Technologies

I Hate Worms, but I’ll Still Play This Game on Apple Arcade

I’m not scared of worms, I just don’t like them and wish they would go away — forever.

Worms are everywhere. I know and accept this, but I hate those little critters and they freak me out. Their wriggly bodies make my skin crawl, and I actively avoid them at all costs. But Apple Arcade added Worms Across Worlds, the next installment in the award-winning Worms series, and I’ll play it because the game’s cartoony style make these worms palatable for me.

Apple Arcade is filled with familiar and classic games, alongside exclusive titles, that you can play for $7 a month (£7, AU$10). You can find many of these games in the App Store, but they may have paywalls and ads that hinder your gaming experience.

An Apple Arcade subscription gives you access to games without paywalls and ads, a feature usually denoted by «Plus» in the name. Here are all the games Apple brought to the service recently. You can also check out the games Apple added in July, like Angry Birds Bounce.

Worms Across Worlds

Developer: StoryToys and Behaviour Interactive

I’m not a fan of worms, but I’ll play Worms Across Worlds for the animation and quirky humor. The invertebrate warriors are back to stop Professor Wormwinkle’s reality-threatening experiments in this turn-based strategy game. The worms will chase the professor through five different dimensions to bring an end to his path of destruction. You can play solo or team up in four-player multiplayer mayhem.

Play-Doh World

Developer: Scary Beasties

This Apple Arcade exclusive game is a great way to introduce your kids to learning, crafting and gaming. You can sculpt, squish and squash Play-Doh creations while exploring an ever-expanding world. And the more you interact with this world, the more special Play-Dohs you’ll collect, so you can give your creations unique looks and styles.

Let’s Go Mightycat!

Developer: Ponos Corporation

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s the galactic hero Mightycat! In this 3D block-busting puzzler game, you’re on a quest to stop the Super Cat God from conquering the whole galaxy — and maybe pushing it off a ledge. You’ll rescue friends, collect stylish new capes and decorate your own room in between saving the galaxy of course.

Everybody Shogi

Developer: AltPlus Inc.

This game is based on the Japanese strategy board game Shogi, or Japanese chess, which anyone can pick up and play. Players can learn this traditional game, enjoy daily challenges, unlock unique piece designs and take on other players from around the world.

You can access these games and others on Apple Arcade now for $7 per month or $50 annually. You can also try Apple Arcade free for one month with your first sign-up, or you can get a three-month free trial when you buy a new Apple device. To access Apple Arcade, open the App Store on your iPhone or iPad, and tap the joystick in the menu bar.

Technologies

How to Make and Share Your Very Own Wordle Puzzles

Wordle obsessives, you can now make personal inside joke puzzles to send them to friends.

Wordle’s an immensely popular word game (we post the answers daily) from The New York Times, but it’s not the most personal game in the world. Answers such as GUISE and PERIL are tricky, but generic. Now, Wordle fans who have dreamed of making their own puzzles can test their friends and family by creating their own Wordle creations up to seven letters in length.

Here’s how to do it.

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

No surprise, you have to be a New York Times Games or All Access Subscriber to use this feature. If you are, you’ll find the Create a Puzzle option available from the top menu above today’s Wordle.
Enter a word, and the site will tell you if it is available. Real Wordle limits you to five-letter words, but the puzzle-making feature lets you choose words between four and seven letters.
The usual dictionary rules apply, and so curse words, some pet names and obscure inside jokes are essentially out. If your cat is named TANGO, that’s there, but RINGO is not an option. You can drop a proposal with a single word like MARRY, but MARRYME will be rejected, since that’s two separate words.
Word chosen, you can then fill out your name and add an optional hint, and the feature will generate your puzzle with a link you can send around. Unlike standard puzzles, your puzzle doesn’t appear to reset after a day, so whoever you send it to doesn’t need to rush to solve it.

While you must be a subscriber to create your own personalized puzzle, you can share it with anyone — they only need the link, not a subscription, to complete your Wordle.

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.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, Nov. 15

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Nov. 15.

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? The Saturday puzzle is always the longest of the week, so it’s not quite as easy as the other days. Today’s wasn’t too terrible. 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: Theatrical role
Answer: PART

5A clue: Capital of Vietnam
Answer: HANOI

6A clue: Father of a «fur baby»
Answer: CATDAD

7A clue: Words often accompanied by a ring
Answer: MARRYME

8A clue: Whirling currents
Answer: EDDIES

9A clue: Put up, as a statue
Answer: ERECT

10A clue: Race that’s about half the length of a half-marathon
Answer: TENK

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: SpongeBob’s starfish friend
Answer: PATRICK

2D clue: Despite it all …»
Answer: ANDYET

3D clue: Wanders here and there
Answer: ROAMS

4D clue: Company with a «To Go» stain remover
Answer: TIDE

5D clue: Become firm
Answer: HARDEN

6D clue: Small group of soldiers
Answer: CADRE

7D clue: What parallel lines never do
Answer: MEET

Technologies

Touchdown! Disney, ESPN and Other Channels Are Back on YouTube TV

YouTube TV subscribers no longer need another streaming service — or to visit a sports bar — to watch the NFL or college football.

YouTube TV subscribers, your channels — and your football — are back. Disney and YouTube said Friday night that the two companies had reached an agreement. YouTube TV subscribers lost all of Disney’s channels, including ESPN and ESPN2, on Oct. 30. Those who wanted to watch NFL or college football on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 or Disney family-friendly hits such as Bluey, had to find other alternatives.

«We’re happy to share that we’ve reached an agreement with Disney that preserves the value of our service for our subscribers and future flexibility in our offers,» a YouTube spokesperson said. «Subscribers should see channels including ABC, ESPN and FX returning to their service over the course of the day, as well as any recordings that were previously in their Library. We apologize for the disruption and appreciate our subscribers’ patience as we negotiated on their behalf. «

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

The companies said in a statement that they reached a multi-year deal and were already restoring the channels to YouTube TV.

According to YouTube, subscribers should see content and saved recordings restored over the next 24 hours. So if you don’t have them back yet, they should show up soon.

I’m a YouTube TV subscriber myself, and as of 5:30 p.m. PT on Friday, Disney, ESPN and other channels have been restored for me. As a die-hard Minnesota Vikings fan (yes, I know), I added Fubo TV temporarily, but I won’t be keeping that subscription.

According to the statement, the deal will include the restoration of the channels, plus other items. The unlimited version of ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer service will now be made available at no additional cost to YouTube TV subscribers. Subscribers will also have access to a selection of live and on-demand programming from ESPN Unlimited inside YouTube TV. Also, select networks will be included in various genre-specific packages, and there will be the ability to include the Disney Plus Hulu Bundle as part of select YouTube offerings.

«This new agreement reflects our continued commitment to delivering exceptional entertainment and evolving with how audiences choose to watch,» Disney Entertainment Co-Chairmen Alan Bergman and Dana Walden and ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in the statement. «It recognizes the tremendous value of Disney’s programming and provides YouTube TV subscribers with more flexibility and choice. We are pleased that our networks have been restored in time for fans to enjoy the many great programming options this weekend, including college football.»

Disney-owned channels were pulled on Oct. 30 when the agreement between the two companies expired.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the resulting 25-day blackout was the longest in recent memory for Disney.

Here’s a full list of the channels that were removed due to the dispute: