Technologies

Love ‘Black Mirror’? You Can Play the Actual Game From the Episode ‘Plaything’ Now

The throng needs you.

Netflix launched the seventh season of Black Mirror on Thursday, and alongside it the streaming giant released a mobile game called Thronglets, a tie-in game for the episode Plaything. Thronglets is different from other Netflix tie-in games, like Too Hot to Handle. Thronglets is a game within the Black Mirror universe that’s central to the plot of Plaything, not just a game based on Black Mirror.

By letting people play the game that characters in the series play, Netflix has opened up a new avenue for people to interact with and experience the stories the service is telling. After I watched the episode Plaything and played the game, I thought, «Is this a joke? Where are the cameras?»

The whole experience made me feel uneasy. Surely that’s the point, because I can see myself getting lost in Thronglets. Not to the extent that the main character in Plaything does, but enough to make me heed the push alerts the game sends to my iPhone when the Thronglets ask for help.

Thronglets is a game within Black Mirror that you can actually play

Black Mirror’s episode Plaything is a tragedy that follows the yearslong downward spiral of game journalist Cameron Walker (played by Lewis Gribben and Peter Capaldi). In his younger years, he becomes engrossed with an in-universe, yet-to-be-released game called — you guessed it — Thronglets. We meet Walker years later when he’s recounting to the police how he’s dedicated his life to the game.

The in-episode game was developed by the fictitious game developer Colin Ritman (Will Poulter) and the company Tuckersoft, from the interactive Black Mirror: Bandersnatch movie Netflix released in 2018.

Ritman describes the Thronglets as the first creatures in history whose biology is entirely digital, and these creatures are capable of learning and expanding. This leads to devastating consequences for Walker and those around him.

Netflix’s game mimics that experience, letting you play it and raise a single Thronglet to a vast and expanding society. Thus, you can become engrossed with the digital creatures like Walker does in the show. And the game and episode work together to deliver a deeper storytelling experience.

Here’s how to get started with Thronglets on Netflix Games, and what you should know about the game.

What are Thronglets?

In the game, they’re yellow creatures with a single antenna and large ears who reproduce by mitosis — they split into two whole and complete Thronglets. However, the very first Thronglet is hatched from an egg, and in the game, you have to tap the egg to get it to hatch.

Can you control the Thronglets?

You can’t. As Ritman says in Plaything, «They’re not some obscene puppets like Sonic the Hedgehog.» The Thronglets wander around and interact with things on their own, but you aren’t just watching them in the game.

Thronglets are kind of like Tamagotchis in that they require food, amusement and cleanliness. You provide these things to the Thronglets by dropping digital apples and beach balls onto the screen or scrubbing a Thronglet with virtual soap and sponge.

You can tap on individual Thronglets to see if they need food, amusement or a bath, as represented by three bars labeled Fed, Amused and Clean. If each of these bars is full, the Throng is happy. But if Fed is low, for instance, you can give the Thronglet an apple by dropping one near it, and it’ll eat the apple. Similarly, if Amused is low, drop a beach ball near the Thronglet and watch it kick the ball across the screen for fun.

Sometimes a Thronglet will display a speech bubble with an apple or a beach ball to tell you what it wants. Other times, the Thronglet will appear visibly dirty and in need of a bath. Occasionally, a Thronglet will squat down and seem to cry — which is sad to see, and I just want to give it a hug.

If you don’t meet a Thronglet’s needs, it’ll die, eventually decomposing till there’s nothing left but bones.

The Thronglets can also talk to you. They’ll ask you questions and suggest how you should proceed, such as using Thronglet bones to construct a bridge to another landmass.

Wait… what?

Yeah, it’s a pretty gruesome suggestion. But this leads into another aspect of the game. You’re not only caring for the Thronglets’ basic needs, you’re also teaching them how to behave toward one another.

The Thronglets will ask you questions like, What is power? and, What is love? and you’ll be presented with two responses to choose from. Later in the game, when the Thronglets are beginning to industrialize, they’ll ask you whether they should sleep in their homes as much, or work more. You can respond however you want, but it’s important to remember the Thronglets see you as an all-powerful entity and will do whatever you say.

So when I told the Thronglets not to work so hard and to sleep as much as they needed, they took my advice to heart, resulting in slower resource growth. But they appeared happier.

And that seems to be the result involved with many of the choices the Thronglets present you with — whether you accumulate resources more or less quickly. Most of the options I chose were more peaceful, like not using bones to construct a bridge, and thus resulted in slower production. But those choices never stopped or stalled the game. I tried to pick the kinder approach every chance I got — I can’t bring myself to do an evil run of any game.

Your actions also influence how the Thronglets see you. Once, I accidentally killed a Thronglet with a chain saw when I was cutting down some trees. From that action, a box appeared on the screen to let me know this taught the Thronglets that tools can be dangerous. It’s unclear whether these instances have any effect on the game other than some comic relief, but I still tried to minimize future accidental deaths or workplace mishaps.

After each stage, you’ll see a screen with different stats, like how many Thronglets died. You’ll also see observations the Thronglets made about you during the stage. Once, the Thronglets noted that I taught them Shakespeare — which made my English-major heart very proud.

What’s the goal of Thronglets?

That’s a great question. For me, my goal was to help the Thronglets in whatever way I could. Sometimes that meant building them a theater for entertainment or cleaning up toxic waste and pollution to keep them healthy. Other times, it meant shooting them into the abyss of space or nuking their land so they could progress — I swear, they insisted these were the right things to do.

But since it’s unclear how my choices affected the game and the upbringing of the Thronglets, it’s possible the goal is to get the Thronglets to progress as fast as possible. That would potentially mean making far more Thronglet sacrifices for the greater good.

But like Ritman asks in Plaything, «Why do you need a goal?»

Anything else interesting about the game?

The most interesting thing about Thronglets doesn’t have anything to do with the game itself, but with how Netflix is using different forms of media to tell intertwining stories.

When Netflix released Black Mirror: Bandersnatch in 2018, that was the service’s first step into interactive films — which some people consider video games. The streaming service then pushed into gaming in 2021, and since then it’s turned some of its most popular series, like Squid Game, into mobile games.

But Thronglets isn’t just a game based on a series. Characters in Black Mirror interact with this game, and then we can put ourselves in the characters’ shoes by playing the same game in the real world. The game represents another step in Netflix’s creation of more immersive storytelling through games and other media, not just films and TV series.

When I started playing Thronglets after watching the Black Mirror episode Plaything, I felt weirded out. Interacting with this piece of media that has dire consequences in the show tricked me into thinking I was playing with fire. I know the game is just a game, but it felt like playing was in some way dangerous. I know how irrational that sounds.

I also couldn’t help but feel that while I was playing this game, I was isolating myself from others, like Walker does in the show. Walker begins to neglect the world around him to care for the Thronglets, and I’d spend time playing the game and ignoring the world around me, too. Granted, I didn’t get arrested for the little yellow guys — but I also didn’t take drugs to communicate with them.

The game didn’t make me more sympathetic toward Walker. He was scared of the world and said early in the episode that games are a kind of escapism. Maybe the game and episode are working in tandem to refute that. Maybe they’re trying to say that even if we find solace in games like Thronglets because the outside world is scary, we still might encounter something just as grisly in games, like a bridge made of bones.

I can see Netflix making more game tie-ins like this in the future to deepen the level of storytelling the service offers. And I’m looking forward to whatever the next tie-in is — maybe one of the arcade games from Stranger Things?

Here’s how to access this game, and more

Accessing Netflix Games on iOS and Android devices is a little different. But you have to subscribe to Netflix ($8 a month) for each.

Here’s how to access games on iOS if you’re a subscriber.

1. Download the Netflix app onto your iPhone or iPad.
2. Open the Netflix app.
3. Tap your profile and sign in to your account.
4. Tap Home at the bottom of your screen.
5. Scroll down your homepage until you see the Mobile Games carousel.
6. Tap into a game to learn more about it.
7. Tap Get Game to download a game you’re interested in.

Here’s how to access Netflix Games on Android if you’re a subscriber.

1. Download the Netflix app onto your Android device.
2. Open the Netflix app.
3. Tap your profile and sign in to your account.
4. Tap Games at the bottom of your screen.
5. Tap into a game to learn more about it.
6. Tap Get Game to download a game you’re interested in.

You can also search for games in the Netflix app by tapping the magnifying glass in the top right corner of the app and entering the game’s name.

After you tap Get Game, a pop-up from either Apple’s App Store or the Google Play Store will open, asking if you want to download the game. After you confirm that action, the game will download on your device, like other apps.

For more on Netflix Games, here’s what to know about the first MMO coming to the service, and what to know about playing Hades and the Grand Theft Auto series on Netflix.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, Nov. 22

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Nov. 22.

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

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s a long one, since it’s Saturday, and some of them were tough today. (Two Bee clues?) Read on for the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Moves (over) in one’s seat
Answer: SCOOTS

7A clue: Capital of Taiwan
Answer: TAIPEI

8A clue: ___ Bee
Answer: SPELLING

10A clue: In the style of
Answer: ALA

11A clue: Device with a keypad that’s typed on discreetly, for short
Answer: ATM

12A clue: ___ Bee
Answer: SAMANTHA

15A clue: «Family Guy» baby
Answer: STEWIE

16A clue: Sings in the Alps
Answer: YODELS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Like some clams and freshly cleaned shirts
Answer: STEAMED

2D clue: What an online meeting invite gets added to, for short
Answer: CAL

3D clue: Vinegar’s counterpart
Answer: OIL

4D clue: Morphine and codeine, for two
Answer: OPIATES

5D clue: First inning in extra innings
Answer: TENTH

6D clue: Greek «S»
Answer: SIGMA

8D clue: Full of back talk
Answer: SASSY

9D clue: «Allegory of the Cave» philosopher
Answer: PLATO

13D clue: Wonderstruck feeling
Answer: AWE

14D clue: Nothin’
Answer: NIL

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Nov. 22, #425

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Nov. 22, No. 425.

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.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a diverse one today. As a Seattle resident, I got a kick out of the purple category. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, 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: Gridiron numbers.

Green group hint: The Garden State.

Blue group hint: Guarding against scores.

Purple group hint: DC, or the Evergreen State.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Football defensive stats.

Green group: Teams that play in New Jersey

Blue group: US soccer goalkeepers.

Purple group: Washington ____.

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

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is football defensive stats. The four answers are hurry, interception, sack and tackle.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is teams that play in New Jersey. The four answers are Devils, Giants, Gotham and Red Bulls.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is US soccer goalkeepers. The four answers are Howard, Naeher, Scurry and Solo.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is Washington ____. The four answers are Capitals, Huskies, Nationals and Spirit.

Technologies

The iPhone 17 Pro’s Cameras Take the Fight to the OnePlus 15, and There Are Bruises

Camera showdown: The OnePlus 15’s camera should have surprised me, but it really didn’t. Meanwhile, Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro keeps on delivering in terms of photography.

The OnePlus 15 impressed my excellent colleague, David Lumb, with its superb battery life and excellent performance, especially for gaming. I wasn’t as thrilled with the cameras in my early testing, but the proof of its photography prowess comes down to how it stacks up against the competition. In this case, the iPhone 17 Pro is one of our favorite phone cameras and indeed one of the best camera phones you can buy in 2025.

For years, OnePlus has partnered with the iconic Swedish camera maker Hasselblad to work on color science and image calibration for OnePlus phones. But that partnership has ended, which puts a lot of pressure on the Chinese company to impress with its camera suite on the OnePlus 15. Throughout all these changes, Apple released the iPhone 17 Pro, which has a brand-new 48-megapixel 4x telephoto camera and carries forward the company’s reputation for excellent photography.

I headed out to the streets of Edinburgh, Scotland, to test both phone cameras in a variety of situations. It’s important to note, though, that what I consider «better» might not be what you agree with. Photography, like all art, is subjective. While, as aprofessional photographer, I prefer more natural, true-to-life tones, you may prefer imagery with more pop and colors. Take my thoughts with a grain of salt.

Note, too, that all images were taken with each phone’s standard camera mode in JPEG format, and all images have been resized using Adobe Lightroom, with no additional edits or sharpening applied. Small print done with, let’s dive in.

Straight off the bat, I’ll admit a small mistake in the photos above. I took this shot using one of the iPhone’s Photographic Styles. I think it was Gold, and so it’s no surprise that it’s given the image a more vibrant, warmer look that suits the scene incredibly well. I only had the style active for this example and the ultrawide version below.

However, I noticed that the iPhone’s exposure is broadly better, while the OnePlus’ software processing had worked so hard in reducing image noise that a lot of the texture in the floor had been lost.

Switch to the ultrawide lenses, and things do change a bit. The iPhone’s exposure above looks preferable to my eye, but the OnePlus’ shot definitely has more detail overall.

This example above is quite classic of the problems I have not just with the OnePlus 15, but also with most of OnePlus’ phones. The image is quite heavily saturated, with an electric-blue sky and vivid greens that look unnatural to me. The iPhone’s image has a much better handle on color here.

My other problem with OnePlus’ phones is how hard they go with their HDR processing, brightening up shadows and pulling back highlights, resulting in images that quite often lack depth and believable contrast. The image above is a prime example where the deep shadows under this bridge have been maintained in the iPhone’s shot, but where the OnePlus 15 has tried to lighten them so much that the image looks very overprocessed.

And to prove it’s not a one-off, this example above is a real low point for the OnePlus. It really tried to eliminate any kind of shadows in this scene, while pulling back the highlights in the sky outside far too much. The image looks fake, overprocessed and exactly what people would think of if you told them a photo was taken on a phone. By taking a far more subtle approach, the iPhone’s image is much more to my liking.

The OnePlus hasn’t gone as hard with its vendetta against shadows in the image above, but it does look like it’s ramped that saturation way up. It’s not that I don’t like vibrant colors — I do — it’s just that I want to add in that saturation should I want to, rather than having it forced on me by default.

The images above show a more muted scene and a good effort from both phones. Although taken just nine seconds apart (I checked the metadata), I do think the sun may have slightly peeked out from behind a cloud a little more in the iPhone’s shot, as the front of the building does look quite a lot brighter. Or maybe the OnePlus is going hard on the HDR again. Who knows? Either way, good details on this image from both phones.

The same scene in ultrawide does arguably look a little muted from the iPhone, at least when compared with the bold blue of the OnePlus’ shot above. Somewhere between the two would be my sweet spot. After I zoomed in on the details, the iPhone’s shot is certainly clearer, but at full screen — or on your Insta feed — that difference is negligible.

That brightness and color difference persists when taking each phone to its maximum default telephoto zoom, so maybe it doesn’t have anything to do with the sun and clouds after all. Colors aside, the iPhone’s shot above is also clearer, and its details look sharp without being overly digitally sharpened. The OnePlus’ image does have something of a «crunchiness» to it from its software processing that I don’t like as much.

Peeping close up at the pixels on each phone’s telephoto zoom shot, I definitely think the OnePlus has gone too hard with its sharpening in the image above of a person in a window.

I’m slightly more torn on this nighttime scene. The OnePlus shot above has yet again gone big on the saturation. Look at the overcooked green on the grass — it looks like it was taken at midday in the spring. The iPhone’s colors look way more natural. However, the OnePlus’ sharpening works in favor at night, delivering a shot with crisper details throughout.

And in ultrawide, I flat out prefer the OnePlus image above. Those vibrant tones look much better here, especially as they make the oranges of the building in the background stand out more.

And if we peep at those pixels again, it’s clear that the details on the OnePlus’ shot (left) are far better. Finally, a win for the OnePlus.

This final indoor low-light scene is a bit more of a mixed bag. The OnePlus’ image above is unquestionably brighter — especially the people nearest the camera — but its noise reduction has gone a bit too hard in some areas, reducing textures on clothing and hair that the iPhone hasn’t done. Overall, though, I’d say this example is a close fight.

iPhone 17 Pro vs. OnePlus 15: Which camera is better?

For me, it’s an easy victory for the iPhone 17 Pro. Almost across the board, its images are more natural looking with realistic colors, saturation levels and exposure. The OnePlus 15’s reliance on heavy-handed image processing has resulted in often garish-looking photos that are almost the opposite of what I look for in my photography. However, as I said at the beginning, that’s just my opinion.

As a photographer, I want my camera — any camera — to be able to capture the best-looking image straight out of the camera that I can then apply more edits to if I want to. But maybe you don’t want to do that and instead want a vibrant, punchy-looking shot that you can immediately share to social media. If so, maybe the OnePlus will be fine for you.

At the end of the day, deciding which phone to buy will come down to more than just the camera, so make sure to read CNET’s in-depth reviews of all of 2025’s best phones to decide which is the one for you.