IT General

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.

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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

A song.

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

CAROL

Hurdle Word 2 hint

Balled up.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 26, 2026 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

FETAL

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Hurdle Word 3 hint

A tropical fruit.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for April 26 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 26, 2026 Hurdle Word 3 answer

MANGO

Hurdle Word 4 hint

Related to sound.

Hurdle Word 4 answer

SONAR

Final Hurdle hint

Exchange.

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

TRADE

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

We're now in the Waxing Gibbous phase of the lunar cycle. This means most of the Moon’s face is lit up at this point, making it especially bright in the night sky. Read on to see what details you can spot tonight.

What is today’s Moon phase?

As of Sunday, April 26, the Moon phase is Waxing Gibbous. Tonight, 73% of the moon will be lit up, according to NASA's Daily Moon Guide.

If you're looking at the Moon with just your naked eye, you should be able to catch a glimpse of the Mare Crisium, Copernicus Crater, and Tycho Crater. If you have binoculars, the Mare Frigoris, Posidonius Crater, and Apennine Mountains should also come into view. And, finally, with a telescope you'll see all this plus the Apollo 17 landing spot, Rupes Altai, and Rupes Recta.

When is the next Full Moon?

The next Full Moon is predicted to take place on May 1, the first of two in May.

What are Moon phases?

NASA says that the Moon completes a full orbit around Earth in about 29.5 days, during which it passes through eight stages. Although the same face of the Moon is always turned toward us, the portion illuminated by the Sun shifts as it travels along its path, producing the familiar cycle of full, half, and crescent shapes. These variations are referred to as lunar phases, and there are eight altogether:

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. (Northern Hemisphere)

Third Quarter (or Last 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.

Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.

Released in August 2025, 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 on to 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 with 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 April 26, 2026

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 April 26, 2026 Easy difficulty hints, answers for April 26 Pips

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

Equal (6): Every domino half in this red space must have 6 pips. The answer is 6-6, placed vertically; 6-1, placed horizontally.

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

Equal (1): Every domino half in this yellow space must have 1 pip. The answer is 6-1, placed horizontally; 0-1, placed vertically.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for April 26 Pips

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

Number (10): Everything in this red space must add up to 10. The answer is 5-2, placed vertically; 5-1, placed vertically.

Number (6): The domino half in this light blue space must have 6 pips. The answer is 4-6, placed horizontally.

Number (3): Everything in this yellow space must add up to 3. The answer is 5-2, placed vertically; 5-1, placed vertically.

Number (6): Everything in this dark blue space must add up to 6. The answer is 3-1, placed vertically; 3-5, placed horizontally.

Number (6): Everything in this green space must add up to 6. The answer is 3-5, placed horizontally; 1-0, placed vertically.

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

Hard difficulty hints, answers for April 26 Pips

Equal (2): Every domino half in this purple space must have 2 pips. The answer is 2-2, placed horizontally; 2-6, placed vertically; and 2-1, placed vertically.

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

Equal (6): Every domino half in this light blue space must have 6 pips. The answer is 2-6, placed vertically; 1-6, placed vertically; 6-6, placed vertically; 6-0, placed vertically; and 6-3, placed horizontally.

Equal (0): Every domino half in this yellow space must have 0 pips. The answer is 3-0, placed vertically; 6-0, placed horizontally; 4-0, placed horizontally; and 0-1, placed vertically.

Less Than (4): The domino half in this dark blue space must have less than 4 pips. The answer is 2-1, placed vertically.

Number (7): Everything in this green space must add up to 7. The answer is 4-0, placed horizontally; 6-3, placed horizontally.

Does Not Equal: Every domino half in this purple space must have a different number of pips. The answer is 4-2, placed vertically.

Equal (1): Every domino half in this red space must have 1 pip. The answer is 0-1, placed vertically; 5-1, placed horizontally.

Equal (5): Every domino half in this blue space must have 5 pips. The answer is 2-5, placed horizontally; 5-1, placed horizontally.

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

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

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.

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SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for April 26, 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: Disclaimer

• Green: Singer traits

• Blue: Popular TV stars

• Purple: Geminis have two

Here are today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Stipulation

• Green: Vocal characteristics

• Blue: Characters in "Dick and Jane"

• Purple: Things with faces

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 #1050 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Stipulation: CATCH, CAVEAT, FINE PRINT, STRINGS

• Vocal characteristics: PITCH, RANGE, REGISTER, TONE

• Characters in "Dick and Jane": DICK, JANE, MOTHER, SPOT

• Things with faces: BUILDING, CLIFF, CLOCK, POLYHEDRON

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 April 26, 2026

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

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 are easy if you're good at debating.

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 April 26, 2026 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Get into it

The words are related to disagreements.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe bumping heads.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is vertical.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Lock Horns.

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NYT Strands word list for April 26

• Bicker

• Squabble

• Argue

• Lock Horns

• Differ

• Quarrel

• Wrangle

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 a shining star.

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 April 26, 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.

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for April 26, 2026 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

Sheen.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

The letter S appears twice.

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

Today's Wordle starts with the letter G.

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...

GLOSS

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.

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.

SSDs are hardly a new product in this day and age, and yet, they're still the subject of many myths that should have died off around a decade ago. And honestly, that's me being generous.

Bluetooth is a fantastic feature on mobile phones, but if you use it to listen to your favorite tunes regularly, you might notice it sometimes sounds dead, tinny, or just plain bad. The culprit might actually be the default codec your phone is using for Bluetooth.

For those who can actually afford the luxury, a NAS can be a great addition to their setup. But in addition to serving storage and network functions, a NAS can also be a great option to breathe some new life into your PC. Here's how.

I've owned a few soundbars over the years, most with a subwoofer, and they always felt like the right choice. They look clean, save space, and sound decent enough at first. But after going through three different setups, I realized I didn't actually like how they sounded. No matter the brand, they all felt a little thin and, at times, lifeless. I tried swapping in better subs to fix it, but it never really got me where I wanted.

Three-row family SUVs are expected to do everything; carry passengers comfortably, handle long road trips, keep running costs manageable, and remain dependable for years. Finding one that checks every box without becoming too expensive can be difficult, especially when fuel economy starts to matter as much as space. One hybrid Toyota stands out by delivering all of those priorities in a single package.

If you think your homelab is complete with just one NAS—think again. I run multiple NAS servers in my homelab, and it’s actually improved my workflow and homelabbing experience way more than I expected. Here’s why you should run more than one NAS in your homelab.

For a long time, my YouTube Music Premium subscription felt like something I rarely used since it was tied to the subscription I have for NotebookLM. However, I never made it part of my daily routine. The whole experience felt separate from the kind of smooth, personalized audio I really wanted for my commutes, workouts, and workdays. My initial disinterest has completely changed thanks to the features that convinced me to use the full potential of my subscription. Look through these, and you might find a reason to cancel Spotify.

Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 DNS server is popular for its speed, reliability, and support DNS over HTTPs (DOH), which gives you some added privacy. However, 1.1.1.1 doesn't do much besides lookup IP addresses for you. If you want something that offers additional security, you should try 1.1.1.2 instead.

I've owned Sonos speakers for several years and lived through the horror of the Sonos app overhaul. I've used Home Assistant for a similar length of time, and I only just realized how well the two work together.

A new ouroboros in the tech world has emerged: There's now an AI tool to "undo" AI writing.

Sinceerly is a Google Chrome extension to edit AI-generated (or human-written) emails. The aim is to add in errors that are typically scrubbed away with AI tools and change some of the obvious AI text "tells," like the phrase "not just X, but Y." Em dashes fall into the latter category, too — but as a longtime writer, I'm fond of them and abhor how it's apparently become a signal of AI. Regardless, Sinceerly will kill the em dash, as it states on its website.

SEE ALSO: Claude can now connect with Spotify, Uber, and a lot more apps

The tool has three modes: subtle, human, and CEO. Each render text more and more casual, where "CEO" mode doesn't even have correct punctuation but does tack on "Sent from my iPhone," of course.

Sinceerly is free for three email rewrites and works within Gmail. But if you want to pay $4.99 per month, you get unlimited rewrites, can switch instantly between modes, and can cache results so you can reopen them instantly.

Ben Horwitz, an investment partner at venture capital firm Dorm Room Fund, created Sinceerly, according to the website.

The concept of using AI to generate text, only to have another AI tool make it sound more human, is pretty absurd, but it might be a perfect encapsulation of popular opinion towards AI-generated copy in 2026. (Last month, major publisher Hachette dropped the novel Shy Girl due to allegations that it was AI-generated and/or poorly written.)

It might just be easier to — gasp — write text yourself.

Google made a lot of lofty claims about how Gemini for Android Auto was going to make driving better. It’s been a few months now since it rolled out, and one complaint keeps popping up: Gemini talks too much. Let’s fix it.

Vim normally shows basic information at the bottom of the screen, including the file name and the current line number. But the statusline takes this concept much further, with more information available using several built-in variables.

The sheer number of extensions for VS Code can be so overwhelming that even veteran users get lost searching for what they need. Let me show you how to take your coding experience to an entirely new level with ten VS Code extensions I just can’t live without!

Are you looking at Raspberry Pi projects, thinking that you need a Raspberry Pi to do them? Chances are, you don’t. Here are three Raspberry Pi alternatives that are better than a Raspberry Pi in most cases and cost the same (or less).