Technology

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

Admission.

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

ENTRY

Hurdle Word 2 hint

Clear.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for June 29, 2026 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

CRISP

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Hurdle Word 3 hint

Smack.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for June 29 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for June 29, 2026 Hurdle Word 3 answer

SPLAT

Hurdle Word 4 hint

Discovered.

Hurdle Word 4 answer

FOUND

Final Hurdle hint

Crown.

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

TIARA

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

"It's our house, man."

Matt Smith declares the Targaryen energy of House of the Dragon Season 3, episode 2, as Mashable tasked the cast with unpacking the episode's biggest moments. And there are many of them.

As Team Black march back into the Red Keep, and Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) finally stares down the Iron Throne, episode 2 sees the major players of Westeros making monumental moves. In the video above, House of the Dragon stars D'Arcy, Smith, Olivia Cooke, Fabien Frankel, Steve Toussaint, Abubakar Salim, Ewan Mitchell, Gayle Rankin, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Clinton Liberty, Tom Bennett, and Kieran Bew give us an insight into the chaos.

"The episode was just amazing on the page, and very, very electric, and so I certainly wanted to meet the bar that was set by Sara [Hess], Ryan [Condal], and the team," D'Arcy told Mashable. "But I think my instinct was that this is where a political family, one's personal and political lives being so enmeshed, can be so fruitful, because some of the personal/professional boundaries that [Rhaenyra] has to cross in order to take her her place and to take her crown are important identity thresholds.

"I wanted it to feel like a moment of personal reckoning, and I wanted to trouble the journey to the throne so much that by the time she gets there, the anticipated triumph is robbed in that moment, and that actually there's something very sparse about it, especially under the gaze of Alicent, her former friend."

House of the Dragon Season 3 is now streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.

Team Black supporters, rejoice! Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) has the Iron Throne, and King's Landing with it.

SEE ALSO: 'House of the Dragon' Season 3: How does Rhaenyra's conquest of King's Landing compare to the book?

The momentous victory comes at the end of House of the Dragon Season 3, episode 2, when Rhaenyra, Daemon (Matt Smith), and the rest of Team Black's dragonriders descend upon King's Landing. Thanks to her many dragons and Alicent Hightower's (Olivia Cooke) help from the inside, it's not long before Rhaenyra wins the world's bloodiest game of musical chairs and sits atop the Iron Throne.

The entire Fall of King's Landing sequence plays out similarly to how it does in George R.R. Martin's Fire and Blood, with a few exceptions, of course. Among the biggest is Rhaenyra's first interaction with the Iron Throne during her coronation.

In the book, the Iron Throne slices and dices Rhaenyra when she sits on it for the first time. According to an eyewitness account from Septon Eustace, she leaves the throne room with blood running down her legs and palm. That can only mean one thing: The Iron Throne has rejected her, and her rule won't last long.

In House of the Dragon, though, Rhaenyra leaves the Iron Throne cut-free. (She is, however, traumatized by having to behead Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), so it's not a pleasant seating experience either way.) The omission of the cuts could come down to the show's source material. Fire and Blood is written as a historical account, so everything we're reading is filtered through biased, perhaps even unreliable sources. Septon Eustace is one such source. He supports Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) over Rhaenyra, and if anyone were going to embellish Rhaenyra's coronation in a way that delegitimizes her rule, it would be someone like him.

By ignoring Eustace's account, House of the Dragon firmly legitimizes Rhaenyra's rule instead, a choice that tracks with the its very sympathetic portrayal of her. (House of the Dragon has previously brought up the idea of the Iron Throne rejecting rulers in the past, though, as the throne did cut Viserys (Paddy Considine) during his reign.)

However, the series also alludes to book Rhaenyra's experience with the Iron Throne in a clever way. Her first moments on the Iron Throne are reflected in the pool of blood left over from Otto's execution, hinting at the bloodshed that led her to this moment, as well as all the bloodshed to come. After all, we're only on episode 2 of Season 3. There are so many more episodes left for things to go wrong; we don't need a cut from the Iron Throne to let us know things are only going to go south from here.

House of the Dragon Season 3 is now streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes premiering Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.

No matter where you stand in the Game of Thrones versus House of the Dragon debate, there's one area where the prequel series trounces the original, and that's its treatment of sexual violence.

SEE ALSO: 'House of the Dragon' review: Season 3 atones for the sins of Season 2

Onscreen sexual violence was a constant from Game of Thrones' very first episode, in which Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa) raped Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) on their wedding night. From there on out, scenes of sexual assault became a disquieting norm. Several consensual encounters in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels were turned into non-consensual ones in the show, including Jaime Lannister's (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) rape of his twin sister, Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), in Season 4. At times, Game of Thrones even used a woman's assault as a vehicle for a male character's development. The show's depiction of Sansa Stark's (Sophie Turner) rape at the hands of Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon) became less about her traumatic experience than about Theon Greyjoy's (Alfie Allen) reaction to it. (Sansa does not even cross paths with Ramsay in the novels.)

In showing these scenes of sexual violence in graphic detail, Game of Thrones hoped to hammer home the brutality of Westeros. But House of the Dragon proved that you don't need explicit scenes of assault to emphasize the harsh realities women face in the series (and by extension, the medieval period on which it was based). Aside from one upsetting but brief scene of marital rape between Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) and young Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey), House of the Dragon has shown far more restraint than its predecessor when it comes to portraying sexual violence. Instead, it focuses on the patriarchal systems that cast doubt and inferiority on women like Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) and Alicent (Olivia Cooke), which in turn foster violence.

SEE ALSO: 'House of the Dragon' Season 3: How does Rhaenyra's conquest of King's Landing compare to the book?

However, a scene in House of the Dragon Season 3, episode 2 threatens to derail that restraint and launch the series down a slippery slope towards Game of Thrones' worst tendencies.

In the scene, Master of Laws Jasper Wylde (Paul Kennedy) accosts Alicent, believing her to be a traitor to the Iron Throne. He then attempts to rape her, falsely assuming she would be willing due to her prior sexual relationship with Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel). Thankfully, Maester Orwyle (Kurt Egyiawan) intervenes not too long into the attack, and the scene is nowhere near as graphic as anything we've seen in Game of Thrones. Still, Alicent's extended struggle set off alarm bells that any Game of Thrones viewer is all too familiar with. For a moment, it looked like we were about to watch yet another unnecessary Westeros-set rape.

"Unnecessary" is truly the best way to describe the scene. Alicent's assault is not in House of the Dragon's source material, Martin's Fire and Blood. Nor does it wind up having any further bearing on the episode, besides terrifying Alicent as she tries to ensure Rhaenyra's safe passage to the Red Keep. You know what else could have established that fear? The simple fact that Jasper already suspects her plans! There was absolutely no need to escalate to threats of sexual violence. Possibly losing her head as a traitor to the crown should be frightening enough, yet House of the Dragon seems to believe that the only way it can truly raise the stakes for Alicent is by putting rape on the table. (The show has already put her through enough sexually, between her marital rape, Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) fetishizing her feet, and her own son, Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), giving her a non-consensual kiss.)

Alicent's assault isn't the only troubling moment of sexual violence to appear in House of the Dragon Season 3. In episode 1, Ser Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox) witnesses a frightened, half-dressed woman leaving a soldier's tent. He informs Criston that their troops are hurting women and should be punished for their crimes, to which Criston responds that they'll all be reduced to their base animal instincts soon enough thanks to the war. The scene is meant to establish their opposing outlooks: Gwayne hopes to hold fast to order and any last modicum of knightly honor, while Criston embraces apathy. Yet the show fails to consider the victim who sparked this conversation. She's a nameless entity whose trauma exists solely to fuel Gwayne and Criston's differences. Her rape is as good as window dressing for House of the Dragon's purposes, and that is a severe step back for a show that has previously not relied on sexual violence as a crutch for shock value.

Rape should not be a world-building tool. It took five seasons and a loud uproar over Sansa's assault for Game of Thrones to truly understand that. While the series scaled back its portrayals of sexual violence in Season 6 and beyond, that unfortunate legacy still lingers over the franchise, including in Game of Thrones spin-off A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. In the show's first few scenes, Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey) rehearses being a knight by telling an imaginary assailant to "stop raping." In a vacuum, it's a funny moment, but it also feels like an acknowledgement of Game of Thrones' over-reliance on rape as a plot device. If only House of the Dragon would listen.

House of the Dragon Season 3 is now streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes premiering Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.

If you have experienced sexual abuse, call the free, confidential National Sexual Assault hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673), or access the 24-7 help online by visiting online.rainn.org.

You can see why people talk about Harrenhal being cursed.

Not only is the place a spooky, ruined husk of a castle, but it's now been invaded by both Team Black and Team Green since the Dance of the Dragons began.

Daemon (Matt Smith) conquered it back in House of the Dragon Season 2, and now Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) has done the same thing. But what do their very comparable, but also very different, conquests of the castle reveal about them? Actually, quite a lot.

SEE ALSO: 'House of the Dragon' Season 3 family tree: How the Targaryens, Velaryons, and Hightowers connect What happens in Harrenhal in Season 3, episode 2?

Fresh from kissing his own mother (heave), Aemond flies in to Harrenhal on the back of Vhagar and immediately starts burning soldiers. He dismounts, kills a few more people, then bursts in on poor old Ser Simon Strong (Simon Russell Beale) and his children eating supper.

"Draw your sword," hisses Aemond.

"Your grace, I have no sword," responds sweet Ser Simon.

"Then get one!" says Aemond.

Ser Simon, now in peak charm offensive mode, gets up from the table and slowly walks towards Aemond, telling him he does not wish to oppose him. But the minute he's face-to-face with Team Green's drama king, he gets a dagger in the belly.

Aemond then kills both of Ser Simon's sons, but not before he gets a knife in the back himself.

Featured Video For You 'House of the Dragon': Everything you need to know in 2 minutes What does this second Harrenhal invasion tell us about Aemond?

The scene in episode 2 has multiple similarities to Daemon's invasion of Harrenhal back in Season 2, episode 3. Like Aemond, Daemon also flies in on his dragon and faces minimal opposition (even less, in fact — there's just one guard who he quickly knocks out cold before reaching the dining hall).

The difference? When Ser Simon Strong immediately surrenders, Daemon doesn't needlessly slaughter him. He accepts his offer and stays in the castle.

Credit: Ollie Upton / HBO

Aemond and Daemon are both undoubtedly fierce warriors. But their parallel Harrenhal sieges show a key weakness in Aemond's character: Either because of a deep mistrust of people, a ruthlessness, or some combination of the two, Aemond makes a mistake in killing Ser Simon. In return for his restraint, Daemon gets supper, while Aemond's aggression only gets him gravely injured.

House of the Dragon Season 3 premieres June 21 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max, with a new episode every Sunday.

For all things House of the Dragon, Mashable has you covered.

After 20 episodes, several bloody battles, and the death of two sons, Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) has finally done it. She's taken the Iron Throne of Westeros.

SEE ALSO: 'House of the Dragon' Season 3 family tree: How the Targaryens, Velaryons, and Hightowers connect

The victory comes at the end of House of the Dragon Season 3, episode 2, which sees Rhaenyra and Daemon (Matt Smith) crash King's Landing on dragonback and take the Red Keep by storm. It's a massive development in both the show and its source material, George R.R. Martin's Targaryen history Fire and Blood. However, just like with episode 1's gargantuan Battle of the Gullet, House of the Dragon makes several changes when translating Rhaenyra's triumph to the screen.

From Alicent Hightower's (Olivia Cooke) new involvement to her father Otto's (Rhys Ifans) demise, here are all the biggest differences between House of the Dragon and Fire and Blood's takes on the Fall of King's Landing.

Alicent is behind the Fall of King's Landing in House of the Dragon. Olivia Cooke and Phia Saban in "House of the Dragon." Credit: Ollie Upton / HBO

House of the Dragon's biggest change to the Fall of King's Landing has been in the works since the Season 2 finale, when Alicent came to Dragonstone to strike a deal with Rhaenyra. She told Rhaenyra that once Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) flew to Harrenhal, she would be free to take King's Landing, along with Aegon II's (Tom Glynn-Carney) head. Alicent would even tell the soldiers to stand down, and in return Rhaenyra would let her, Helaena (Phia Saban), and Jaehaera go free. This deal is all completely new to the show, and the same goes for the deal's execution in Season 3, episode 2, as Alicent keeps her word.

In the book, the end result is the same: Alicent surrenders the city. However, she does so under duress. Rhaenyra offers her the choice between giving up her life and giving up King's Landing, and obviously, Alicent chooses to stay alive.

Gwayne straight up dies in Fire and Blood. Freddie Fox in "House of the Dragon." Credit: Theo Whiteman / HBO

Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox) might not like slumming it in the Riverlands with Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), but he should be thankful he's not around for the Fall of King's Landing. If he were, he'd likely meet his Fire and Blood fate: death at the hands of City Watch commander Luthor Largent (Tom Cullen).

SEE ALSO: 'House of the Dragon' Season 3, episode 1: Criston Cole and Gwayne Hightower are worlds apart

In the book, Gwayne is second in command of the gold cloaks, and he wants to sound the alarm on Rhaenyra's arrival. Luthor, still loyal to Daemon for creating the City Watch, puts an end to it by stabbing him. However, show Gwayne gets to live another day.

Otto Hightower's execution looks different in House of the Dragon. Rhys Ifans in "House of the Dragon." Credit: Ollie Upton / HBO

While Gwayne escapes his Fire and Blood death, his father Otto is not so lucky. Like in Fire and Blood, he is the first person to be beheaded during Rhaenyra's reign.

House of the Dragon does alter some elements of Otto Hightower's execution, though. For starters, it comes right after his release from the prison cells below King's Landing, which is where Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) has apparently been keeping him since halfway through Season 2. Otto avoids any prison time in Fire and Blood.

SEE ALSO: I saw 'House of the Dragon's Jace Velaryon DJ his own funeral

House of the Dragon also fleshes out Otto's death by having Daemon encourage Rhaenyra to take his head herself. (The book does not describe his execution in any detail.) It's a brutal moment that sees a still-grieving Rhaenyra continue the cycle of violence that has plagued Westeros since the start of the Dance of the Dragons. It also bodes very ill for her relationship with Alicent, who's escorted back to the Red Keep just in time to see her former friend standing over her dead father's body. Not quite how you imagined the day would end, right, Alicent?

Aegon II flees during Rhaenyra's invasion in Fire and Blood. Matthew Needham and Tom Glynn-Carney in "House of the Dragon." Credit: Theo Whiteman / HBO

Part of Alicent and Rhaenyra's deal was that Rhaenyra would get to take Aegon's life. In the show, he's already far from King's Landing, but in Fire and Blood, he makes his escape during the Fall of King's Landing itself. He doesn't go alone: He takes his children Jaehaera and Maelor (who does not exist in the show), along with Kingsguard members Willis Fell and Rickard Thorne.

Rhaenyra doesn't get sliced by the Iron Throne in House of the Dragon. Emma D'Arcy in "House of the Dragon." Credit: Ollie Upton / HBO

While Rhaenyra winds up on the Iron Throne in both House of the Dragon and Fire and Blood, the show leaves out a pretty major detail about her first time on Westeros' most famous chair. In Fire and Blood, the Iron Throne cuts her legs and palm, suggesting that it has "spurned" her and that she won't sit atop it for long. House of the Dragon leaves this out entirely, perhaps choosing not to play into the legend of the Iron Throne rejecting unworthy rulers. (Or choosing to emphasize that Rhaenyra is truly worthy.) However, the show has set a precedent for the Iron Throne cutting people in the past, with Viserys' (Paddy Considine) many festering wounds throughout Season 1.

But just because House of the Dragon's Iron Throne didn't cut Rhaenyra doesn't mean she's in for a smooth reign. Based on the trailer for the rest of Season 3, she's going to face the challenge of winning the realm back to her side, as well as contend with the forces of Ormund Hightower (James Norton). She may officially be Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, but there's still plenty of Season 3 left for things to go wrong.

House of the Dragon Season 3 is now streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes premiering Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.

If you can hear the sound of screeching angst on the wind, that's no rogue dragon. That's me, after watching House of the Dragon's latest episode.

Season 3, episode 2 of the HBO series features the loss of one of my favourite characters in Westeros, at the hands of one of the most diabolical. We're used to character deaths by now — this is the Game of Thrones universe — but this death in particular need not have happened. Nay, should not.

I'm talking about Aemond Targaryen's (Ewan Mitchell) cold-blooded slaying of Ser Simon Strong (Simon Russell Beale). And yes, Mashable asked Mitchell about it.

SEE ALSO: 'House of the Dragon' Season 3: Sharako Lohar one-liners, ranked What happens to Ser Simon Strong in House of the Dragon? Vale, Ser Simon Strong (Simon Russell Beale). Credit: Ollie Upton / HBO

The most patient man in the Seven Kingdoms and a stealth MVP of House of the Dragon Season 2, Ser Simon has been putting up with Targaryen bravado for an age. As Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) stomped through seized halls and tripped balls nightly last season, the Castellan of Harrenhal remained a paragon of diplomacy — even making sure Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) wasn't usurped by her own uncle-husband.

Strong pledged fealty to Rhaenyra in Season 2, so he's technically a direct enemy of Aemond's, who's next in line for his brother Aegon II's (Tom Glynn-Carney) throne. However, when Aemond strides into Harrenhal, with his dragon Vhagar happily barbecuing up the small number of soldiers stationed in the crumbling castle, Ser Simon is yet again hospitable to a gate-crashing Targaryen.

Called to duel for the castle by the prince regent, Ser Simon simply hands the keys over instead of taking up arms. "I do not wish to oppose you; I have not wielded a blade these many years," he says. Strong makes the unwise decision to try and reason with Aemond, even putting a hand on his shoulder to seal the peace deal. It doesn't work. Aemond murders the unarmed Ser Simon and his sons (but not before one of them gets a cheeky stab in).

"I'm innocent, man. He came to me!" - Ewan Mitchell

Reader, I flipped the proverbial table. Not this delightful Harrenhal Santa, this provider of post-battle wine, this constant source of acquiescence to punk princes. Aemond's no stranger to eliminating those in his way — whether he intends to or not — but murdering my gracious Westeros grandfather at his own table is too far. Worse than pashing your own mother.

"I'm innocent, man," Mitchell told Mashable. "He came to me!"

Asked why Aemond demands Ser Simon pick up his sword, Mitchell said Aemond's aim is clear.

"It's just to give him a fair fight, or just be like, look, go out on your sword, as opposed to, you know..." he said. "Because I think Aemond goes into that room with the intention he's going to wipe out everyone in it, and he does until [Alys] shows up."

Featured Video For You 'House of the Dragon' cast on Season 3's colossal Battle of the Gullet Who's even left in House Strong?

Aemond's Strongicide means big trouble for the Strong family's legacy. This noble Riverlands family's days are numbered. Ser Simon and his sons are now slain. Harwin Strong (Ryan Corr) and his father, Lord Lyonel Strong (Gavin Spokes), died in a fire. Harwin's bastard sons with Rhaenyra are both dead, so all we have left is... the diabolical master of whisperers, Larys Strong (Matthew Needham), who commissioned the fire that killed his father and brother. He's currently on the World's Worst Road Trip with Aegon II, in enemy territory where everyone seems to want their heads.

Now, my question for the room. Will Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin), who showed up after the slaughter of the Strongs, help this murdering brigand, Aemond? Should she? I, for one, might leave him on the floor for a bit.

House of the Dragon Season 3 is now streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.

House of the Dragon can't get enough of a good prophecy.

We've already had a number of these courtesy of Helaena (Phia Saban), but there's one big central prophecy that things keep coming back to. We're talking, of course, about the Song of Ice and Fire dream that Aegon the Conqueror himself had, and which Viserys (Paddy Considine) told young Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) about back in the show's very first episode.

We're now a few seasons on from that moment, but the prophecy continues to hang over our central characters like a shadow. So, how did it rear its head in episode 3, and what does it mean? Let's recap.

SEE ALSO: 'House of the Dragon' Season 3 family tree: How the Targaryens, Velaryons, and Hightowers connect How does the prophecy feature in Season 3, episode 2?

The prophecy is mentioned by Daemon (Matt Smith) when he returns to Dragonstone and finds adult Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) bedbound with grief over the death of her son, Jace (Harry Collett).

"I saw it, Rhaenyra. At Harrenhal," he says. "The darkness in the North. The Song of Ice and Fire. I saw a girl with silver hair in a desert far away, and there were dragons at her breast."

He's talking specifically about the visions he had during his time at Harrenhal in Season 2, during which he saw images from the prophecy, along with glimpses of his own role in the story.

For a moment, Rhaenyra remains unmoved. But then Daemon says something that clearly gets through to her.

"But if it is real, what my brother told you... if it were true... what, then, would you do?"

Featured Video For You 'House of the Dragon' cast on Season 3's colossal Battle of the Gullet What prophecy is Daemon talking about?

Hang on a minute. What did Daemon's brother Viserys tell Rhaenyra again, exactly?

Here's a reminder of his speech, word for word, from episode 1:

"Just as Daenys foresaw the end of Valyria, Aegon foresaw the end of the world of men. 'Tis to begin with a terrible winter, gusting out of the distant North. Aegon saw absolute darkness riding on those wings, and whatever dwells within will destroy the world of the living. When this great winter comes, Rhaenyra, all of Westeros must stand against it. And if the world of men is to survive, a Targaryen must be seated on the Iron Throne. A king or queen, strong enough to unite the realm against the cold and the dark. Aegon called his dream the Song of Ice and Fire. This secret has been passed from king to heir since Aegon's time. Now you must promise to carry it and protect it. Promise me, dear Rhaenyra. Promise me."

Looking back on that, it's not hard to see why Daemon's mention of the prophecy — and the fact he's seen it himself in a vision — is enough to persuade Rhaenyra to push on to King's Landing. Back in Season 2, she tells Jace about the prophecy in a way that suggests she has come to believe it. And given that she also believes her father wanted her to be his heir, it follows that she needs to return to King's Landing to carry out Viserys' wishes.

House of the Dragon Season 3 is now streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.

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

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 June 29, 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: Misbehave

• Green: Scarf down

• Blue: Boom boom

• Purple: Natural elements

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

Here are today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Old timey troublemakers

• Green: Consume with gusto

• Blue: Parts of a speaker

• Purple: Ending in parts of a tree

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 #1114 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Old timey troublemakers: MISCREANT, ROGUE, RUFFIAN, SCOUNDREL

• Consume with gusto: CRUSH, GUZZLE, INHALE, SNARF

• Parts of a speaker: CABINET, CONE, MAGNET, WOOFER

• Ending in parts of a tree: EMBARK, GROOT, NUDIBRANCH, STRUNK

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 June 29, 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 a musician.

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 June 29, 2026 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: The mark of a good composer

The words are related to music.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe musical terms.

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 Musical Staff.

NYT Strands word list for June 29

• Bracket

• Accidental

• Measure

• Musical Staff

• Rest

• Clef

• Note

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 all natural.

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 June 29, 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 June 29, 2026 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

Raw.

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 C.

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...

CRUDE

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.

Warning: Contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 3, episode 2.

It's always nice to see a familiar face in House of the Dragon, even if said face is rolling across the floor of the Great Hall minutes after reappearing on our screens.

We're talking, of course, about Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), the former Hand of the King who's had quite the spectacular fall from grace since Season 1.

But what exactly happened to him, and where has he been all this time? It's been a while since we last saw him, so let's recap.

SEE ALSO: 'House of the Dragon' Season 3 family tree: How the Targaryens, Velaryons, and Hightowers connect What happens with Otto Hightower in Season 3, episode 2?

After Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) and Daemon (Matt Smith) stroll into King's Landing to seize control, the latter pays a visit to the dungeons.

"If you would, my prince," says a man holding a torch. "A gift for you, if you ever returned, from Lord Larys Strong."

Daemon follows him deep into the bowls of the Red Keep, then reappears in the Great Hall with a familiar face: Otto Hightower, looking very much the worse for wear.

Otto is brought to kneel before Rhaenyra, and Daemon advises her to behead him in the place of on-the-run Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney).

"If your father could see what it's come to," mutters Otto. "He would never have imagined it."

Otto's final words, before Rhaenyra starts hacking away at his neck? "I did my best..."

Featured Video For You 'House of the Dragon': Everything you need to remember about Season 2 in 60 seconds When did we last see Otto Hightower?

It's been a while, but we did briefly see Otto in the Season 2 finale. Back then, he was already in his jail cell, although at the time we didn't know where he was being held or why.

Prior to last season's finale, we last saw a very different Otto all the way back in Season 2, episode 2. After being fired as Hand by Aegon, Otto told his daughter Alicent (Olivia Cooke) that he planned to leave King's Landing to return to Oldtown. Alicent advised him to go to Highgarden instead so he could stop the Tyrells from "wavering" in their support for Team Green, but it looks like he was waylaid before he could get very far at all.

And finally, now, we know what happened to him: He was captured at the request of Larys Strong (Matthew Needham), who clearly planned to use him in order to buy favor with Team Black, should they ever reclaim power. Sneaky.

House of the Dragon Season 3 is now streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.

A little over a decade ago, SSDs began to drop in price, making them a viable storage option for consumer PCs and offering significantly faster performance than traditional HDDs.

Shared universe franchises have become so commonplace in Hollywood that the format has made its way to television, yet there is one underrated horror franchise that I feel doesn't receive the recognition it deserves. Not only have properties like Marvel and Star Wars successfully bridged the worlds of movie and television like never before, but franchises like The Boys and Star Trek prove that even television properties can become expansive multi-narrative hits. For better or worse, the concept of a shared universe has endured into the 2020s.

Hybrid models have become the default recommendation for anyone looking to save money at the pump. Automakers continue to expand their electrified lineups, and many buyers assume that impressive fuel economy now requires some form of battery assistance.

Documentaries have quietly become one of the most reliable genres to watch on streaming. And whether they're delivering everything from tabloid-worthy court cases and gorgeous concert epics to soaring music biographies and a fish-out-of-water series that shouldn't be good but is, a good doc mixes the best parts of journalism, entertainment, and storytelling.

Storage is one of those parts of Linux that most people only think about when something breaks. You pick a file system during install, trust it with your files, and then forget it exists. It sits under everything: your OS, your home folder, your logs, your downloads, your work, and all the small mistakes you make while changing things. For years, that mostly means one thing: when a file changes, the old data is overwritten by the new data, and you move on.

Not all Android smartwatches are created equal. The Pixel Watch has a few exclusive features that you won’t find on a Galaxy Watch or any other Wear OS device. If you have one on your wrist, you should be sure to know the benefits.

Australia's teen social media ban has been in effect since December, and the government's verdict on how it's going is pretty clear: not well enough.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced this week that Australia will double the maximum penalty for violating its social media minimum age law, raising the fine ceiling from $AUD49.5 million ($US33 million) to $AUD99 million ($US68.2 million). The government is also moving to expand the eSafety Commissioner's powers to compel platforms to hand over evidence of what they're actually doing to keep under-16s off their services.

SEE ALSO: The next social media ban? Austria looks to block kids under 14 from social media

The news comes roughly six months after Australia's Online Safety Amendment Act took effect, banning platforms including Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, X, and YouTube from allowing users under 16 to hold accounts, as Mashable previously reported. More than five million accounts have been removed, deactivated, or restricted since Dec. 10 — but according to Albanese, that's not good enough.

"It is clear that social media platforms are adopting tricks straight out of the big tech playbook and doing the bare minimum to get by," said Minister for Communications Anika Wells in the government's statement.

The eSafety Commissioner is currently investigating potential non-compliance across five platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube.

The new legislation would also extend the Commissioner's reach to third parties like age-verification and app-store providers — closing a loophole that let platforms point fingers elsewhere when their enforcement fell short.

The DC Universe has a new hero, and her name is Kara Zor-El. Supergirl, the second movie in James Gunn's new DCU, is now in theaters nationwide. House of the Dragon's Milly Alcock plays the titular hero, who teams up with a young girl and embarks on a quest for vengeance. The reviews have been mixed, with Alcock garnering praise for her performance, while the story itself has been subject to criticism.