Technologies

Nintendo’s Made a Weird Animal Crossing. Tomodachi Life Has Me Living Like an Odd God

I’ve been collecting people into my human zoo and conducting social experiments. Tell me this is OK.

On an island in the middle of a distant ocean, I’ve been collecting people to live together. I experiment on them. I watch them react to foods I feed them and strange outfits I put on them. They call me Divine One.

I call this island Togetherness. This is totally fine, right? Everything is fine.

This has been my existence with Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, Nintendo’s oddest Switch game in quite a while. A sequel to a Nintendo 3DS game I never played, it’s a life simulator — sort of like Animal Crossing, if Animal Crossing were absolutely unhinged and populated with people you created yourself.

It’s also a place where Miis — Nintendo’s game avatars that have been around since the Wii — are in the spotlight. You make them, have them meet each other, watch them do weird stuff and just… keep going. They offer an astonishing amount of customization and even come with their own creepy generated voices, which you can tune to be as annoying as you’d like.

I found comfort and joy just a few weeks ago with Pokémon Pokopia. This time around, it’s more about laughs and chaos. Don’t expect much agency in Tomodachi Life. You’re not personally «on» the island controlling a character like you are in Pokopia or Animal Crossing. Instead, you’re the creator — building a world and introducing both helpful and chaotic elements.

It reminded me of something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Then, as I was watching a TV show with my kid he’d never seen before, it hit: It’s The Good Place.

Which is why I created Miis based on all the Good Place characters. I made Chidi and Eleanor fall in love and get married. And Tahani and Jason live next to each other.

For the other island residents, I made Miis named after all the prescription drug ads I saw on Hulu while watching The Good Place. Dupixent, Breztri, Nurtec, Tremfya…they’re all here and doing great, mostly.

«Ant farm» was the thought I had as my island slowly grew — more residents arriving, new facilities emerging, introduced by the game via news headlines: a clothing store, a home goods store, a food shop, a news station. As you go, new features start to unfold. Surprises. Sometimes island residents fall asleep and have dreams you can watch, and objects manifest from them: a toy robot, a makeup kit. Sometimes a Mii interrogates me about my childhood obsessions.

As you go — feeding Miis things that make them happy, helping pick them up when they fall or playing games with them (red light/green light, guessing games) — you earn money, and they level up. Weird custom sayings or gestures can be layered on. You can give them gifts or send them on little vacations (just to take selfies that I save to my Switch). You can suggest topics for them to talk about — phrases inserted into chats like Mad Libs, such as «Weird Al» or «smooth grandma.» At one point, Jardiance and Lybalvi became obsessed with talking about Sam Darnold. Or was it Kisunla and Neffy?

I felt myself becoming a bit drunk on my power. A bored god. All these Miis multiplying as I added more — calling me Divine One (my choice), doing their little weird things. The bizarre daily rituals made my kid and me laugh, but it’s also a game that sort of taps out after a half-hour session. You do what you can, buy stuff, solve resident problems, then watch for a bit, log off and come back later.

How far does this go? I don’t know. I’ve played about 10 hours and built homes for a dozen-plus residents. I can go further. You expand and customize the island through purchases — or even by painting or designing your own items. You can only build as much land as the game allows within a fenced-in boundary around the surrounding ocean, but that boundary keeps expanding as you add more residents. Each day, or every other day, brings new discoveries. Also, I’m a terrible island designer.

It’s hard to recommend Tomodachi Life. If you want a weird Mii habitat to take care of — or just some strange Nintendo in your life — dive in. But Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Pokémon Pokopia are better, more engaging games. The passive nature of Tomodachi also feels like it might be better suited for a phone or tablet. And at $60, it feels excessive.

But am I happy to see Nintendo being this unflinchingly weird less than a year after the Switch 2’s launch? Yes. And I love that this game allows for nonbinary characters and gender-flexible relationships, a rarity for Nintendo.

And yet, Nintendo has made a strange move by preventing you from sharing screenshots — moments that would almost certainly be meme-worthy — to its phone app so you can show them off. Maybe that’s to keep your Tomodachi fantasies more private and safe. Or maybe it’s to protect Nintendo from players creating awkward or awful moments it would rather not see publicized. Just be prepared to keep your Tomodachi experiences to yourself, unless you resort to photographing your Switch screen, which I’m sure plenty of people will do. This game feels like a meme factory.

At least it’s playable on both Switch and Switch 2, unlike recent Switch 2 exclusives such as Pokémon Pokopia. But I’m still not sure what to do with my residents on Togetherness Island. Do I love them? Sort of. Will I care for them? Probably not.

Technologies

Can’t File Your Income Taxes by Today? You Need to File a Free Extension Now

The best tax software will let you file a federal income tax extension to give yourself six more months to finish your taxes.

Time’s up, US taxpayers. The deadline for filing your income taxes is today. You have until midnight tonight to submit your 2025 tax return electronically or have it postmarked.

If you’re not able to finish your 2025 tax return today, or if you’re still missing important tax documents, don’t fret. You can file a free tax extension with the IRS, which will give you another six months to complete and submit your tax return.

There’s no cost or penalty for filing a tax extension, and most tax software will help you complete the process in a few minutes. However, there are some critical details to be aware of before you make the decision to postpone your taxes for another six months.

Read on to find all of the details for filing a tax extension in 2026 and how it will affect your tax refund or the money that you owe.

What’s the deadline to file an income tax extension?

Along with the tax return submission deadline, there’s a deadline to file for a tax extension. You’ll need to submit it by 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, April 15, in your time zone. That’s also the tax filing deadline.

How to file an income tax extension in 2026

If you’re planning to file a tax extension this year, you’ll need to submit Form 4868 (PDF) to the IRS either by paper or electronically using e-file before the April 15 deadline. As long as your electronic extension is transmitted by midnight on April 15, or your letter is postmarked by that date, your extension should be good.

However, if you think that you owe taxes, you’ll need to pay your estimated income tax due using Direct Pay, the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System or using a debit or credit card. If you don’t pay your estimated taxes with your extension and owe money, you’ll have to pay interest on that money and a potential penalty when you file.

Some taxpayers are automatically granted more time to file. This includes military personnel serving in combat zones or people in federally declared disaster areas. US citizens who live outside the country have until June 17 to file.

Does an extension give you more time to pay your tax bill?

No. Extending your filing deadline doesn’t delay when you have to pay taxes that you may owe. According to the IRS, you need to estimate and pay at least 90% of your tax liability by the deadline to avoid late fees. Otherwise, you will have accrued interest on what you owe, which you’ll eventually have to pay — plus possible penalties — on top of your income taxes.

The late-payment penalty is usually 0.5% per month of the outstanding tax not paid by the filing deadline, maxing out at 25%. The IRS can also issue a late-filing penalty of 5% of the amount due for every month or partial month your tax return is late. If your return is filed more than 60 days after the due date, the minimum late-filing penalty is either $450 or 100% of the unpaid tax (whichever is less).

For individual taxpayers, penalties and interest will stop accruing only when your balance is paid in full. For more on penalties or to work out a payment plan with the IRS, check out its web page.

How is child tax credit money related to tax returns?

The child tax credit provides benefits for parents of children, allowing them to lower the amount they owe in taxes each year based on how many dependents they claim. If you had a new baby or gained a dependent, you can both decrease the amount of taxes you owe and increase the amount you may get back in a tax refund.

The Child Tax Credit allows families to receive up to $2,200 per eligible child under the age of 17, as long as certain income requirements are met. By not filing your taxes by the deadline, you could be missing out on up to $2,200 per child.

Will you receive your tax refund later if you file an extension?

Yes. The timeline for getting your income tax refund depends on when you file. But even though you have until Oct. 15 to submit your return if you file an extension, it doesn’t mean you have to wait that long to file.

Some tax refunds, especially for more complicated returns or those that need corrections, could take months to arrive. The IRS encourages taxpayers to file electronically and carefully review their details before submitting to avoid any errors that could potentially delay refunds. The agency also asks that you sign up for direct deposit to get your money even faster.

All of the ways you can file your 2025 tax return

The IRS says that taxpayers can file and schedule their federal tax payments online, by phone or with the mobile IRS2Go app.

If you need to find a tax software service to use, and you made $89,000 or less in 2025, you can find an IRS-approved free filing service easily. You’ll need to gather the following information: income statements (W2s or 1099s), any adjustments to your income, your filing status (single, married, filing jointly), and dependent information. If you made more than $89,000 last year, you still can use the IRS’ Free File Fillable Forms.

If you haven’t already made a tax payment, the IRS prefers that payments be made electronically and offers a variety of ways to do so, including IRS Direct Pay, which is directly linked to a checking or savings account. Another option is by credit card using the mobile IRS2Go app, or through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System.

How to review your IRS tax account online

An easy way to review all your tax-related details, including your address and payment plan details, is to access your IRS account online. Taxpayers can use information from their accounts if they need to access their adjusted gross income, find their stimulus payment and child tax credit amounts, or review their estimated tax payments or credits. Accessing your tax transcript will give you all the records necessary if you have a tax problem or a missing payment.

If you have additional questions, you can visit the IRS Interactive Tax Assistant to get help.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for April 16, #1040

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for April 16, No. 1,040.

Looking for the most recent 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, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is tricky. I did love the blue category, which references a favorite Batman character. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Make fun of.

Green group hint: Brr, so cold in here!

Blue group hint: Batman’s rival.

Purple group hint: Connected with learning.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Tease.

Green group: Thermostat settings.

Blue group: Features of a Catwoman costume.

Purple group: Training ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is tease. The four answers are needle, rib, ride and roast.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is thermostat settings. The four answers are auto, cool, fan and heat.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is features of a Catwoman costume. The four answers are bodysuit, claws, mask and whip.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is training ____. The four answers are bra, camp, day and wheels.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for April 16 #774

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for April 16, No. 774.

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 could be tough. I understood the theme right away, but some of the answers are really difficult to unscramble. 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: This is not working.

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

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:

STEM, STEMS, STEAM, STEAMS, MAPS, TEES, RIFF, FEAR, FEAT, RATIO, REST

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:

HOBBY, PASTIME, INTEREST, SIDELINE, RECREATION

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is JUSTFORFUN. To find it, start with the J that is the farthest-left letter on the top row, and wind down and then back up.