Technologies

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

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for April 20, #1766

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for April 20, No. 1,766.

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

Today’s Wordle puzzle has a couple of rare letters in it. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has one repeated letter.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

Today’s Wordle answer has two vowels, and then one of those is repeated, so you will see that one twice.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with W.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends with E.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to forming fabric by interlacing long threads, perhaps on a loom.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is WEAVE.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, April 19, No. 1765, was STAND.

Recent Wordle answers

April 15, No. 1761: BEGUN

April 16, No. 1762: CUBIT

April 17, No. 1763: BELLE

April 18, No. 1764: TOADY

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for April 20 #778

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for April 20, No. 778.

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 offers an interesting mix of words, and they all begin with the same two letters. 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: Gloriously glaring!

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Shimmery.

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:

TEAM, MATE, HATE, GATE, LIST, LISTEN, GLEE, LINT, CHEAT, HEAT

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:

GLOW, GLEAM, GLINT, GLITTER, GLISTEN, GLIMMER

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is CATCHTHELIGHT. To find it, start with the C that’s three letters to the right on the bottom row, and wind up.

Technologies

Turn up the Volume With These EarFun Air Pro 4 Earbuds While They’re Down to Just $63

The EarFun Air Pro 4 earbuds are the perfect choice for budget-conscious shoppers who still want every audio perk available.

Right now we’ve spotted EarFun AirPro 4 earbuds for just $63, which saves you $17 with Amazon Prime. In addition to this discount, shoppers can save an extra 5 or 10% when making other eligible purchases. Though not exactly its lowest price, it’s just $10 previous short of its previous low record price and one best deals on audio gear we can expect right now.

The earbuds are frequently discounted from their $80 list price, but that $63 price is a significant discount. CNET Executive Editor David Carnoy reviewed the Earfun Air Pro 4, noting that its wireless charging, ear-detection sensors and multipoint Bluetooth pairing for using with multiple devices are all very useful perks.

Carnoy does note that voice-calling performance for these earbuds doesn’t come anywhere close to premium earbuds like Apple’s AirPods Pro, but when these earbuds cost a fraction of that, they could be a good value for someone who just wants something easy to use for listening to music and podcasts.

HEADPHONE DEALS OF THE WEEK

Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones (Black):

$248 (save $152)
Beats Studio Pro Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones (Black):

$170 (save $181)
Sony WH-1000XM6 Wireless Noise Cancelling Over-Ear Headphones:

$398 (save $62)
Bose QuietComfort Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones (Twilight Blue):

$179 (save $170)
Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless ANC Over-Ear Headphones (Black):

$200 (save $250)

Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

Why this deal matters

This earbuds offer many of the same features as those found in top brands, all for a fraction of the price. Be sure to lock in this low price, as we doubt it will fall any lower anytime soon.