Today's NYT Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for May 6, #1417
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
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8 hours ago
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Today's NYT Strands Hints, Answer and Help for July 25 #509
Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles. Today's NYT Strands puzzle is a mix of easy words to find and unscramble and one whopping long one. But if you know the theme, that word is easy to decipher. If you need hints and answers, read on. I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story. If you're looking for today's Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET's NYT puzzle hints page. Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far Hint for today's Strands puzzle Today's Strands theme is: Step to it! If that doesn't help you, here's a clue: Boogie shoes. Clue words to unlock in-game hints Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle's theme. If you're stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work: HOGS, RICE, RICER, MUSE, CHAT, CHATS, GRAM, PANT, COAT, COATS, PARS, CARS, LASS, CLASS, CLASSY Answers for today's Strands puzzle These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers: MUSIC, COSTUME, RECITAL, TEACHER, CHOREOGRAPHY Today's Strands spangram The completed NYT Strands puzzle for July 25, 2025, #509. NYT/Screenshot by CNET Today's Strands spangram is DANCECLASS. To find it, start with the D that's five letters down on the far-left row, and wind up and over.
CNET
9 hours ago
- CNET
One of the Rarest Pokemon in History Is Coming to Pokemon TCG Pocket
No honest person can resist the attraction of Pokemon Gold. That's why Pokemon TCG Pocket's Wisdom of Sea and Sky expansion set is going all in on generation two when it arrives on July 29. This set will be one of the game's larger offerings, featuring more than 200 cards. I'm sure that has the most ravenous collectors breathing a sigh of relief, since the past two expansions -- Eevee Grove and Extradimensional Crisis -- have both had smaller complimentary card lists to build on Celestial Guardians' generation seven theme. Read more: Every Free Pokemon Code and In-Game Item From Pokemon Presents July 2025 Though the full card list isn't available yet, we know Wisdom of Sea and Sky's chase cards will be generation two's legendary birds Ho-Oh and Lugia, while the addition of Umbreon and Espeon Ex variants will add more options for Eevee decks. Generation two starters and baby Pokemon like Togepi and Pichu are also prominently featured in the base set, which is a fun nod to the series' introduction of pocket monster breeding. Most importantly of all, the new set introduces one of the most important -- and rarest -- Pokemon ever. Gold and Silver's elusive raging sea monster was the first shiny Pokemon most trainers ever saw, changing forever how a number of players (including myself) would interact with the series. Red Gyarados is a generation two icon. It's the first shiny Pokemon most young trainers ever saw in-game. DeNA/Screenshot by CNET The hunt for the red Gyarados begins In the remote northern areas of the Johto region, you can find the Lake of Rage. This is the home of one of the rarest Pokemon alive: a Gyarados that's become a local legend with its different hue and particularly bad anger issues. The red Gyarados was the perfect addition to generation two: It served as an implicit explanation of shiny Pokemon, which were a new feature in the mainline Pokemon games, while also giving players a special, powerful monster to add to their team. It's a formative moment for anyone who picks up and plays Pokemon for the first time, and it's one of the best hooks to explain the appeal of the franchise nearly 30 years after its introduction. Pokemon TCG Pocket's initial generation two set paying homage to the red raging sea beast makes a ton of sense in this regard, and it's indicative of thoughtful set design from developer DeNA. Red Gyarados doesn't look like it'll be all that powerful in the mobile game, but the beautiful (and bombastically glittery) card art will endear it to many trading card collectors. If you miss out on one of the generation two starter Pokemon in the new expansion pack, the new trading system will make it easier than ever to swap with a friend. DeNA/Screenshot by CNET Pokemon TCG Pocket's trading system gets overhauled Say bye-bye to your trade tokens, because the mobile trading card game is getting a complete trading system overhaul soon. The changes to player trading will arrive July 29, launching concurrently with the Wisdom of Sea and Sky expansion set. As trade tokens are phased out of the game, you'll have the opportunity to convert this obsolete currency into pack hourglasses and stardust. This trade-in will be available for one year, so there's no rush to dump your tokens immediately -- just don't forget to get your value's worth. You'll still need to spend in-game currency to make a trade, but now you just have to spend stardust -- this is what you spend to unlock flairs that activate when you play your Pokemon in battle. Whereas there were very few ways to earn trade tokens, you earn stardust every time you open a card pack, making this a much more accessible resource. Since you'll need more stardust than ever to consistently trade with your friends, developer DeNA is doubling the amount you gain when you pull cards you already have. The mechanic of extra cards being consumed during a trade is also being done away with completely. It was silly that trading put you at a card deficit, so now you'll be able to make one-to-one swaps with other players. A wishlist is being added so you can indicate which cards you want to trade for with purely online friends. Since there's no way to chat with other players in Pokemon TCG Pocket, this will create a way to communicate before sending a trade offer. You can add up to 20 cards to your wishlist at a time. There will still be restrictions on trading that stymie how much I utilize the feature -- the highest rarity cards you can trade are one-star full arts, and new set expansions still have a temporary trade ban applied to them until they've been out for a couple of weeks. It's nice to see DeNA take steps toward making this feature more useful, though, because the original iteration of player trading was so costly and restrictive that it didn't feel worthwhile to engage with it.
CNET
17 hours ago
- CNET
There's No Way a Controller This Good Should Be So Affordable
CNET's expert staff reviews and rates dozens of new products and services each month, building on more than a quarter century of expertise. GameSir Super Nova Multiplatform Controller $50 at Amazon Pros Solid hardware Lots of customization Plenty of pro features Mappable buttons Affordable Cons Mobile app is limited PC app UI needs work No Xbox support GameSir Super Nova Multiplatform Controller $50 at Amazon I've used a lot of GameSir products over the years, and it's gotten to the point where I'm never sure what to expect when they send a new product. It's always hit or miss. The Super Nova is one of the company's hits, and quite likely one of the best controllers it has ever made -- especially in a gaming landscape that's become increasingly competitive. The Super Nova has all the features you'd expect from a solid controller, including many you typically only find on pro-level controllers, plus some fun customization options, all at a price that's much lower than you might expect. What I like about the GameSir Super Nova Jason Cockerham/CNET From a design standpoint, the Super Nova looks and feels a bit like a Nintendo Switch Pro controller, which isn't a bad thing, especially for those of us with smaller hands. I really like the way it feels. I find it more comfortable than most Xbox and other popular controllers. The buttons are nicely tactile, which is surprising for membrane ABXY buttons. Typically, membrane buttons feel mushy and soft, but these are crisp and satisfying. You can even switch the buttons around for playing on Switch or PC, which is a useful feature. At $50, you might not expect the Super Nova to come with many "pro-level" features, but surprisingly it does. For starters, it has Hall Effect joysticks. These are becoming more popular but it's still rare to find them on controllers priced far below $100. There are also two-stage, Hall Effect triggers, so you can mechanically lock the trigger pull for much faster response times. You can even set a digital hair trigger for high-speed games. If you've never used multi-stage triggers on a controller before, they're a game-changer (pun intended). Jason Cockerham/CNET On the back, there are two programmable buttons that you can remap to almost any keypress. You can also get up to a 1000Hz polling rate via the wireless dongle or the included USB-C cable. There's also support for macros and, of course, there's RGB lighting. Compatibility The Super Nova is compatible with PC, Switch, iOS and Android, but switching between them quickly can be annoying. If you're switching Bluetooth inputs, just be prepared that it might take a couple of minutes before everything's ready to go. My favorite feature of the Super Nova is auto-play. Once paired to a device, you can just pick up the Super Nova from the charging station and it will instantly reconnect, waking your device in the process. I can grab the Super Nova and by the time I've sat down in my chair, my Switch is awake, the TV is on and I'm ready to play. You'll quickly get spoiled by not having to manually turn on your console like a Neanderthal. Customization options Jason Cockerham/CNET The entire faceplate is attached magnetically, and GameSir has made several different color options for the Super Nova, allowing you to add your own dash of flair. If you want the white controller and charging stand, however, you'll have to order the "whipped pink" color, but again, you can swap the faceplate out if you prefer. Aside from the magnetic faceplates, there are plenty of other customization options available in GameSir Connect app for Windows. There are also iOS and Android apps, but they don't offer quite as much customization. You'll need to use your PC to fully fine-tune it. GameSir Connect is pretty comprehensive, letting you adjust the trigger stops, joystick dead zones and even the motion control settings if you like using the gyroscope for Switch games. The UI is a little stale, and you can't store multiple profiles for the controller, but overall it works well. The only issue I've seen is that sometimes connecting to the controller wirelessly can be tricky; just use a cable and you'll be fine. Should you buy the GameSir Super Nova? To be honest, there really isn't anything I don't like about the Super Nova. A nitpick might be that the D-Pad is not the best, but it's certainly not bad. I do wish you could store multiple profiles on the controller, and some people might be turned off by the lack of Xbox support, but none of those are deal-breakers for me. CNET Especially when it only costs $50. I personally don't know of another controller on the market that is this good and gives you this many features for so little money. If you want to upgrade your Switch controller with one that also works great for PC and mobile, or if you want a great, inexpensive extra controller for your partner or kiddos, you really can't go wrong with the Super Nova.
