Technologies

I’ve Seen the New Star Wars Villainous Expansion and Ahsoka Fans Are Going to Love It

The new Villainous expandalone has two new Star Wars villains and some unique gameplay features

Disney Villainous and its many iterations have been with us since 2018 and are consistently some of the best board games to give as a gift. The way the constantly evolves and reinvents itself is part of that allure, as well as the branding opportunities that Disney has at its disposal. Star Wars Villainous has been a favorite of mine for a long time — I’m a huge Star Wars nerd, born on Star Wars Day — and playing as the villains of the Star Wars universe is always fun.

The latest expandalone to the base Star Wars Villainous game is on its way this summer, July 21 to be exact. It’s called Star Wars Villainous: Cold Tactics, and it brings two new baddies for you to play: Count Dooku and Grand Admiral Thrawn, who gets the honor of being the box art. Preorders are now available at Target if you’re already sure you want it.

Before we get into more specifics, the word expandalone needs some explaining. Each of the Villainous expansions can be added to the full game, allowing you to pick and choose which villains you want to play in the larger format. They can also be played as two-player standalone games straight out of the box without ever having to own the original game. This gives you some freedom to only buy the villains you want and keep it a two-player game as well.

Cold Tactics adds new win objectives for each of the two villains you can play. Count Dooku needs an active organization at each location in his sector. To do that, you’ll need to defeat Jedi and convince those organizations to go from neutral to active. While we haven’t had hands-on time with the game yet, the images show three Jedi: Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka Tano — technically she’s «no Jedi» but you get the idea — as well as Ventress and Cade Bane as your allies. Having Ahsoka makes sense since the other villain, Grand Admiral Thrawn, is expected to make an appearance in the new season of the Disney Plus show, Ahsoka.

Admiral Thrawn, in all his blue glory, is the main villain of Cold Tactics and has a unique sector board. His objective is to occupy the four main locations on the board by deploying the seventh fleet and by collecting artifacts. Once you’ve occupied those locations, you can flip their tile to the «(occupied)» state. Sabine Wren and Ezra Bridger are the heroes here to thwart you. Your allies include Morgan Elsbeth and Baylan Skoll, both of whom have appeared in the Ahsoka TV show.

Cold Tactics feels like a more, well, tactical game than other iterations of Star Wars Villainous. This shouldn’t be a shock if you’re familiar with Admiral Thrawn. Whether you’ve read his books, enjoyed Star Wars: Rebels, or your only experience with him is from the Ahsoka TV show, you know tactics and strategy are his thing. The need to occupy or control locations is a fun mechanic, and adds a layer of difficulty and forward thinking that’s new to the franchise. Villains’ goals are often more localized — collect eight lightsabers and defeat Luke Skywalker are two from the original game — but both Dooku and Thrawn have much larger ambitions in this new expansion.

Star Wars Villainous: Cold Tactics will be available to purchase from Target on July 21, 2025, followed by Amazon on Aug. 1 and is available to preorder today. The Target box has some exclusive parts, including a pearlescent shine to the Thrawn figure, so if you love exclusive stuff, be on the lookout for that on July 21. If you’re at the UK Games Expo from May 30 to June 1, you can get a sneak peek at the game at the Ravensburger booth.

Technologies

Our Favorite Gaming Keyboard Is Down to Its Lowest Price Ever This Amazon Spring Sale

This Amazon Spring Sale deal slashes a whopping 36% off our favorite gaming keyboard.

If you’re in the market for a gaming keyboard, I know it can get pretty daunting. Between the sheer number of options and varying price points, picking one out is far from easy, especially if you’re looking for a budget-minded option. However, right now, SteelSeries’ popular Apex 3 TKL model is discounted to just $32 as part of the Amazon Spring Sale, a solid 36% drop from its usual $50 price, which makes it one of the most accessible upgrades you can make.

The SteelSeries Apex 3 TKL is easy to recommend, considering how well it balances the basics. It’s a tenkeyless design, which means you’re losing the number pad but gaining more desk space. That can make a big difference if you’re running a compact desk setup.

The typing experience leans towards quiet and comfortable thanks to the whisper quiet switches used here. That makes the keyboard accessible for everyday work as well as gaming. It also bring in features you wouldn’t really expect at this budget price point. You get customizable RGB lighting, dedicated media controls and even IP32 water resistance to protect the keyboard against accidental beverage spills.

The keyboard is our pick for the best gaming keyboard for 2026, which reflects how it performs in real-world use. If you want a full-size layout, the standard Apex 3 is also on sale though the discount runs a bit slimmer. The regular Apex 3 with a full-size number pad can be had for $50, down from its usual $55 price.

CHEAP GAMING LAPTOP DEALS OF THE WEEK

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Acer Nitro V Intel i5 13th Gen RTX 4050 512GB SSD 8GB RAM 15.6-inch Laptop:

$709 (save $41)

Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

Why this deal matters

Priced at $32, the SteelSeries Apex 3 TKL delivers an excellent balance of performance, useful features and a compact design at a price that’s hard to argue with. That $18 discount makes it one of the easiest gaming peripheral upgrades to recommend.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for March 29, #1744

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for March 29, No. 1,744.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle is kind of a funny word, with some unusual letters I don’t often guess. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has no repeated letters.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

Today’s Wordle answer has one vowel.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with C.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends with P.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to a foolish, easily tricked person.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is CHUMP.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, March 28, No. 1743, was AFOOT.

Recent Wordle answers

March 24, No. 1739: BROOD

March 25, No. 1740: WISER

March 26, No. 1741: BEFIT

March 27, No. 1742: IVORY

What’s the best Wordle starting word?

Don’t be afraid to use our tip sheet ranking all the letters in the alphabet by frequency of uses. In short, you want starter words that lean heavy on E, A and R, and don’t contain Z, J and Q.

Some solid starter words to try:

ADIEU

TRAIN

STARE

NOISE

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for March 29, #552

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for March 29 No. 552.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

I immediately spotted the yellow group answers, but thought, no, that’s too easy. Spoiler: It was just that easy. If you’re struggling with today’s Connections: Sports Edition, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Hitting.

Green group hint: Texas teams.

Blue group hint: Goal!

Purple group hint: Play ball!