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Looking for spoiler-free NYT Connections hints or just wondering why Connections is trending today? We've got what you need to understand the clues for today's puzzle without spoiling any of the answers.

Of course, Mashable has also provided daily hints and answers for Connections, Wordle, and Strands for years, so we can help you if that's also what you need.

While we are focused more on meanings than hints in this story, sometimes learning that many of the words have completely unrelated meanings is a clue in and of itself. Connections frequently includes clues that involve words within words and other visual clues.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for October 30, 2026 Flash meaning

A sudden, brief burst of bright light.

Lens meaning

A piece of glass or plastic with curved surfaces used in cameras, eyeglasses, microscopes and telescopes to focus or scatter light.

Shutter meaning

A movable cover for a window.

Viewfinder meaning

A device on a camera for showing the area of the subject to be included in the picture.

Demon meaning

A supernatural entity most commonly viewed as malevolent or evil.

Drape meaning

Long, thick window hangings, usually used in the plural.

Glum meaning

Sad, depressed, disappointed or silently gloomy.

Grange meaning

A farm with a farmhouse and outbuildings.

Backdrop meaning

A painted cloth hung at the rear of a theater stage.

Curtain meaning

A piece of cloth or fabric hung over a window, doorway or space to provide privacy, block or filter light and decorate a room.

Pit meaning

A large or deep hole in the ground.

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Wings meaning

A movable appendage, structure or part used by birds, bats and insects for flight.

Hand meaning

The end part of the human arm used for holding, grasping and touching.

Pillow meaning

A soft, rectangular or square cloth bag filled with soft materials.

Rug meaning

A piece of thick, heavy fabric used as a movable floor covering.

Shade meaning

A cool, dark area sheltered from direct sunlight.

Have you learned the meanings and still want the things? Check out the hints and answers for today's NYT Connections puzzle.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today's puzzle.

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

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 yesterday's Connections.

The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult if you're a theater kid.

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.

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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.

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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 October 30, 2026 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: Lights, camera, action!

• Green: Go to the show

• Blue: Toss it

• Purple: Healthy and sweet

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Here are today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Parts of a Camera

• Green: Around a Theater Stage

• Blue: Throw ___

• Purple: Fruit with First Letter Changed

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 #1237 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Parts of a Camera: FLASH, LENS, SHUTTER, VIEWFINDER

• Around a Theater Stage: BACKDROP, CURTAIN, PIT, WINGS

• Throw ___: HANDS, PILLOW, RUG, SHADE

• Fruit with First Letter Changed: DEMON, DRAPE, GLUM, GRANGE

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

Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today's puzzle.

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

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 yesterday's Connections.

Today's NYT Strands hints will be easy if you're always charged up.

Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game, 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 preferred pace.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for October 30, 2026 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: All charged up

The words are related to voltage.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe powering up.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.

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NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Plugged In.

NYT Strands word list for October 30

• Juice

• Plugged In

• Electricity

• Current

• Spark

• Power

• Energy

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

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 yesterday's Strands.

Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you're easygoing.

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 October 30, 2026 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.

Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

Ride along.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no recurring letters.

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

Today's Wordle starts with the letter S.

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...

SLIDE

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.

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

Meet The Mashable 101: Our list of the content creators shaping the internet today

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 yesterday's Wordle.

Binance may have been hacked. The popular crypto exchange announced a "potential security issue" on Thursday, freezing withdrawals after an apparent hacker drained hot wallets of more than $5.7 billion in cryptocurrency.

The official Binance X account first acknowledged the issue at 5:15 p.m. ET / 2:15 p.m. PT. This came within minutes of reports that digital finance companies Tether and Circle Group had frozen significant amounts of their respective stablecoins in response to a potential hack — specifically about $971 million in Tether and $823 million in USD Coin.

Binance has since stated that a total of $2.54 billion has been frozen, though this number may potentially grow as assets are traced.

"Our teams are aware of reports of a potential security issue and are actively investigating," Binance wrote. "Our security teams are reviewing all relevant information with urgency, and we will provide updates through official Binance channels as soon as we have verified information."

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Few details about the hack have been revealed at this stage. As of writing, the ostensible hacker's wallet currently holds $1.77 billion in Tether, $1.44 billion in Bitcoin, and $1.01 billion in Ethereum, as well as over a billion more spread across other currencies such as USD Coin, Tron, and Solana. 

These assets were reportedly drained from hot wallets: cryptocurrency wallets that are connected to the internet. Compared to offline cold wallets, they are significantly more practical for conducting transactions on exchanges such as Binance. However, they are also less secure.

Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao has stated that it "does look like a hack," but maintained a positive outlook on the situation.

"I don't manage Binance (.com) anymore, but as a shareholder, I expect all user funds will be fully covered," Zhao wrote on X.

In an update at 6:33 p.m. ET / 3:33 p.m. PT., Binance stated that its team was conducting security checks, and attempted to reassure anxious users.

"Withdrawals will resume as soon as the security issue is fully resolved," it wrote. "User funds remain safe."

Binance subsequently announced at 7:06 p.m. ET / 4:06 p.m. PT that it had suspended Binance Alpha trading, which would "resume once the security issue is resolved." Binance Alpha is a platform dedicated to highlighting early-stage crypto projects, which are not yet listed on the Binance exchange.

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I've been obsessed with Docker lately. I've been using it for a lot of things. I've also been getting back into Raspberry Pis over the last year or so. I was talking with a fellow writer here at HTG about different things to do with a Pi 4 in my budget home lab, and we got toDocker containers. I wondered if I could get them to work on this older SBC. It turned out I had some success with the project. It unlocked quite a few cool new ideas.

We all know our phones have become powerful enough to replace PCs, but far fewer of us have actually tried it. Well, I’ve embraced the pocket computer lifestyle, and I’ve tried out many accessories to make this possible — including many types of keyboards. If you picture yourself plopping your phone down on a table in a coffee shop and getting real work done, here’s the kind of keyboard you want.

SAVE $30: As of Oct. 29, Mashable's favorite budget headphones, the JLab JBuds Lux ANC (Jélle edition in Royal Caviar), are on sale for $69.99 at Amazon. That's 30% off their $99.99 list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: JLab JLab JBuds Lux ANC $69.99 at Amazon
$99.99 Save $30   Get Deal at Amazon

If you refuse to spend $350 on headphones just to tune out your coworkers, here’s some good news: Amazon just knocked 30% off the JLab JBuds Lux ANC (Jélle collection in Royal Caviar). That brings them down from $99.99 to $69.99, saving you an easy $30 on a pair our team genuinely loves.

We test piles of headphones at Mashable, and these earned the "best value" spot in our guide to the best pairs under $100. Plus, in our massive roundup of the best headphones of 2026, the JBuds Lux ANC snagged the crown for the best budget headphones.

Our guide lays it out plainly: if you’re a pure "value fiend" who doesn't care to drop hundreds on expensive cans, these more than get the job done. Once you tweak the equalizer in the app (the out-of-the-box settings lean a little heavy on the bass), tracks sound surprisingly clean and separated instead of turning into muffled mush.

SEE ALSO: Early Black Friday noise-cancelling headphones deals are here: Get Sony headphones for under $90

The active noise cancellation won't create a spooky, absolute void of silence like a $400 pair of Sonys, but it easily dampens office chatter, air conditioners, and subway hum. Even better, you can actually adjust the ANC intensity in the app — a feature some luxury brands don't even give you.

And the battery life is almost comical: you get 70 hours of juice, or 40-plus with ANC running. You can pack them for a cross-country flight, use them all week at your desk, and still forget where you left the charging cable because you rarely need it.

$69.99 is the cheapest way to buy yourself peace, quiet, and 70 hours of battery life — grab a pair of the JLab JBuds Lux ANC before this deal sells out.

I’m always on the lookout for ways I can use my 3D printing to make life a little easier, usually for minimal filament cost. I’ve been taking more chances and printing more models recently, but one recent print has proved its worth more than others.

Alphabet stock recorded its worst-ever day on Thursday, dropping 12.29 percent by close of day; Alphabet is the owner of Google, among other companies. The drop came despite the very strong revenue growth Google reported in a Q3 earnings call.

It was the largest single-day drop for Google stock, according to Yahoo Finance, and the decline erased almost $500 billion in value in a matter of hours. Per Yahoo, it was also the second-largest one-day loss ever recorded for a company listed in the United States. The sums involved are truly astronomical.

To put $500 billion in perspective: If you stacked $5 billion worth of $100 bills on top of each other, the resulting tower would rise above the atmosphere and about 90 miles beyond the International Space Station. Or, put it like this: If you spent $1 million every day, it would take you 1,369 years to spend $500 billion.

As one of the world's largest companies by market value, the impact extended far beyond Google, affecting other tech stocks; moreover, the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all experienced losses overall on Thursday, per Yahoo.

Why are the markets so spooked?

Google's third-quarter earnings filing revealed that the company faces significantly more risk than it discussed in its Q3 earnings call, according to Bloomberg. In addition to the more than $1 trillion in future purchase commitments Google faces, Bloomberg reported that Google's quarterly filing listed an additional $98.5 billion in possible commitments. The discrepancy showed just how much exposure Google has if the AI spending spree — which you can imagine as a giant, slowly expanding bubble — fails to deliver.

That's not the only red flag scaring investors, either.

Google also reported negative cash flow for the third quarter. The company reported negative cash flow for the first time last quarter.

Not everyone is pessimistic about Google's stock or the AI spending spree, however. Google did report 25 percent revenue growth, thanks in large part to its cloud services. Google's latest frontier AI model, Gemini 4 Carbon, is also at the top of the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index. And the massive capital expenditures on AI could prove profitable in the long term; the tech industry is clearly betting this is the case.

But as today's sell-off shows, if AI investments don't pay off, that bet would have wide-ranging impacts on the economy at large.

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To end the month, HBO Max is raising the bar in terms of the quality of its content. One of my favorite new movies of the year, The Invite, is now streaming on HBO Max. It's a comedy for adults, a genre that feels like a rarity in today's Hollywood landscape. Speaking of adults, documentaries are a staple for older audiences, and HBO Max has intriguing options.

What is it like to be fucked by a Wicker Husband who looks and sounds like Alexander Skarsgård? Wicker the movie gives audiences a look at this fairy tale experience by following the story of an ostracized but good-humored Fisherwoman (Olivia Colman). Wicker 4DX gives audiences as close to a simulated experience as you get without breaking decency laws. 

It started as a joke. Eager fans popped off on social media about how distributor Black Bear should make a 4DX release happen. Sure, this motion-enhanced format is reserved for action movies like The Odyssey and Godzilla Minus Zero or horror movies like Other Mommy and Resident Evil. But how might this amusement-park-ride-like experience, which includes atmospheric effects like fog, scents, and spritzes of water, enhance Wicker? Well, for one night only, some lucky moviegoers found out. 

SEE ALSO: ‘Wicker’ is getting a 4DX screening. The internet’s imagination is running wild.

I was there. I couldn't resist. And what I got for the ticket price was one of the best theatrical experiences of my life. 

What's Wicker about?  Alexander Skarsgard and Olivia Colman star as Wicker Husband and Fisherwoman in "Wicker." Credit: Black Bear

Written and directed by married couple Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson, Wicker is a fairy tale about love, sex, and marriage. Inspired by Ursula Wills' short story "The Wicker Husband," the film centers on a medieval village where men are named by their professions, and women after their men. So, there's the Butcher, the Baker, and the Tailor's Wife (Elizabeth Debicki). Then, there's the Fisherwoman (Olivia Colman), an old maid mocked for being unmarried and smelling of her trade. 

That is, until she asks the ingenious Basket Weaver (Peter Dinklage) to make her a husband out of wicker. And boy, does he! Meeting her at the chapel on a sunny morning, the Wicker Husband (Alexander Skarsgård) is dapper and kind, and on their wedding night he is hard and soft in all the right ways.

As Mashable's Shannon Connellan noted in her review, Wicker makes a gleeful mockery of the constraints of gender norms, while advocating for making a marriage that suits its partners. So, as Fisherwoman and her Wicker Husband learn to love each other, they become a fascination of the other villagers, who envy or loathe them to dramatic results.

Slight spoilers ahead for Wicker. 

Wicker 4DX is for the girlies.  Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgard star as Fisherwoman and Wicker Husband in "Wicker." Credit: Black Bear

At a 10:30 p.m. showtime on a Wednesday, a female colleague and I entered a theater full of women, along with a couple of men who seemed to be on the arms of their respective girlfriends. There was a giddiness in the air as the audience saddled up in the 4DX seats, which are elevated and robust. 

I hadn't been to a 4DX screening since 2017's Geostorm. And full disclosure, I went hungover, which was a poor choice for 4DX experience, especially for a movie about every natural disaster hitting simultaneously. So, it was with trepidation that I stepped back into these seats. 

Before long the trailers began, and most were an odd pick for this presentation, including two decidedly unsexy Johnny Depp movies (Day Drinker and Ebenezer). The audience grew audibly restless, as jeers and annoyed groans could be heard. Then, the seats tittered. A ripple of laughter traveled across the theater as we all felt it. 

Next came two trailers fitted for 4DX. They were for upcoming action movies, Dune: Part Three and Avengers: Doomsday. In the latter especially, the bucking of the seats was so wild that I couldn't tell you what was happening in the trailer, because I was cackling like a madwoman. 

Then came a flutter of concern. I'd not yet seen Wicker. If the 4DX was this rowdy for the movie as it was for these trailers, would I get to enjoy the movie for what it is? Or would I be distracted by this gimmick? That would not be a problem. The 4DX for Wicker was thoughtfully integrated, and, dare I say, brilliantly so. 

The Wicker sex scenes are wild in 4DX.  Alexander Skarsgard and Olivia Colman star as Wicker Husband and Fisherwoman in "Wicker." Credit: Black Bear

As teased above, there are love scenes between Fisherwoman and Wicker Husband. How does the 4DX handle these scenes? The seats vibrated and bucked, yes, in rhythm with the Wicker Husband's thrusting. It was not just a physically thrilling experience, but a joyfully communal one! 

During the Doomsday trailer, the audience collectively laughed as we kind of calibrated to the 4DX seat-shaking that is its central element. During the sex scenes, there was giggles, guffaws, and gasps. And when the scene climaxed, the audience broke out into cheers and applause. 

More sex scenes would follow. Some between this couple, some between others. When it comes to the more fumbling pairings, the seat act was intentionally more clumsy or jolting, spurring cackles (from myself and others). 

Will Wicker make you wet?

Yes. There's a small bar with holes in it that sits before each seat and sprays a bit of water at certain moments. This happened when it rains in the movie and when a character chucks out a bucket of urine. 

Wait, is Wicker 4DX gross? Peter Dinklage is the Basket Weaver. Credit: Black Bear

No. Yes, the urine gag was a bit gag-worthy. But it's just a bit of cool water, not a stream. And while 4DX has scents, none of them were noticeably foul. There was no odor of urine. And as much as the villagers comment on the fishy smell of the heroine, that is not a scent 4DX chose to share. 

How else does Wicker use 4DX?

What you do smell are things like a swampy forest or a burning fire. These elements are subtle but impactful. As Fisherwoman walks through the forest, the scent of wet grass and a gentle breeze hit you, enhancing the feeling of walking alongside her. 

Likewise, a foggy day is enhanced by a fog machine under the screen. And in a winter scene, a bit of "snow" fell from the theater's ceiling, glittery in the light of the projector. And it was beautiful. 

Otherwise, there's seat jostles for all kinds of action, like a carriage thunking along a dirt road, or a bully getting decked by a wicker basket. 

Wicker 4DX was a wonderful time at the movies.  Alexander Skarsgard and Olivia Colman star as Wicker Husband and Fisherwoman in "Wicker." Credit: Black Bear

First and foremost, this is because Fischer and Wilson have made a moving, funny, and bawdy film that doesn't shy away from social commentary or sex appeal. It attracted a female audience that hungers for romance, and not just sex scenes (though yes, also sex scenes). 

Walking into that theater, it was exciting to see a theater full of women. It was thrilling to hear our laughter rise together. It was cathartic, too. This is a movie about a misfit, judged for her love life (or lack thereof), and how she builds her own brand of happiness, haters be damned. It's a story many of us can relate to. And in joining Fisherwoman on a more immersive level, we were encouraged to react louder than we might otherwise. And there's magic in hearing others in the theater echo your emotions. Even in the dark among strangers, you can feel you are not alone. 

As a film critic, I've seen hundreds of movies in theaters, with all kinds of audiences. Recently, I had the pleasure of experiencing You Can See Everything at the New York Film Festival premiere, where the audience roared with laughter, gasped in shock, and shouted back at the screen as if Nathan, Liz, and Billy could hear us. I get wistful about revival screenings, like when I saw Lawrence of Arabia on 70mm, and the film burned before our eyes! The night would have been ruined, were it not for an editor in the audience who rose to the occasion. And now, Wicker 4DX will nest among these treasured memories.

Wicker 4DX became a wondrous celebration of female desire, enhanced by shaking seats, but made memorable by the community of women who came out together to relish in romance. 

UPDATE: Oct. 30, 2026, 12:27 p.m. Black Bear has announced that Wicker 4DX will now run for an entire week after the sellout success of its one-night-only screening. It will be showing at 4DX locations across the U.S., with tickets on sale now.

TL;DR: The Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Delta Reign Booster Bundle is on sale for $56.35 at Amazon, down from its $74.99 typical price.

Opens in a new window Credit: The Pokémon Company Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Delta Reign Booster Bundle $56.35 at Walmart
$74.99 Save $18.64   Preorder at Walmart

The Pokémon TCG's Delta Reign expansion is launching next week, and Amazon has once again dropped preorder prices for its six-pack Booster Bundle below $60.

As of Oct. 29, the Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution Delta Reign Booster Bundle is available to preorder for just $56.35 at Amazon, with $18.64 knocked off the standard $74.99 list price. This 25% discount works out to $9.39 per booster pack. This deal comes from third-party seller Kings Games, which has a 98% positive feedback rating over the past year.

Keep in mind that while shipping is free, delivery isn’t estimated until Nov. 14 — meaning you likely won’t get yours until around eight days after release. 

SEE ALSO: The Pokémon TCG Prismatic Evolutions Elite Trainer Box is below market price on Amazon — save $130 with rare deal

You’re getting both a faster delivery time and a lower price than Walmart — where preorders are going for $62.99 for the same box. On the other hand, TCGplayer listings are less costly than listings on both Amazon and Walmart, with prices as low as $43.93, undercutting the $43.94 market price.

Each Booster Bundle contains six packs of ten trading cards, alongside a Basic Energy and Pokémon TCG Live code card per pack. Delta Reign features over 135 cards to collect, with Mega Rayquaza ex leading the expansion alongside other big-name Mega Mevolutions: Mega Golurk ex, Mega Malamar ex, and Mega Golisopod ex.

Let's face it, GPUs aren't cheap right now. If you own one, be it the RTX 5090 or something from 10 years ago, you want to make the most of it. Unfortunate, then, that just one slider can absolutely wreck your GPU performance, but if you check it out, you might be able to turn things around for the better.

Gmail's inbox used to feel like a chore I could never finish. Newsletters piled up, the same questions kept landing in my inbox, and the one message I actually needed was always buried under everything else. But after tweaking a few free Gmail settings, my inbox now handles the repetitive work for me.

Google does a good job of walking you through your phone during the initial setup. From choosing your language and region to copying data from your previous phone and signing in to your Google accounts, the setup process is meticulously detailed and easy to follow. What's not explained explicitly or concisely, however, is the meaning of all those little icons nestled in your Android phone's status bar.

Grand Theft Auto VI is said to take up more than 200GB of space on your PS5 or Xbox hard drive. Thanks to South Park, we now know where some of that data is going.

Matt Stone and Trey Parker's animated sitcom, which is somewhat amazingly still airing new episodes in 2026, took its ripped-from-the-headlines comedic stylings back into the gaming world on Wednesday night. In a scene from the newest episode, the kids learn about GTA 6, which actually includes some new gameplay footage we haven't seen before, not even courtesy of Cyberleek.

Because it's South Park, though, the footage consists entirely of a dog pooping, the protagonist Jason picking up the poop, and Jason hitting an NPC in the face with it.

SEE ALSO: 'GTA 6' soundtrack: Every song, artist, and celebrity DJ we know about so far This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Yes, that is all they showed. As a bonus, it's narrated by Tish Hicks, a voice actress who narrated a gameplay trailer for GTA 5 many years ago, per IGN. According to IGN, Rockstar had previously confirmed that you could use dog poop in this way in GTA 6, and we have seen Jason petting a dog in an earlier clip, but this is the first time we've actually seen this particular mechanic in action.

We reached out to Rockstar to confirm if the dog poop clip was legit, and we'll update this story if the company responds. However, the episode's credits include a Rockstar callout, which suggests the clip is authentic. A snapshot of the credits circulating online includes this message: "Special thanks: Grand Theft Auto VI footage courtesy of Rockstar Games, Inc."

This is far from the first or only time South Park has waded into the zeitgeist around a major video game. There have been plenty of references to gaming on the show over the years, perhaps most prominently in the 2006 episode Make Love, Not Warcraft, which took place largely inside World of Warcraft during the peak of that game's popularity. Maybe Parker and Stone can make a GTA 6 equivalent whenever that game's online mode launches.

In the meantime, you still have time to preorder GTA 6 ahead of its Nov. 19 release.

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Unsurprisingly, audiences are loving Nobody Wants This season 3, one of Netflix's new releases in October. The rom-com starring Kristen Bell and Adam Brody has been a hit across three seasons, and I expect the show to return for a fourth season. If you haven't watched Nobody Wants This, then consider throwing it into your rotation.

There are few things more terrifying to a fanfiction reader than opening Archive of Our Own (AO3) and discovering that the site is down. Except, perhaps, discovering that it could stay down for an entire month.

That's the nightmare scenario currently facing fans and fanfiction connoisseurs after AO3 announced that restoring the site could take anywhere from two to four weeks. And during the final days of Kinktober, no less. The cruelty of it all.

"We estimate that service restoration for #AO3 will take around 2 weeks, but it could be up to 4 weeks," the fan-run archive posted to its status account on X. "We are hopeful that we will be able to bring the site back up in a degraded state sooner."

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In other words, there's a chance AO3 could return sooner with limited functionality. But there's also a chance readers could spend the next month without access to their favorite fics. A month. Without AO3.

Naturally, fans are handling this news with all the grace and composure you'd expect. Which is to say, people are freaking out.

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For the uninitiated, AO3 is a nonprofit, fan-run archive where users can publish and read fanfiction about everything from popular television shows and movies to books, anime, and video games. For many readers, it's also an essential part of their daily routines. It's where they go to unwind after work, escape into a favorite fictional universe, or read one more chapter before bed. (And then another.)

SEE ALSO: Here's where to get your fanfiction fix while AO3 is down

So the prospect of losing access for several weeks isn't exactly being met with enthusiasm. But while some fans are mourning their temporarily inaccessible reading lists, others are springing into action.

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The Heated Rivalry fandom, for example, is already mobilizing. Fans are sharing Google Drive archives of fanfiction, ensuring that readers can still get their fix of Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov even if AO3 remains inaccessible. And honestly, I'd expect nothing less from a fandom where people are reading upwards of 14 million words of fanfiction in a single year.

It's an impressive display of fandom resourcefulness. When the digital library closes, apparently you build another one.

Of course, there's something genuinely sweet about the way fandom communities rally around one another during moments like these. Fanfiction has always thrived on community, whether through recommendations, shared reading lists, or the writers who spend countless hours creating stories for other fans to enjoy.

And while the collective panic is certainly hyperbolic, it also speaks to how deeply fanfiction has become embedded in people's everyday lives. AO3 isn't just a website where people read stories. For many, it's a place of comfort, creativity, and connection.

In the meantime, there's always the option of revisiting those downloaded EPUBs you've been hoarding. You have been downloading your favorite fics, right? Right?!