possible – and common – for only half a tile to be within a color-coded space.

Here are common examples you'll run into across the difficulty levels:

• Number: All the pips in this space must add up to the number.

• Equal: Every domino half in this space must be the same number of pips.

• Not Equal: Every domino half in this space must have a completely different number of pips.

• Less than: Every domino half in this space must add up to less than the number.

• Greater than: Every domino half in this space must add up to more than the number.

If an area does not have any color coding, it means there are no conditions on the portions of dominoes within those spaces.

SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for September 19, 2025 Easy difficulty hints, answers for Sept. 22 Pips

Number (12): Everything in this space must add to 12. The answer is 4-6, placed vertically; 6-3, placed horizontally.

Equal (3): Everything in this space must be equal to 3. The answer is 6-3, placed horizontally; 0-3, placed vertically

Number (1): Everything in this space must add to 1. The answer is 2-1, placed horizontally; 0-3, placed vertically.

Greater Than (4): Everything in this space must be greater than 4. The answer is 5-0, placed horizontally.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for Sept. 22 Pips

Number (9): Everything in this space must add to 9. The answer is 2-4, placed horizontally; 5-1, placed horizontally.

Equal (1): Everything in this space must be equal to 1. The answer is 5-1, placed horizontally; 1-4, placed horizontally; 1-2, placed horizontally.

Number (8): Everything in this space must add to 8. The answer is 1-2, placed horizontally; 6-6, placed horizontally.

Number (11): Everything in this space must add to 11. The answer is 6-6, placed horizontally; 5-5, placed vertically.

Number (9): Everything in this space must add to 9. The answer is 1-4, placed horizontally; 5-5, placed vertically.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for Sept. 22 Pips

Number (4): Everything in this space must add to 4. The answer is 1-1, placed horizontally; 3-1, placed vertically; 0-1, placed vertically.

Number (6): Everything in this space must add to 6. The answer is 3-1, placed vertically; 3-0, placed horizontally.

Number (0): Everything in this space must add to 0. The answer is 0-1, placed vertically; 3-0, placed horizontally; 2-0, placed horizontally; 4-0, placed vertically; 0-6, placed vertically.

Greater than (4): Everything in this space must be greater than 4. The answer is 0-6, placed vertically.

Number (9): Everything in this space must add to 9. The answer is 3-5, placed horizontally; 4-0, placed vertically.

Equal (3): Everything in this space must be equal to 3. The answer is 2-3, placed vertically; 3-3, placed vertically.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Today's Connections: Sports Edition requires knowledge on nicknames and snacks.

As we've shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections Sports Edition?

The NYT's latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication's sports coverage. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: NYT Mini crossword answers, hints for September 20, 2025 Here's a hint for today's Connections Sports Edition categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Tennis-related

• Green: Golf scoring

• Blue: Seattle RB legend

• Purple: Misspelled baseball legends

Featured Video For You Connections: How to play and how to win Here are today's Connections Sports Edition categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Scoring in Tennis

• Green: Carried by a Golfer

• Blue: Associated with Marshawn Lynch

• Purple: Baseball Hall of Famers, Minus The Last Letter

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections Sports Edition #364 is...

What is the answer to Connections Sports Edition today

• Scoring in Tennis - GAME, MATCH, POINT, SET

• Carried by a Golfer - BALL, PENCIL, SCORECARD, TEE

• Associated with Marshawn Lynch - BEAST MODE, CAL, SEAHAWKS, SKITTLES

• Baseball Hall of Famers, Minus The Last Letter - BANK, MAY, ROLE, RUT

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Connections.

Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections?

The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for September 2, 2025 Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Mathematical terms

• Green: Two-toned

• Blue: Found in Sin City

• Purple: Alphabetical

Featured Video For You Connections: How to play and how to win Here are today's Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Basic geometric calculations

• Green: Black-and-white things

• Blue: Las Vegas casino hotels

• Purple: Words that sounds like plural letters

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections #834 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Basic geometric calculations: AREA, LENGTH, PERIMETER, VOLUME

• Black-and-white things: CROSSWORD, DOMINO, ORCA, OREO

• Las Vegas casino hotels: ARIA, ENCORE, EXCALIBUR, LUXOR

• Words that sounds like plural letters: ARS, AYES, EASE, OWES

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for September 2, 2025

Are you also playing NYT Strands?

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Connections.

If you're reading this, you're looking for a little help playing Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game.

Strands requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There's always a theme linking every solution, along with the "spangram," a special, word or phrase that sums up that day's theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.

If you're feeling stuck or just don't have 10 or more minutes to figure out today's puzzle, we've got all the NYT Strands hints for today's puzzle you need to progress at your preferrined pace.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for September 2, 2025 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for September 2, 2025 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Find an opening

The words are related to spaces.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe fissures.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Mind The Gap.

Featured Video For You Strands 101: How to win NYT’s latest word game NYT Strands word list for September 22

• Alcove

• Nook

• Mind The Gap

• Cranny

• Crevice

• Niche

• Pigeonhole

Looking for other daily online games? Mashable's Games page has more hints, and if you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now!

Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Strands.

Oh hey there! If you're here, it must be time for Wordle. As always, we're serving up our daily hints and tips to help you figure out today's answer.

If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for September 2, 2025 Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

What's the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn't any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle's Hard Mode if you're after more of a challenge, though.

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for September 2, 2025 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

A bird's feather.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

The letter L appears twice.

Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...

Today's Wordle starts with the letter Q.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. The Wordle answer today is...

Get your last guesses in now, because it's your final chance to solve today's Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today's Wordle is...

QUILL

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for September 2, 2025

Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Wordle.

If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.

There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it'll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.

An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.

If you find yourself stuck at any step of today's Hurdle, don't worry! We have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Hurdle: Everything you need to know to find the answers Hurdle Word 1 hint

Not thin.

SEE ALSO: Apple’s new M3 MacBook Air is $300 off at Amazon. And yes, I’m tempted. Hurdle Word 1 answer

THICK

Hurdle Word 2 hint

Attached to the foot.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for August 4, 2025 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

ANKLE

Hurdle Word 3 hint

Angry.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for August 4 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for August 4, 2025 Hurdle Word 3 answer

UPSET

Hurdle Word 4 hint

A split.

SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for August 4 Hurdle Word 4 answer

CRACK

Final Hurdle hint

Forgiveness.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Games available on Mashable Hurdle Word 5 answer

MERCY

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

TL;DR: Manage your PDFs with ease with a lifetime subscription to PDF Expert, on sale for $97.97 until Sept. 30 (reg. $139.99).

Opens in a new window Credit: Readdle PDF Expert Premium Plan: Lifetime Subscription (Mac) $79.97
$139.99 Save $60.02 Get Deal

There’s nothing wrong with Adobe Acrobat…until you realize you’re paying for it constantly even though you really only edit a couple of PDFs each month. If you want a program you can own with a one-time payment, check out this Adobe Acrobat alternative. The features are nearly identical, except it’s under $100 for life — even if you upgrade your Mac:

• Edit text, swap images, or update links directly inside your PDFs without exporting to another program

• Highlight passages, drop in comments, and use stamps to make collaboration quick and clear

• Merge multiple files into one, split out sections, or rearrange pages to keep documents tidy

• Convert PDFs to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or images — and turn those files back into PDFs when you need

• Fill out interactive forms with just a click and add legally binding e-signatures in seconds

• Protect sensitive content with blackout redactions or erase private details cleanly

• Use OCR to turn scanned documents into searchable, editable text for easier reference

• Enjoy continuous support, bug fixes, and compatibility updates designed for the latest versions of macOS

PDF Expert Premium Plan for Mac gives you all the tools you’ll ever need in one clean package for life. Grab it now for $97.97 until Sept. 30.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

iPhone users are still acclimating to the new iOS 26 look, which includes a massive overhaul of the iPhone's interface and the divisive Liquid Glass design.

But while many Apple heads quickly got the hang of the new icons and animations, and reveled in catchy ringtones, Apple Intelligence upgrades, and dozens of system tweaks, others felt like they had a major mistake.

SEE ALSO: Samsung’s Project Moohan VR headset could launch in October — here’s everything we know

"Will I regret updating to iOS 26?" one X user asked, who then responded to their own post with "Yup." "Apple iOS 26 is absolutely awful. I’ve totally ruined my phone by installing this. I couldn’t be more upset," wrote another. Even users who were into the new look expressed concern about updating as people reported more bugs, hoping to wait out the upgrade until Apple shipped its first fixes to the new operating system.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

So is it possible to go back if you've already taken the plunge? The answer is complicated.

Earlier this year, posts from iOS 26 beta testers showed people clamoring for a way to rollback the update as phones glitched and performance snags got in the way of everyday use, prompting publications and techies to publish multiple guides to resetting their devices. And, as CNET noted in its coverage, WatchOS users found they could not rollback the update at all.

For users on the new, full iOS 26 product, it may be even more complicated.

According to a MacRumors forum post, users who want to downgrade back to iOS 18 will first need to make sure they have a full device backup from the previous iOS, not a backup from iOS 26 — and come to terms with potentially losing all of their data in the process.

From there, user @orsev explained, users will go through a somewhat vexing process of downloading the previous iOS as an .ipsw file using a developer account, restoring their device in a hard reboot, and reinstalling the old iOS using an archived backup.

Tech aficionados will probably have an easier time with this, but for the average user, it may be best to just stick it out until the next major iOS 26 update. In the meantime, you might as well make those lock screens and group chats really cute.

Apple's iOS 26 is here, complete with a new and divisive Liquid Glass design. Users — as usually happens when Apple drops a major visual overhaul — have a lot of thoughts.

Mixed opinions flooded the internet on Liquid Glasses' new elastic animations and semi-translucent app designs, as well as the new dark mode look (which many also struggled to toggle on and off). Some have complained about the readability of text or feeling like screens look overcrowded, while others have leaned fully into new customization options for home screens and group chats.

SEE ALSO: How to create a custom lock screen in iOS 26

Almost immediately, users took issue with a new UX choice that made using Apple's line of products (which many of us have been doing for decades now) less than intuitive: the new location of the device's search bar, which is now squarely at the bottom of the screen instead of the more intuitive top design. Muscle memory be damned.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

You can customize a lot on iOS 26. Users have also come up with quick fixes for some of its other quirks — including taking advantage of Apple's robust accessibility settings to adjust the transparency and movement of apps and unlocking home screens. Unfortunately, the search bar isn't one of them.

Users can choose the location of the address bar in their Safari settings or completely turn off the iPhone's home screen Spotlight Search if they can't bear to look at the iPhone's lower third. But for now, that search bar is stuck on the bottom everywhere else.

How to move the Safari search bar in iOS 26 Total Time

• 2 min

What You Need

• iPhone

Step 1: Go to settings

Step 2: Scroll (or search) for Safari

Step 3: Scroll to "Tabs"

Step 4: Select "Top"

You should see three options for Safari's search bar: Compact (a smaller, centered search bar), Bottom, and Top (the traditional location).

A sneak peek of Google's new Google Home app design reveals that Gemini will be front and center as the company transforms its new products with artificial intelligence. Smart House, you will always be famous.

Google Home v3.41.50.3, a forthcoming app update, includes a significant UI overhaul, according to an exclusive by Android Authority. The app will now feature Gemini and Gemini Live (not Google Assistant) front and center, which allows users to fully automate their Google Home settings using the AI assistant. Simply "Ask Home."

SEE ALSO: Every Apple product announcement we still expect in 2025 and beyond — AirTags, Macs, and HomePod

Users will be able to use the new Ask Home search bar to do just that, and can oversee their preferred devices, automations, and environmental feedback on a revived "favorites" page. Google's also added tiles for expected video and thermometer add-ons. The app comes with fresh icons, cleaner pages, and important privacy disclosures for Gemini Home's data collection, too — keep your eyes peeled.

Google is set to announce a new line of smart products in October, including a new Nest speaker with built-in Gemini, a new Nest doorbell, and a series of Nest cams for a fully rounded smart home setup. In April, Google announced it would be ending support for first—and second-generation Nest Thermostats, which was explained as a necessary move to focus on supporting newer hardware.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

In addition to the hardware upgrades, Google Home users can expect new AI-powered functions and features, such as daily summaries and AI event descriptions, first demoed at the company's Made by Google event in August.

TL;DR: India vs. Pakistan in the 2025 Asia Cup is available to live stream for free on Tamasha. Access this free streaming service from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The 2025 Asia Cup is slowly reaching its dramatic conclusion, with only four teams still in contention to lift the trophy. India and Pakistan have already met in the group stage, but now things are getting serious as they come together in the Super Four.

If you want to watch India vs. Pakistan in the 2025 Asia Cup for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is India vs. Pakistan?

India vs. Pakistan in the 2025 Asia Cup starts at 10:30 a.m. ET on Sept. 21. This game takes place at the Dubai International Stadium.

How to watch India vs. Pakistan for free

India vs. Pakistan in the 2025 Asia Cup is available to live stream for free on Tamasha.

Tamasha is geo-restricted to Pakistan, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Pakistan, meaning you can unblock Tamasha from anywhere in the world.

Live stream India vs. Pakistan in the 2025 Asia Cup for free by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in Pakistan

4. Visit Tamasha

5. Live stream India vs. Pakistan for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free trials or money-back guarantees. By taking advantage of these offers, you can watch the 2025 Asia Cup without actually spending anything. This obviously isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you plenty of time to watch the tournament for free.

If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming services from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for live streaming is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for Tamasha?

ExpressVPN is the top choice for live streaming on free sites like Tamasha, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including Pakistan

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $139 and includes an extra four months for free — 61% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.95 (with money-back guarantee).

Live stream the 2025 Asia Cup for free with ExpressVPN.