Technologies

Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Breakneck Expansion Releases Are Stressing Me Out

Collectors who want to complete a master set are finding that it’s just too hard to keep up with the game.

Pokemon TCG Pocket’s next Alola-themed set is releasing on May 29. Extradimensional Crisis is a sister expansion to the recent Celestial Guardians set — and it’s introducing the wacky and weird Ultra Beasts to the game.

Every Pokemon from another dimension now has a special Ultra Beast tag displayed just under its health point total. And certain Pokemon abilities and Trainer cards from the new set will only work on cards with this tag. While there are always new cards that shake up the metagame, this expansion looks ike it will largely introduce cards that play well with others in the set.

Extradimensional Crisis is one of TCG Pocket’s smaller base set expansions. These companion sets are often released a month or so after a big expansion. Mythical Island released after the massive Genetic Apex launch set, and Triumphant Light was the supplement to Space-Time Showdown.

Normally, I’d love to rip into packs in order to hunt more than 100 new base set cards being added to the game. Buzzwole, Nihilego and Guzzlord are some of my favorite monsters from the seventh-gen Pokemon games and the art for their cards is gorgeous.

This time around, I’m just not able to get as excited about the new drop.

Pokemon TCG Pocket is releasing expansions too quickly for me

I’ve played Pokemon TCG Pocket every day since launch. With few exceptions, I’ve opened both of my free daily packs — even if I have to stay up past my usual bedtime to do so. Ripping these suckers open has become a part of my daily routine, and I’ve been largely content to do so (even when I pull five common base set dupes).

But these expansions are getting a little out of hand now. For most games, having too much content is a good problem to have, but struggling to keep up with a collectible game saps the fun. Extradimensional Crisis will be the seventh set released in the game over the course of eight months. Despite my diligence, I’ve only completed a single base set — Shining Revelry — and I’ve never completed a master set with all of the full art cards and shiny Pokemon.

To be clear, I don’t expect to be able to keep up with every expansion in the game. I don’t even want to collect all of the secret cards — I just want to put together the base sets. I’m a fully free-to-play TCG Pocket gamer, and developer DeNA Games needs to make money to keep the app running. New releases grease peoples’ palms and keep the money flowing.

Even still, these releases have been dropping at such breakneck speeds that I don’t feel like I can return to past sets to finish collecting the cards I’m missing. It’s disheartening to complete the majority of an expansion and then leave it behind with so many gaps.

This sentiment seems to be shared among at least some parts of the Pokemon TCG Pocket community. It’s probably not a great sign when a contingent of the top comments on the YouTube video of your next big reveal are asking you to stop revealing things.

«Crisis? [The only] crisis is the one I’m having with so few hourglasses,» said one commenter.

Another person put things more plainly: «Honestly, I’d prefer if they’d slow the rollout of the expansions a little bit. Let the sets take hold for a few months and then drop bigger, higher quality sets.»

The joking hides real frustration, as many free players haven’t been able to complete the game’s full base sets. I’m not asking for these releases to be spaced out too far apart, but a single month between expansions is starting to feel untenable. Double the downtime between sets and let people breathe — and maybe I’ll finally be able to finish up Genetic Apex.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 23 #599

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 23, No. 599.

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 might be Halloween-themed, as the answers are all rather dangerous. Some of them are a bit tough 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: Please don’t eat me!

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Remember Mr. Yuk?

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:

POND, NOON, NODE, BALE, SOCK, LOVE, LOCK, MOCK, LEER, REEL, GLOVE, DAIS, LEAN, LEAD, REEL

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:

AZALEA, HEMLOCK, FOXGLOVE, OLEANDER, BELLADONNA

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is POISONOUS. To find it, look for the P that is the first letter on the far left of the top row, and wind down and across.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Oct. 23, #395

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Oct. 23, No. 395.

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 has one of those crazy purple categories, where you wonder if anyone saw the connection, or if people just put that grouping together because only those four words were left. If you’re struggling 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 show up in the NYT Games app but appears 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: Fan noise.

Green group hint: Strategies for hoops.

Blue group hint: Minor league.

Purple group hint: Look for a connection to hoops.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Sounds from the crowd.

Green group: Basketball offenses.

Blue group: Triple-A baseball teams.

Purple group: Ends with a basketball stat.

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 sounds from the crowd. The four answers are boo, cheer, clap and whistle.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is basketball offenses. The four answers are motion, pick and roll, Princeton and triangle.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is triple-A baseball teams. The four answers are Aces, Jumbo Shrimp, Sounds and Storm Chasers.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ends with a basketball stat. The four answers are afoul, bassist, counterpoint and sunblock.

Technologies

Amazon’s Delivery Drivers Will Soon Wear AI Smart Glasses to Work

The goal is to streamline the delivery process while keeping drivers safe.

Amazon announced on Wednesday that it is developing new AI-powered smart glasses to simplify the delivery experience for its drivers. CNET smart glasses expert Scott Stein mentioned this wearable rollout last month, and now the plan is in its final testing stages.

The goal is to simplify package delivery by reducing the need for drivers to look at their phones, the label on the package they’re delivering and their surroundings to find the correct address.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

A heads-up display will activate as soon as the driver parks, pointing out potential hazards and tasks that must be completed. From there, drivers can locate and scan packages, follow turn-by-turn directions and snap a photograph to prove delivery completion without needing to take out their phone.

The company is testing the glasses in select North American markets.

Watch: See our Instagram post with a video showing the glasses

A representative for Amazon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

To fight battery drain, the glasses pair with a controller attached to the employee’s delivery vest, allowing them to replace depleted batteries and access operational controls. The glasses will support an employee’s eyeglass prescription. An emergency button will be within reach to ensure the driver’s safety.

Amazon is already planning future versions of the glasses, which will feature «real-time defect detection,» notifying the driver if a package was delivered to the incorrect address. They plan to add features to the glasses to detect if pets are in the yard and adjust to low light.