Technologies

Niantic’s Virtual AR Pet Game Peridot Arrives May 9

You’ll be able to take care of your own little virtual companion, from the maker of Pokemon Go.

Pokemon Go game developer Niantic has flexed into a bunch of unusual social gaming experiments on phones: some with walking and Pikmin, some with sleep. A new AR game called Peridot, which casts a virtual pet companion into the real world using your phone, arrives May 9 promising some sort of social connectivity through virtual pet ownership.

Peridot was originally announced last year, and is one of Niantic’s most original AR game efforts. I haven’t played it yet, but the persistent virtual pet experience looks far more casual than some of Niantic’s other more game-like apps. As Niantic continues to explore augmented reality social applications and future AR glasses, it could also be an app that more deeply explores social connection in AR.

Peridot involves raising a «genetically unique» Dot (the name for these magical, colorful pets) that can grow and learn and interact with the world and other people, and eventually you can even create new Dots… it seems? The pets will enter phases of being a teenager and an adult. Do the Dots die? (I don’t know.)

It all seems whimsical and fascinating, and at least promises to be the most interesting virtual pet game since Tamagotchi. Peridot will be available on both Android and iOS, much like other Niantic games. Hopefully we’ll get to check it out soon.

Technologies

Amazon Is Down for Thousands, It’s Not Just You

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for March 6, #999

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for March 6 #999.

Looking for the most recent 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, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is kind of tough. The purple category is a real tricky one. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

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

Yellow group hint: Don’t be a deadbeat.

Green group hint: It hides things.

Blue group hint: A symbol used on social media.

Purple group hint: Keep it together.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Freeloader.

Green group: Concealing cover.

Blue group: Ways one might refer to #.

Purple group: Words for lucidity, in the singular.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is freeloader. The four answers are leech, mooch, parasite and sponge.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is concealing cover. The four answers are blanket, cloak, curtain and layer.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is ways one might refer to #. The four answers are hash, number, pound and sharp.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is words for lucidity, in the singular. The four answers are faculty, marble, sense and wit.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for March 6 #733

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for March 6, No. 733.

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

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle has an unusual topic. Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: That’s dedication.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: I’m cheering you on.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

LORE, REST, RESTS, ROTE, ROTS, STORE, TENT, DOVE, DEVOTE, STEW, LONE

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

STAN, LOVER, DEVOTEE, FOLLOWER, ENTHUSIAST

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is YOURBIGGESTFAN. To find it, start with the Y that’s three letters down on the far-left vertical row, and wind down, up and over.