Technologies

Want More Jackbox-Like Couch Party Games? Just Open the Netflix App on Any TV

The streaming service just added five party games to its lineup, including competitive Tetris, a Lego mini-game blitz and Pictionary.

At Netflix’s offices in Hollywood, California, I sat on a couch in front of a TV and tried frantically to guess words, build Legos and finish Tetris lines faster than my new rivals seated around me. The streaming service has a new slew of games playable on your TV that just need your smartphone to control, Jackbox-style.

That gives Netflix’s party games a leg up on the competition. While games from the Jackbox Party Pack series along with Mario Party, Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. have dominated the party game genre, they all require consoles or nearby PCs to play on big family room TVs. That’s all fine when you’re at home, but what about at a friend’s apartment or while traveling? It’s a lot easier to access Netflix’s games by logging into its app on whichever TV you’re in front of, scanning a QR code on your phone, and using it as your controller.

Connecting phones to the service takes a little work. iPhone owners will need to download an additional Netflix Game Controller app from Apple’s App Store which will remain connected after scanning a QR code before the first match, while Android phone owners can play through the standard Netflix app but need to scan a QR code each time they start a game.

Netflix has five party games out now with a respectable spread of game types, ensuring one player’s strengths aren’t dominating their friends. In my couch preview time, none of us were roundly beating the others — but there was a good amount of friendly trash talk and squeals of delight or dismay as games went one way or the other.

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

My standout favorite was Lego Party, or at least an abridged version of the recently released game of the same name that does away with the Mario Party-esque game board and (smartly) throws players straight into a best-of-five mini-game blitz. Tetris Time Warp is competitive Tetris that you’ve probably played before, but with a fun twist of switching graphics to match different eras of the game — in the middle of a match, mine switched to greenscale like the original Game Boy version.

Party Crashers: Fool Your Friends is the most Jackbox-like game, where a group of players describe an animal with a word — though one is an imposter and tries to fake their way through. Pictionary is just like the classic game I know and love, while Boggle Party gives players a grid of letters in which they try to make as many words as they can in a limited time, which I assumed I’d dominate until stressing about the rapidly dwindling timer shrunk my vocabulary.

There’s another game coming soon, Dead Man’s Party: A Knives Out Game, which will be a murder mystery and social deduction game themed after the third detective film in the Knives Out series that’s due out later this month. While Netflix didn’t specify when the game will be released, Wake Up Dead Man is slated for a Nov. 26 release.

This party package is a departure for Netflix, which had focused on single-player games for kids and adults playable through its app. To be clear, the streaming service is still expanding its library of non-party titles, with a mobile version of Red Dead Redemption coming soon.

Technologies

Reddit Outage Resolved: Here’s What Happened

Did you have trouble reading your favorite subreddits today? You weren’t alone.

If you had trouble accessing the news and discussion forum Reddit on Tuesday, you weren’t the only one. However, as of 10:15 a.m. PT, the site appears to be back up and running normally. Reddit’s status monitoring page, RedditStatus.com, notes that «all systems (are) operational» after the brief outage.

But earlier, at 9:30 a.m. PT, RedditStatus.com said the company was «investigating elevated errors across reddit.com and native apps.» RedditStatus.com reported degraded site performance for both desktop web use and native mobile apps.

Earlier on Tuesday, the site-monitoring service DownDetector also reported issues at Reddit, providing additional details. At one point on Tuesday, DownDetector received over 100,000 reports that the site was having problems. At 10:25 am PT, the report numbers fell to under 600. (Disclosure: Downdetector is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.)

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

«Reddit is currently experiencing a significant internal outage causing widespread service disruptions,» the site said earlier Tuesday. «The impact is categorized as Very High, primarily affecting mobile app access (55%) and website connectivity (39%). While reports are heavily concentrated in major hubs like New York City and Chicago, the lack of ISP correlation suggests a broad, nationwide issue stemming from Reddit’s internal servers rather than external network providers.»

A representative for Reddit did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Another social media site, X, formerly Twitter, also showed problems on Tuesday, according to DownDetector. Those problems seemed to spike around 6:30 a.m. PT and improve after.

Technologies

This 3-in-1 Charger Is a Must-Have for Travelers, and It Just Hit a Record-Low of $95

Snag it for $45 off and charge your iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch at the same time.

If you’re a frequent traveler, then you know that outlets are a precious commodity in places like airports and coffee shops. So why waste one on a single device when you can charge up to three at once? Right now, you can grab this seriously sleek Ugreen Magflow three-in-one foldable charger for just $95 at Amazon. That’s a $45 discount and the all-time lowest price we’ve seen. Just don’t wait too long, as this deal could expire at any time.

At just 7.4 ounces, this compact charging station is designed to be taken on the go. But despite its size, it still supports 25-watt MagSafe charging for iPhones, as well as 5-watt wireless charging for AirPods and Apple Watches. The charging stand also tilts up to double as a stand, and it’s equipped with 16 magnets to keep your phone aligned and securely in place. Plus, it’s got built-in protections against overheating, overcharging, short-circuiting and more to prevent damage to your devices.

Why this deal matters

This folding Ugreen charger is great for juicing up your devices on the go, and it’s never been more affordable. Plus, Ugreen makes some of the best MagSafe chargers on the market right now, so don’t miss your chance to grab one at a record-low price.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Jan. 13, #1669

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Jan. 13, No. 1,669.

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 is a little tricky, and it might make you hungry. 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 no repeated letters.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

Today’s Wordle answer has two vowels.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with G.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends with O.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to a spicy Cajun stew popular in New Orleans.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is GUMBO.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, Jan. 12, No. 1,668 was TRIAL.

Recent Wordle answers

Jan. 8, No. 1,664: BLAST

Jan. 9, No. 1,665: EIGHT

Jan. 10, No. 1,666: MANIC

Jan. 11, No. 1,667: QUARK

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

What’s the best Wordle starting word?

Don’t be afraid to use our tip sheet ranking all the letters in the alphabet by frequency of uses. In short, you want starter words that lean heavy on E, A and R, and don’t contain Z, J and Q.

Some solid starter words to try:

ADIEU

TRAIN

STARE

NOISE