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

I’m Still Waiting for Amazon’s Big Alexa AI Upgrade: Here’s What to Know About the Delay

Like the Apple Siri AI upgrade, it looks like Amazon’s Alexa Plus is taking much longer than anticipated. Here’s why these voice assistants are dragging their digital feet.

We attended Amazon’s February announcement of a massive Alexa AI upgrade with great interest. The new service, called Alexa Plus, promised us conversational AI to set reservations, learn what we like, analyze home video for us and control our smart entertainment on the fly — even if it came with a wee bit of privacy loss.

The enhanced Alexa was supposed to be ready to try in March. Now it’s the middle of May and we’re still waiting. I wish I could say I was surprised. Here’s what’s happening and why Echo users should practice their patience.

Read more: Amazon Alexa Just Changed Its Privacy Settings. CNET Survey Reveals 73% of Device Users Were Already Worried

Alexa Plus stalls out: We’ve seen this before

So, where’s the AI? For now, it’s still in early access, and that early access period appears to be limited. Even the few who have tried out Alexa Plus have been quiet about it. Those who’ve spoken up have said the AI is lacking critical features that were mentioned at the announcement, including ordering food on Grubhub with a conversation, entering into a story mode with kids, visually identifying family members during conversations, brainstorming ideas in a casual conversation mode, and using Alexa Plus on the Web. In other words, it’s just not ready yet.

Read more: The Best Smart Displays for 2025

I’ve seen this before, very recently, with Apple’s announcement that it will be delaying Siri’s big AI upgrade, not only for a year after WWDC 2024, but then again in 2025 and possibly for as long as until 2027 according to our latest info. It’s possible Amazon watched the fallout from these delay announcements plus leaked employee complaints, and decided to be much quieter about the Alexa Plus rollout.

Either way, it could be months before the average consumer sees an option to upgrade to Alexa Plus, and with staggered rollouts, some Amazon customers could be waiting quite some time for the chatty new Alexa. No one at CNET has gotten an early access look at Alexa Plus yet, but the testing period is still ongoing, so we’re hopeful to get our hands on it very soon.

Waiting for the Show

We’re ready with Amazon Echos, Echo Shows, home cameras, smart gadgets and more to test out just what’s changed with Alexa Plus and what features have actually arrived (and what we still can’t do). But for now, it looks like we’re waiting for our own wake word — and I wouldn’t be surprised if Alexa Plus is on a similar trajectory to Siri’s AI delays, sans the troubling announcements and exposes we saw with Apple.

If you’re desperate to see what Amazon is doing with the latest Alexa AI technology, there is a way to get to the front of the line. Amazon has mentioned that during the early access period, it will focus on releasing Alexa Plus for Echo Shows. If you have an Echo Show 8, Show 10, Show 15 or Show 21, you’re more likely to see an offer for Alexa Plus if you sign up for the program.

Otherwise, we’ll keep you updated. Check out our AI Atlas to get the latest on Siri, Google Gemini, ChatGPT, Grok and, yes, Alexa Plus as we learn more and test out new capabilities.

Read more: The Best Smart Speakers for 2025

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

Technologies

Kia Electric Truck: What We Know So Far About the New Pickup EV

Here’s everything we know right now about Kia’s upcoming electric pickup truck that will be coming to the US.

Technologies

18 Amazon Prime Perks That Will Make Your Life Easier

Think Prime’s just for packages? These extra perks might surprise you.

You probably already know that an Amazon Prime membership gets you free two-day shipping and access to events like Prime Day. But there are plenty of other perks that fly under the radar, including discounts you can use beyond Amazon.

One unexpected benefit? You can actually save money on gas with your Prime subscription. From grocery deals to streaming extras, there’s a lot more value packed into your membership than most people realize.

Sure, a 30-day free trial lets you take advantage of limited-time deals, but it only lets you scratch the surface of all that a membership has to offer. It might surprise you to learn what else you can get by being a Prime member. Below, we’re going to break down some of the best perks you may not know about.

Spoiler: Some of them are bangers.

For more, don’t miss out on the best Amazon tech deals and how to get great savings on Amazon right now with coupons.

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1. Watch HBO or other premium TV channels without cable

You probably know about Prime Video and Amazon Music Prime, but you might not know all the special details. Amazon Prime members have access to a large number of feature-length movies and hit original TV shows like The Boys and The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power, as well as an Amazon Music Prime library featuring 2 million songs and thousands of curated playlists.

Prime members can also download movies and TV shows for watching later offline.

If a show or movie you want to watch is not included as part of your basic Prime subscription, you can subscribe to premium channels such as HBO, Showtime and Starz for $5 to $15 a month, with no need for cable or satellite service.

Music lovers can upgrade to Amazon Music Unlimited to get a library of 90 million songs that can be streamed to multiple devices for $9 a month or $89 a year.

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2. Get money back by choosing no-rush shipping

If you don’t need your purchase to be delivered quickly, you can opt out of two-day or shorter delivery options by selecting «no-rush shipping» and receive your package in about six days. In return for your patience, Amazon will give you rewards.

There’s no standard for no-rush shipping rewards — they vary from item to item — but they generally provide discounts on products and services that you might buy from Amazon.

Some common rewards are $1 credits for Amazon digital services like movies, music and ebooks, $3 coupons for Amazon’s Happy Belly-branded snacks, $10 to $20 off TV or furniture purchases and $10 to $20 off Amazon Home Services.

The value of no-rush shipping will depend on whether you’ll use any of the rewards. It might not seem like much, but a few no-rush shipping selections could easily earn you the $3 to $4 you need for a free movie rental from Prime Video.

3. Whole Foods grocery discounts

If you’re a frequent shopper at Whole Foods, an Amazon Prime membership can reap serious dividends. Prime Member Deals available in physical Whole Foods stores give members discounts of 10% to 20% on selected items marked with blue Amazon stickers.

Yellow tags indicate even further savings, usually at least another 10% off an already discounted price. Prime members who scan the Whole Foods Market or Amazon app at checkout get an extra 10% off storewide sales. Prime membership also gives you access to special online deals.

4. Exclusive access to Thursday night NFL football games

It’s the second year that Amazon Prime has had exclusive rights to air Thursday Night Football, and Prime seems to be killing the game. It received five Sports Emmys nominations for its 2022 coverage and boasts a stacked cast of experts, commentators and former players.

If you are a Prime subscriber, you can stream 2023-2024 Thursday Night Football games on Prime Video, NFL +, Amazon.com or Twitch. There is also a Spanish-language broadcast available on Prime Video. TNF pregame coverage begins at 7 p.m. EST each Thursday.

5. Free same-day Amazon Fresh delivery

Whole Foods isn’t the only grocery option available to Amazon Prime members. Subscribers also have access to the online grocery store Amazon Fresh, which provides free deliveries to some locations. Amazon Fresh has some similar products to Whole Foods but generally focuses on a broader range of groceries and home products at lower prices.

Anyone can purchase products from Amazon Fresh, but only Prime members get free same-day delivery. Amazon Fresh also has 44 physical locations that offer special weekly deals for Prime members.

6. Try on clothes and shoes before you buy them

It’s almost impossible to size clothing correctly online — to know if it fits, you have to try it on. Prime members get that chance with Amazon’s Try Before You Buy service. In specific personal shopping categories like clothes, shoes and accessories, you can order items and keep them for seven days without paying for them.

Return what you don’t want before the trial week is over, and you’ll only pay for the items that you keep. Eligible products are indicated on Amazon with a «Try Before You Buy» icon. Several online reports have indicated a limit of six products for Try Before You Buy, but the Amazon site doesn’t specify a maximum.

7. Borrow unlimited books, magazines and comics

Amazon Prime members gain access to Prime Reading, a service similar to Kindle Unlimited with a different collection of materials. You can borrow as many books as you like, and many include audible narration, so you can switch back and forth between reading and listening. The electronic downloads don’t require a Kindle or Fire device.

Amazon First Reads gives Prime members access to editors’ selections of early book releases. Anyone with a Prime membership gets one free Kindle book a month, as well as regular discounts on selected titles.

8. Prime-exclusive deals and promos

Amazon offers Prime-exclusive deals all-year round on top products meaning you can make back the cost of your membership in savings. For big shopping seasons like Black Friday or Prime Day, there are even more member-only prices to shop.

Plus, Prime subscribers often get early access to Lightning Deals. These are sort of like Amazon’s version of a fire sale, featuring very low prices for a limited number of products that usually sell out very quickly. The good news for Amazon Prime members is that they get access to these deals earlier than everyone else. The bad news? There are a lot of Amazon Prime members.

9. Exclusive Zappos deals, faster shipping and a test month for running shoes

Amazon acquired the online shoe giant Zappos back in 2009, and it now provides a number of benefits for Prime members who link their accounts on Zappos.com. Prime members get faster shipping, bonus reward points for shopping and exclusive deals on certain products.

Zappos also lets Prime members participate in Runlimited, a 30-day guarantee program for running shoes.

10. Save money on prescription drugs online or at your local pharmacy

Amazon Prime Rx Savings program gives Prime members discounts on prescription medicine, whether it’s purchased at Amazon Pharmacy or in-store at a physical pharmacy. An Amazon Rx savings card can be printed out or saved digitally and used for discounts at more than 60,000 participating pharmacies, including CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid.

Amazon says that members can save up to 80% on common prescription drugs using Prime Rx, but it’s important to note that Amazon’s Prime Rx savings program does not work with health insurance. You’ll need to be sure that any savings you get from the program are more than you’d get from insurance coverage.

For more about Amazon Prime, learn about what to expect from this year’s back-to-school deals.

11. Access to Prime Gaming

Prime Gaming is a fun feature that is included with both Amazon Prime and Prime Video. Eligible subscribers are able to download content in-game for their favorite games, free games and even a free monthly Twitch channel subscription.

Prime Gaming is included with annual and monthly Prime subscriptions, Prime Student subscriptions, Amazon Prime free trials, and Prime Video memberships. It’s important to note that only one member per household may claim an offer, and if you have a Prime Video monthly free trial you will be unable to claim a free Twitch subscription. If you are using a free trial of Student Prime, your free Twitch membership will expire when your free trial expires.

12. One Medical membership discounts

One Medical is a membership-based health service that provides primary in-person and virtual health care. Its concierge-like medical service is designed to allow members to easily schedule appointments and care using the company’s mobile app or website.

Amazon acquired One Medical in February and is now offering a major discount for Prime members. Instead of the usual price of $199 a year, Amazon Prime members can subscribe for $99 a year, or $9 per month. To activate the discount, Prime members should visit this page. Existing One Medical subscribers who are Prime members can also take advantage of the discount starting with their next payment.

13. Unlimited photo storage with Amazon Photos

With a subscription to Amazon Prime, you can store unlimited photos and 5GB of video on Amazon Photos. Without Amazon Prime, you’re limited to a total of 5GB of videos and photos total.

You can view or share your photos and videos on Amazon Photos using the iOS or Android app, or on a computer with the desktop or web app. Your photo and video files are both fully encrypted, so they’re only visible to people with whom you intentionally share them.

14. Get discounts on Shutterfly

Amazon has partnered with photography company Shutterfly to offer Prime members 45% off most regular-priced products. Shoppers can also get free shipping on orders of $35 or more. To get the discount, you’ll have to link your Shutterfly and Amazon accounts.

If you store your photos with Amazon, you can now access your Amazon Photos directly from Shutterfly. This makes it extra convenient for Prime members to share images from their extensive photo library.

15. Get a Grubhub Plus membership for free

Don’t feel like cooking tonight? There’s a perk for that, too.

When Amazon announced it would offer Grubhub Plus free for a year in 2022, it was a solid, but temporary, perk added to Prime. In 2023, Prime members were treated to another free year. For 2024, instead of renewing the food delivery service’s premium membership again for another year, Grubhub Plus became a permanent Amazon Prime perk.

Grubhub Plus typically costs $9.99 a month, and provides unlimited free delivery for all orders over $12 in over 4,000 cities nationwide.

16. Save on Amazon Kids Plus

If you have Amazon Prime, you also get access to discounted Amazon Kids Plus. The subscription service features a wide range of ad-free content, including books, games and videos for children ages 3 to 12. Parents can limit the amount of screen time available to their children and manage up to four profiles on iOS and Android.

The Amazon Kids Plus subscription is normally $79 a year, but Prime members can get it for $48 a year.

17. Get your package delivered on the day you want it with Amazon Day

If none of the usual delivery dates work for you, you have one additional option as a Prime member. Amazon Day is a free perk that lets you schedule your packages to arrive on your day of choice. Next time you’re on vacation, you don’t have to arrange for the neighbors to help you bring in your boxes, and you won’t have to worry about porch pirates stealing your delivery on days when you’re not home.

Amazon Day is also a great option to cut down on the number of boxes for your packages, since you can schedule multiple purchases to arrive as a single delivery.

18. Save money on gas

Do you spend several hours each week driving to and from work? If you’re an Amazon Prime member living in the US, your dollar will now stretch a little farther at the gas pump. You can save 10 cents per gallon at BP, Amoco and AM/PM gas stations — there are about 7,000 locations across the 50 states. Amazon estimates that this perk will save the average American nearly $70 per year.

Prime members who want to take advantage of this perk must first activate the offer. After the one-time activation, you can simply go to the pump and input your phone number or linked payment method for instant savings.

For more, check out these Amazon deals on tech and home goods and tips for getting the best Amazon deals.