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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

Level Up Your Pokemon Legends: Z-A Adventure With These Active Free Gifts

Get ready for a new adventure. These free mystery gift codes and rewards are available for you to grab today.

After 12 years, it’s finally time for Pokemon players to head back to the Kalos region in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, the newest game in the popular monster-catching franchise. If you’ve missed the worldwide capital of Mega Pokemon, fairy-type Pokemon and a whole bunch of baked bread, now’s the time to jump back into the world of pocket monsters.

The Switch 2’s first Pokemon game seems a bit scarier this time around. Though the beautiful Lumiose City projects safety and security, recent unexplained rampages from wild Mega Pokemon threaten the peace.


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Between unearthing the cause of this phenomenon and taking down competitors in the Z-A Royale Pokemon battle ladder, there’s a lot of work to do in the Kalos region. You’ll need special partners to get the job done — and there are some special Mystery Gifts that have just the powerful pals you’re looking for.

There are already multiple Mystery Gift codes you can use right now in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, unlocking rare Pokemon and tons of items to help you get started on a new Pokemon journey.

All active Mystery Gifts for Pokemon Legends: Z-A

While some Pokemon Legends: Z-A promo codes are uniquely tied to Nintendo purchases, we’ve gathered every free code and redemption requirement in one place for you here.

Below is a chart that contains every active Mystery Gift code for Pokemon Legends: Z-A, what it unlocks and its expiration date:

Active Pokemon Legends: Z-A Mystery Gifts

Reward Code or alternative redemption requirements Expiration date
Ralts holding Gardevoirite No associated code. Select «Get via internet» in the Mystery Gift menu. Feb. 28, 2026
100x Poke Balls Every code is unique. You can unlock the code for this Mystery Gift by purchasing the digital version of Pokemon Legends: Z-A. The code will be sent to the email associated with your Nintendo account. March 10, 2026
3x Fast Balls, 3x Lure Balls, 3x Heavy Balls, 3x Level Balls Every code is unique. You can unlock the code for this Mystery Gift by purchasing the Mega Dimension DLC. The code will be sent to the email associated with your Nintendo account. March 10, 2026

How to redeem Mystery Gifts in Pokemon Legends: Z-A

If you have Mystery Gift codes to redeem in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, you’re likely eager to grab those rewards as soon as possible. But you need to do a little bit of legwork before unlocking the code redemption menu.

To unlock Mystery Gift functionality, you need to progress through the main story until you reach the third main mission, called A New Life in Lumiose City.

During this mission, you’ll meet Mable, the acting director of the Pokemon Research Lab in Kalos. Once you unlock Mable’s research, a new «Link Play» tab becomes accessible in the pause menu.

Within the Link Play tab, you can redeem Mystery Gift codes — as long as you’re connected to the internet.

What are Mystery Gifts?

Mystery Gifts are a long-running way to reward Pokemon players with extra goodies. The official gift distributions have existed since Pokemon Gold and Silver was released in 1999.

Back then, players needed to have special hardware — like a Game Boy Advance Wireless Adaptor — in order to acquire Mystery Gifts. Newer games make the process much easier, since you need only connect to Wi-Fi in order to access gifts for the Pokemon games on the Nintendo Switch.

While some Mystery Gifts are accessible for free, others are unlocked by promo codes that you’ll have to hunt down through specific means. Mystery Gifts are good ways to gather precious items, add mythical Pokemon to the Pokedex and capture rare shiny Pokemon.

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Technologies

Will Tim Cook Step Down? Apple CEO’s Impending 65th Birthday Sparks Succession Talk

Apple is likely in the process of choosing someone to fill the chief executive role once Tim Cook decides to retire. Here are a few potential candidates that reports say are being considered.

Tim Cook‘s 65th birthday is next week, on Nov. 1. And with the Apple CEO’s special day almost here, talks have been growing as to who could be his successor should he choose to retire. Cook has made no official public mention of stepping down yet, but according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the tech giant is working behind the scenes to ensure a seamless transition when the time comes.

Cook replaced Steve Jobs in 2011, and after a period of uncertainty, Cook ushered Apple into its most profitable era. Stock-watching website Stocktwits reports that the company’s stock has increased by around 1,800% since Cook took over leading the company.


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Jobs may have introduced devices like the iPhone into everyday use that changed how we interact with technology, but Cook expanded on the Apple experience. Under his guidance, the company built upon Apple’s smartphone by introducing subscription services and more mobile products, including earbuds and wearables.

He introduced Apple Pay, Beats headphones became part of the company’s ecosystem, the Apple Watch launched 10 years ago, and Apple even entered the entertainment business, producing original Oscar-winning movies and Emmy-winning TV shows through Apple TV Plus.

Read more: Best iPhone in 2025: Here’s Which Apple Phone You Should Buy

We should reiterate that the notion of Cook stepping down is pure speculation at this point. We don’t know what Apple’s CEO is currently planning or what his thoughts about retirement may be. That said, there are a handful of contenders who have reportedly been part of the succession conversation. 

Potential Apple CEO contenders

Apple likely has «a solid bench of successors» that the company’s board has been developing, says Bryan Ma, VP of Devices Research at IDC.

«But the anxiety gets amplified when there isn’t clear visibility for such a valuable and iconic company,» Ma says. «Compounding the challenge is the fact that the bar has been set by big rock stars like Steve Jobs and Tim Cook. The next generation of leaders have very big shoes to fill.»

John Ternus, Apple’s current vice president of Hardware Engineering, was top of Gurman’s list. Ternus has been with the tech giant for more than two decades, so he has the knowledge and experience for a chief executive upgrade. There would be value in having an engineer behind the wheel. 

Ternus appeared during the September Apple event to introduce the iPhone Air. At 50, he’s the same age Cook was when he took over as Apple CEO.

Other potential contenders are also being considered, including Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering; Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing; and Jeff Williams, the company’s former chief operating officer, according to a report by Apple Insider. On Oct. 10, Bloomberg reported that Federighi also will soon be overseeing the Apple Watch operating system watchOS, while Ternus will be overseeing Apple Watch hardware engineering once Williams departs at the end of the year.

Federighi has been with Apple for a long time and has the public speaking experience — frequently speaking during Apple Events — that would be vital if he replaced Cook as CEO. Considering his current role, Joswiak has a more marketing perspective and a broader overview of the company and may not be as hands-on with the tech as Ternus and Federighi. And according to Gurman, Williams was viewed as a shoo-in to be Cook’s replacement until his role as COO was announced to be ending. (He’s now Apple’s senior vice president of design, watch and health.) Cook held the position of chief operating officer before he replaced Jobs as CEO in 2011. Sabih Khan will be stepping into that COO role, which also puts his name in the running.

When Cook steps down, Apple will undoubtedly have a pool of qualified talent to choose from to take up the leadership mantle. Who exactly will take the mantle remains to be seen.

Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Technologies

Meta Will Close Down Its Messenger Apps on Mac and Windows

You’ve got two more months until the apps are gone.

Meta is discontinuing its desktop Messenger apps for Windows and Mac. Starting Dec. 15, you’ll need to head to Facebook to continue chatting through the app on your computer.

Once the sundowning process begins, you’ll receive an in-app notification. You’ll have a 60-day window to continue using Messenger before the app is permanently shut down. (But don’t worry — the mobile app for Messenger will remain.)


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If you want to save your chat history, Meta suggests activating secure storage before the app is gone forever. Otherwise, your chat history will be gone forever, as well.

The Messenger desktop app is no longer available on the Apple App Store. After Dec. 15, Meta users who try to access Messenger on desktop will be redirected to Facebook.com. Users without a Facebook account will be redirected to Messenger.com.

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