'We apologize for the delay in our ability to meet your expectations.'

Valve is asking developers to input accessibility information to ensure robust support for the new search functionality.

Looking back, the original idea behind YouTube seems almost quaint. The mythic founding story goes like this: in January of 2005, two PayPal employees, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, were at a party. People were taking photos and videos on their digital cameras. Sharing photos was easy, sharing video was anything but. “People have different video types, video codecs they have to download, video software,” Chen said on Charlie Rose in 2006. He and Hurley had a sense that as digital cameras and cameraphones became ubiquitous, more people were going to want to share their footage. “We tried to simplify the process, to make it as easy as possible to share these videos online.” By the end of the year, their simple platform was already a huge hit.Fast forward to today, the 20th anniversary of the first-ever YouTube video upload, and the numbers have become so big they’re basically meaningless. Three and a half billion people watch YouTube every month, according to one study. Google’s earnings show it brought in about $36 billion in ad revenue alone last year. YouTube gets 50 percent more viewership than Netflix, and about as much as Disney, Prime Video, Peacock, and Paramount Plus combined — and that only counts people watching YouTube on their TVs. YouTube is by most measurements the second most popular search engine on the internet (after Google), and the second most popular social network (after Facebook). It’s the most popular service for both music and podcast listening. It’s the second most popular page on Wikipedia, for some reason. It’s for cat videos and Oscar winners. YouTube knows no bounds.Ahead of the 20th anniversary, I talked to a number of people inside YouTube about the state of the platform. I asked them all a variant of the same question: what is YouTube? It’s not just a video-sharing platform anymore. It’s podcasts and videos and music and games and group chats and a thousand other things. What has YouTube become? And what’s the plan going forward?Over and over, I heard the same thing: YouTube is more complicated and more diffuse than ever, and it’s definitely no longer a singular platform. But the idea at the core of the thing hasn’t changed at all. “The secret of YouTube was never really a secret”“The secret of YouTube was never really a secret,” said Scott Silver, a product and engineering leader at YouTube who has been at Google since the days of Google Video. (Google Video, you definitely don’t need to remember, was Google’s attempt to build a video-sharing platform before it gave up and bought YouTube for $1.65 billion in 2006.) “It’s just that if there’s a giant collection of videos somewhere, and you figure out which ones to show people, and then they watch them, and you’re able to pay the people who make that collection of videos to make more of them, then there’s more stuff to choose from. It compounds on itself.”That’s the grand unified theory of YouTube, right there, and it has been compounding on itself for two decades. It has made YouTube enormous, and enormously powerful. But the job’s not done: there are always new formats, new content types, and new devices to reckon with. YouTube’s ambitions are only getting bigger, too — the company clearly aspires to be the size of the entertainment industry, or maybe even be the entertainment industry. That is going to require history’s largest video collection to get much, much larger.The many faces of YouTubeWhen I ask Brian Albert, a managing director on YouTube’s advertising team, to explain YouTube to me the way he explains it to clients, he breaks the platform into three separate categories. There’s streaming, the high-end stuff that competes with Netflix and the rest. There’s also social video, in YouTube’s case mostly meaning Shorts, up against TikTok and Reels. And there’s what Albert calls “straight online video,” the kind of creator-led mid- and long-form video you really only find on YouTube. “We have competitors across the board,” Albert said, “but there’s no single competitor who plays in each of those three lanes.”Albert delineates things this way because that’s how advertisers think about video. YouTube’s clients have budgets, and those budgets have categories — over the years, as YouTube has become a more sophisticated business, it has tried to convince advertisers of the unique value of YouTube but also to give them a place to put the dollars earmarked for live sports or prestige TV. The goal is to get advertisers in the door with products they already know, and then try to sell them on everything else. “Advertisers for a while now have been buying us like TV or like digital video,” said Tara Walpert Levy, YouTube’s vice president for the Americas. “Now they’re leaning in much more heavily on things like commerce or brand deals.” (YouTube, of course, gets a cut whenever you buy something through a shop or a sponsored video.) Advertisers have long been wary of putting too much emphasis on one thing, preferring to spread their spend around. YouTube is increasingly making the argument that it’s possible to hit all your budgets and all your target markets, all on one platform.If you look at YouTube as a series of products reverse-engineered from advertising budgets, the company’s many offerings start to make a kind of sense. Shorts look like TikToks and Reels because that’s what people like to watch, but also because creative agencies are already used to making short, vertical video ads. YouTube spent billions on NFL Sunday Ticket, and made a whole cable-replacement bundle in YouTube TV, to make pivoting from TV ads to digital ads as simple as possible. YouTube builds huge packages around awards shows, March Madness, and other big cultural moments, because that’s what the money is earmarked for.The simplest way to understand YouTube is as an insatiable content collector, constantly searching for anything that smells like time spentUltimately, though, the simplest way to understand YouTube is as an insatiable content collector, constantly searching for anything that smells like time spent. YouTube knows that its whole system — the sharp recommendation algorithm, the creator tools, the vast swaths of money — only works if it ultimately leads to someone creating the exact right thing to recommend to you every time you open the app. That’s one reason it pays creators better than other social platforms; it knows better than most that incentivizing them to make content makes the whole thing go. That’s why YouTube has spent so much time, money, and energy hoovering up every kind of content imaginable. YouTube was built on the back of pirated TV — you could argue the SNL sketch “Lazy Sunday” was the first viral YouTube video, and its huge popularity led to the billion-dollar Viacom lawsuit that briefly threatened to kill YouTube entirely, but ultimately both established it as a place safely full of copyright theft and taught YouTube the value of making deals. For years, YouTube tried to create its own Emmy-worthy shows and Oscar-winning movies, before eventually developing things like Primetime Channels that brought other streaming services onto the platform. (Now we have companies like Warner Bros. just dumping full movies onto YouTube, hoping they’ll get picked up by the algorithm.) The cable-like deals struck for YouTube TV bring all-important live events onto YouTube. By investing in podcasts and YouTube Music, YouTube turned itself into an audio-friendly service too. (YouTube Music is substantially smaller than Spotify or Apple Music, but if you include people consuming music on YouTube it’s the biggest music platform by a mile.) The goal is all the same: anytime you want content of any kind, you’ll open YouTube. I get the sense YouTube would happily start printing books if it thought people still liked to read.You really can’t overstate the importance of the sheer tonnage of YouTube, when you’re looking at why it has worked. Consider a counterexample: Netflix, which has somewhere in the range of 6,500 titles available. Total. “Netflix might have the algorithm knowledge of ‘we’ve seen what you like, and we can tell you what the next perfect movie would be for you,’” Pablo Lucio Paredes, head of engineering and data at the streaming guide company Reelgood, told me last year. “But does Netflix have that actual movie?” YouTube may not have Stranger Things (at least not officially), but it has a few billion other things you might like. And over the last 20 years, it has also managed to convince a lot of people that they’d rather watch MrBeast than the scrappy kids in Hawkins, Indiana.That’s content-biz, babyThere’s plenty of existing content left for YouTube to bring onto the platform, but the way YouTube wins is by getting creators to create. The company has always understood that its homegrown talent is its greatest asset. But every YouTuber eventually feels the platform’s constant desire for more content; if you don’t feed the algorithm, and tap into every new trend and format that bubbles up across the ecosystem, you might get left behind. YouTube seems to mint new creators faster than it burns them out, but that might not be true forever. And as the platform continues to grow, it’s harder and harder for new creators to find a big audience. Eventually, YouTube risks becoming too big for its own good.YouTube is betting on AI to solve a lot of its problems. The company has spent the last couple of years putting AI to work on practically every part of the creator experience, from replying to comments to coming up with ideas to making wholly generated videos. The company is also extremely bullish on using AI to automatically dub videos into other languages. If it all works, it could increase the YouTube library — and the platform’s chance of always having the right video to show you — like nothing ever has. If it doesn’t work, though, it could poison the well with AI slop and turn YouTube into a platform chock-full of content no one wants. One of these fates appears to be waiting for just about every content maker on the planet. The other ultra-ambitious plan for increasing content is coming in video games. Years ago, YouTube tried to compete directly with Twitch as a game-streaming platform, via a separate app called YouTube Gaming, which didn’t really work. Now gamers use YouTube as a platform for content about games, or just content that only makes sense in a world where everyone plays games. “If you had told me when we were building the gaming app,” said Katherine de León, who leads gaming at YouTube, “that in 2025, one of the biggest gaming creators on YouTube would be a mother of four in Texas who makes Minecraft roleplay videos for girls and women, I would have told you to go home.” She also points to huge hits like Skibidi Toilet as the kind of content that only makes sense when everyone’s a gamer.More recently, YouTube has started to offer what it calls “Playables.” They are essentially mini-games inside of YouTube, and feel a little like what you’d expect to find on Facebook circa the Zynga days. There are what appear to be official versions of Crossy Road and Angry Birds, multiple takes on solitaire and chess; and three identical-looking games called Bubble Pop Star, Bubble Shooter, and Bubble Tower 3D. Each one loads like a mini-app inside YouTube.“It’s consumption and creation, right?”At first glance, Playables make no sense. There are no built-in livestreaming tools or comment threads, no sign at all you’re even on YouTube. But de León makes two arguments in favor of Playables. One is that people like playing games, and that’s enough. They’re good content. But the long-term strategy hinges on games that are their own content-creation machines. “A lot of our top games on YouTube are sandbox games,” she said. “It’s consumption and creation, right?” In Fortnite, Roblox, and elsewhere, players are making content in the games, making content about the games, and making content with the tools of the game. I’m pretty sure Bubble Tower 3D isn’t going to turn into a content machine. So at some point, if you want to be the internet’s great content engine, you just build your own Roblox, right? At this, de León mostly just smiles. She was a game dev for years before coming to Google – her answer is clear. But all she’ll say is, it would definitely make sense. “As a game maker of 17 years, I’m excited about that whole loop,” she said. “You can watch, you can play, you can comment, and you can do it in Shorts, you can do it on YouTube TV, you can do it in a live-streaming channel.” Aping Roblox isn’t easy – just ask everyone who’s ever wasted millions or billions of dollars trying to build a live-service game people love — and it would be YouTube’s biggest structural change yet. But it’s content. So YouTube will try.The everywhere appWhile most of YouTube goes out and tries to corner the content market, the engineering team’s job is to take all of these disparate projects and make them something akin to universally accessible. “It’s one of the things YouTube has excelled at from the very early days,” said John Harding, a VP of engineering at YouTube. “We figure out how to get your media everywhere.” Once upon a time, that meant a web browser on your desktop computer. Now it’s much more than that. “I used to say we were trying to get YouTube on anything with a network connection and a screen,” Harding said. “Now we’re trying to get YouTube on things that don’t have network connections — and don’t have screens.”“Now we’re trying to get YouTube on things that don’t have network connections — and don’t have screens.”In fact, Silver reckons, YouTube might be the Google application that can run on the most devices. “Except maybe Search,” he said, before reconsidering. “But then, you don’t really search on your TV, you don’t really search on your watch. But YouTube has to work on all of those devices, from set-top boxes to TVs to VR headsets to watches to car players. And then, of course, mobile phones and desktops and all those kinds of things.” It’s a hard job no matter what, and much harder when you have to reinvent the wheel on every new device. As much as possible, Silver said, “what we try to do is push stuff into our base platform.” No matter where you load a YouTube video, the goal is to have it run as much identical code as possible. Sometimes features might get developed for one part of the platform — like multi-view on YouTube TV, so people can watch four games at a time — but much of that is then brought back to the overall codebase. The goal, Silver said, is to build things as few times as possible.For 20 years, that’s how it has worked: get all the content, get it everywhere. The “all” and the “everywhere” in that plan have both expanded dramatically since the days of “Me at the zoo” in a desktop browser, but the job is still the job. And while YouTube’s competitors have occasionally beaten it in certain ways, particularly recently — people speak in reverent tones about how well TikTok’s algorithm understands them, and YouTube doesn’t have a capture-and-edit tool nearly as good as Instagram or CapCut — nobody has yet managed to copy the whole system. Get people to make videos; put those videos in front of the right people; pay the people who make the videos so they’ll make more. Somehow nobody else is doing that right. And the bigger YouTube gets, the more money comes into the ecosystem, the faster the flywheel turns.Now, though, YouTube is the established giant and no longer the cool upstart. It has convinced the world that creators are celebrities, that prank videos and documentaries can co-exist, that it is a mainstream entertainment business. As Walpert Levy put it, YouTube has reached the “nobody ever got fired for advertising on YouTube” phase. Now the company has its sights on everything from podcasts to gaming, with ideas about how to make them more YouTube-y. The YouTube-ification of the entertainment business is only just getting started. And it’s all a big bet that you’ll be there, watching, the whole time.See More:

Tech evangelists have been yammering about “working smarter, not harder” for years. Now, two 21-year-old Columbia University dropouts are proposing a new $5.3 million twist on the concept: use their AI tool Cluely to “cheat on everything.”That’s what it literally says in Cluely’s online manifesto: “We want to cheat on everything.” Unlike the AI chatbots you’re familiar with, it describes Cluely as an “undetectable AI-powered assistant built for virtual meetings, sales calls, and more.” It claims to read your screen, listen to your audio, and let you discreetly prompt AI to find answers or whip out smart responses in real-time. Basically, the next time you’re in a team meeting, job interview, sales call, or online test, Cluely promises you’ll come off smarter thanks to AI — and no one will be the wiser.“Imagine you’re trying to sell someone something and you got this tool that knows every single detail about them, their professional lives, about you, and about your company. It’s as if you’ve done 10 hours of research and all of the sudden, every single question they ask, every single objection they face — you immediately have an answer,” Cluely cofounder Chungin “Roy” Lee tells me in a video call. Lee describes it as “true AI maximalism,” where in every possible use case AI can be helpful it is. Lee recently went viral for cheating his way to an Amazon internship with his last project, Interview Coder. Similar to Cluely, Interview Coder was pitched as an invisible app that helps programmers secretly use AI chatbots on technical tests in job interviews. Not only did Lee document and post the entire process, the stunt led to him getting suspended from Columbia. (He and his cofounder Neel Shamugan decided to drop out after disciplinary proceedings.)“The video was like a launch of our vision, not a launch of the product.”It’s a wild story. Even wilder is the six-figure ad Cluely dropped over the weekend. Lee stars in the ad, using Cluely to catfish his date into thinking he’s a 30-year-old senior software engineer. He can see an AR display that analyzes her speech in real time while providing visual references to his own dating profile and answers to her questions. When his date catches on to the ruse, Cluely tries to salvage the situation in real-time as if it were an AI Cyrano de Bergerac. It hints he should reference her artwork and quickly generates a script to convince her that despite the lies, he’s worth a second shot. This Black Mirror-esque ad is Lee’s elevator pitch for what “cheating on everything” looks like. After all, why stop at technical interviews when you could have an AI wingman?Apologies for the crappy photos but this doesn’t show up in screenshots. Image: Victoria Song / The VergeI’m a journalist. My job is asking smart people smart questions. Why not try “cheating” with Cluely to become a better interviewer? Who better to test this hypothesis on than Lee himself?Hopping onto a Zoom call with Lee, Cluely doesn’t work like I’d imagined. In the ad, Cluely works like magic. It instantly understands the situational context and the user doesn’t have to do anything. In reality, we spend the first couple minutes troubleshooting Cluely-related audio problems. The AI can’t intuit what I need to know even though I gave it some context ahead of the call. There’s no being discreet when you have to type prompts with a clacky mechanical keyboard. The few times I try, it’s obvious my eyes are wandering to the side of my screen. And whenever I shoot off a prompt, the AI takes forever to generate a response. These are all flaws that Lee acknowledges. “Right now the product is in its earliest possible stages. This is a bit more than a proof of concept that was developed in a few weeks,” Lee says. “The video was like a launch of our vision, not a launch of the product.” The problem with AI has never been a lack of vision. The fine print is in the execution. Poor execution almost always shatters the illusion of whatever future tech founders are peddling. Cluely is no exception. When I show my spouse Cluely, they lift a quizzical brow and ask, “Why not just use Google?” “The reason to use AI over Google is pretty obvious. AI will just give you better answers than Google does, and if people don’t think that, then they should just use Google,” says Lee. It’s a reasonable answer, if, like in the story of Cyrano, your AI pal is always smarter, faster, and wittier than you. But what if it isn’t? What if it’s boring, slow, or worse than you at comprehension? This isn’t a bad pitch but in our newsroom, I know my editors would push me to go for a more unique angle. Image: Victoria Song / The VergeI tried using Cluely with my editor and during one of my actual team meetings. Neither went smoothly.With my editor, I had many of the same technical problems, albeit the latency is less of an issue in a relaxed conversation about shared interests. She asked me what I thought of K-pop group BlackPink’s solo careers — particularly Jennie’s recent performance at Coachella. Thankfully, that’s a topic I have many thoughts on but I prompted Cluely anyway. It spat out a generic, stiffly-worded answer about how it’s awesome to watch a celebrity express themselves creatively 90 seconds after I’d already shared my true opinion. That’s an eternity of silence in an interview. In my meeting, I had to ask my colleagues if they’d be okay with me using Cluely beforehand. Cheating, by definition, requires subterfuge — something that Cluely’s own terms of service and privacy policy frown upon. Due to recording consent laws, Cluely says you should ask for consent of parties present because to do so otherwise could be illegal. That feels like pulling back the curtain on the Wizard of Oz, not to mention, defeating the purpose of “cheating.” Do I sound smarter if people know there’s a chance it’s AI-generated thoughts coming out of my mouth? On the meetings call, Cluely seemed to cause mic issues resulting in lots of audio feedback. My colleagues asked me multiple times to mute myself. (All the audio problems disappeared once I stopped Cluely.) It’s hard to look smart when the AI can take two whole minutes to digest a conversation, you get distracted by four errors that pop up, and everyone shushes you because of messed-up audio. There’s a future in which a faster, smarter AI could be everyone’s personal Cyrano. For what it’s worth, Lee doesn’t see AI or Cluely’s mission quite in that way. Cheating is the metaphor because AI, Lee says, will inevitably become so powerful, using it will feel like cheating. He’s convinced that “AI is the lever that will let us experience the true extent of our humanity” by cutting out tedium and letting us pursue whatever it is we actually want to do. It’s an idea AI evangelists frequently preach. But that’s not where we are today. While testing Cluely, I put a lot of effort into making it work for me. I’d ended up working harder to be worse at my job than I usually am. I wondered, wouldn’t it have been easier to simply not cheat?See More:

The most pivotal moment in any Pokemon game comes right at the start – choosing your partner Pokemon. The first moment you lock eyes with the creature you’ll spend tens of hours raising, bonding with and sending into battle is a special experience. That decision is usually based on vibes and taste to the point where many fans see it as a personality test. However, in those moments, you have no knowledge of how that decision will affect your journey to becoming a Pokemon master, with the gyms, rivals and secrets of the region yet to reveal themselves to you.Well, we’ve done the research, looked into the base stats, found every strength and weakness of every starter Pokemon and all their evolutions and pitted them against their native regions to determine who is the best starter pick, not just to get you past the first couple gyms, but to take on the Elite Four and beyond. This is the first step to becoming a Pokemon master across all iterations.Gen 1: BulbasaurGames: Pokemon Red & Blue, FireRed & LeafGreenStarter options: Bulbasaur (grass), Charmander (fire), Squirtle (water)Full guide: IGN's Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow guideWhile being the obvious pick to tackle the first gym in Pokemon Red and Blue (Grass beats Rock, as any Pokemon fan knows), Bulbasaur outshines both Charmander and Squirtle as the best starter pick in any bid to dominate the Kanto region. Initial analysis might understandably lean towards Charmander. Fire types are a minority in Gen 1, many random encounters pitt you against Flying types (which are strong against Bulbasaur’s Grass) and the final gym is heavy on Ground types – something Charizard is immune to. However, those who are Bulbasaur-inclined will find themselves flying through the majority of the game, with the Grass type being super effective against Brock’s Rock Pokemon, Misty’s Water collection, and the Giovanni’s final gym line-up, as well as being the best choice to take out the first two members of the Elite Four. The biggest challenge Bulbasaur will face are Erika’s Grass type gym, where strategy will be vital to overcoming the barrage of “not very effective” attacks, and Blaine’s Fire type gym, which can be defeated thanks to the abundance of water types present in Kanto. There are some issues a Bulbasaur trainer will have to contend with, not least the many Pidgeys and Spearows you’ll come across in tall grass, whose Flying typing will provide a problem for anyone looking to grind their way to a high level. Thankfully, the amount of Ground and Rock types in caves will provide ample opportunity for Bulbasaur to wipe out entire bloodlines of Pokemon to gain a few XP. Also problematic are the frequent encounters with Blue, whose Pidgeot and Charmander will be a consistent issue, the latter of which can be helped by a Water type on your team. But Bulbasaur, along with having well-balanced base stats, has the added bonus of evolving into Venasaur who also is a poison-type, giving him a solid advantage over the other two offerings from Professor Oak.Gen 2: CyndaquilGames: Pokemon Gold & Silver, Crystal, HeartGold & SoulSilverStarter options: Chikorita (grass), Cyndaquil (fire), Totodile (water)Full guide: IGN's Pokemon Gold, Silver and Crystal guidePokemon Gold and Silver introduced just eight new Fire types to the series, in comparison to 10 Grass and 18 Water types. That minority means snapping up a powerful Fire Pokemon like Cyndaquil from the start adds a great deal of diversity to your team. More importantly, Cyndaquil proves to be the best matchup for the majority of gyms and Elite Four members that populate Johto. Bugsy’s (you guessed it) Bug type gym and Jasmine’s Steel type gym will easily fall before a few Embers and Flame Wheels from Cyndaquil and his subsequent evolutions. The same cannot be said for the cutest of the starters, Water type Totodile, with there being no Fire, Ground or Rock gyms for him to dismantle. Grass type Chikorita (or more likely her third form, Meganium) would have a field day in Pryce’s Water gym but would struggle with the early Bug and Flying type gyms as well as Morty’s Poison type gym. Pryce will pose a problem for Cyndaquil, and so you’ll want to put together a well-balanced team to get you through that penultimate gym, but you’ll have many hours to assemble the perfect group before that hurdle. Also working in Cyndaquil’s favour are the Grass and Bug types dotted throughout the Elite Four’s roster. Though all four of these teams are well-balanced enough to give you trouble no matter who you pick as a starter, the many Poison types and Lance’s team of Dragon/Flying types makes this a no-go zone for Meganium. Meanwhile Totodile’s final evolution, Ferligator, would certainly hold its own against many of these Pokemon, but won’t blaze through a few like Typhlosion will. Picking Cyndaquil does come with its issues. There will be many Rock and Ground Pokemon bothering you with random encounters in caves and Lance’s team containing a Charizard and a Gyrados will require some solid strategy to overcome, but the effects of these are much lesser compared to what ails Chikorita and Totodile. Gen 3: MudkipGames: Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire, Emerald, Omega Ruby & Alpha SapphireStarter options: Treecko (grass), Torchic (fire), Mudkip (water)Full guide: IGN's Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald guideYou might pick Mudkip because you just think he’s neat, but the reasons to go Water type for Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire run a bit deeper. In terms of gyms, Water type Mudkip has a bit of competition from the Grass type Treecko as both of them are super effective against three of the eight. They both have an advantage in Roxanne’s and Tate & Liza’s Rock/Ground gyms, while Mudkip will be best suited to take on Flannery’s Fire gym and Treeko for Wallace’s Water gym. By the time you get to Wallace, Treeko would have almost definitely evolved into Sceptile, as Sootopolis City houses the final gym. The significance of that can’t be understated, but Treeko’s Grass typing sees it at a disadvantage in battles with Flannery and with Winona’s Flying type lineup. Mudkip, on the other hand, will struggle with just the one gym – Wattson’s (you guessed it) Electric type gym early on in Mauville City. Your third option, Torchic, doesn’t really enter the conversation here, with Fire types being super effective against none of the gyms and Fighting (a type gained by Torchic’s third form, Blazicken), only super effective against one, not to mention being at a massive disadvantage for Wallace’s battle. The makeup of the Elite Four can lend a slight advantage towards Treeko’s final form, Sceptile, as you come across Glacia’s Ice/Water Pokemon and a few Grass Pokemon along the way which will cause Swampert (Mudkip’s third evolution) some issues. However, as Mudkip evolves into its final form, it gains Ground typing and very nicely balanced stats which see it gain a huge defensive boost, becoming immune to Electric and its only weakness being Grass. This makes Swampert able to power through battles where it usually might be the underdog. Another consideration may be the amount of water present in the Hoenn region, meaning random encounters can be a bit of a grind, but Mudkip shows enough advantages in other areas to overcome that obstacle. Bonus points for being the cutest of the bunch.Gen 4: ChimcharGames: Pokemon Diamond & Pearl, Platinum, Brilliant Diamond & Shining PearlStarter options: Turtwig (grass), Chimchar (fire), Piplup (water)Full guide: IGN's Pokemon Diamond, Pearl and Platinum guideContinuing the trend from the very first game, Pokemon Diamond and Pearl adds far fewer Fire type Pokemon to the series; just five in comparison to the14 introduced for Water and Grass. Though this isn’t a deciding factor in which starter to pick, it adds to the list of attributes going in Fire type Chimchar’s favour over Grass type Turtwig and Water type Piplup. Three is the magic number in terms of how many gyms a Pokemon needs to be super effective against to come out on top over its peers, and Chimchar’s Fire typing helps it overcome Gardenia’s Grass type gym, as well as the sixth and seventh gyms ran by Byron’s Steel types and Candice’s Ice types. Chimchar faces tough competition from Turtwig, who can eliminate Roark’s Rock type and Crasher Wake’s Water type gyms with ease. After evolving into Torterra, it also gains Ground typing, making it immune to Electric attacks which will see it waltz through the final gym owned by Volkner. Though they may seem perfectly matched, a lot of Turtwig’s strengths are most exemplified in the early stages of the game, while Chimchar’s abilities sees him primed for late game success. Coming through the gyms with minimal fuss is important due to the Sinnoh region’s very well-balanced Elite Four. Chimchar’s final evolution, Infernape, is perfect to take on Aaron’s Bug Pokemon, which would be super effective against Torterra, but the Grass type would admittedly be best to dismantle Bertha’s Water and Ground types. Piplup, despite evolving into the very resilient Empoleon, doesn’t have a significant advantage over many of the gym leaders or the Elite Four to make a dent here. It’s a close matchup between Chimchar and Torterra, but due to the frequent battles with Team Galactic’s Bug types, the advantage falls with Chimchar, who has the gym battle credentials to back it up. Gen 5: TepigGames: Pokemon Black & WhiteStarter options: Snivy (grass), Tepig (fire), Oshawott (water)Full guide: IGN's Pokemon Black and White guideGen 5 makes for a more clean cut decision, with the Fire type Tepig making the biggest claim for being the smartest pick. Grass type Snivy doesn’t quite make the cut as it only has an advantage over just the one gym, nor any significant advantages over any Elite Four member, as well as being plagued by the various Bug and Flying types across the Unova region’s tall grass and boss battles. Water type Oshawott isn’t as embattled as Snivy, being the best choice to take on Clay’s Ground type gym and being resistant to Brycen’s Ice Pokemon, which are super effective against Snivy. But like the Grass type, there are no Elite Four members who lean into a type specifically tailored to Oshawott or its evolutions. However, Tepig’s Fire abilities, and its final form, Emboar, also being a Fighting type, allows it to have a smoother ride through Unova. Firstly, Burgh’s Bug gym and Brycen’s gym are light work for a Fire type, the latter being the penultimate gym in the game. Alternative solutions will need to be found to make it through Clay’s Ground-based gym, but the same can be said for Oshawott as it arrives in Elesa’s Electric gym. The Elite Four battles are where Emboar’s Fighting type comes in handy, being super effective against Grimsley’s Dark type Pokemon. Emboar is admittedly vulnerable to Caitlin’s Psychic types, but if you have a strong enough bench, this battle can easily be overcome. Also working in Emboar’s favour are his strong attacking stats and the presence of Team Plasma, who have an abundance of Steel types. Having to fight the Elite Four twice makes Pokemon Black and White a tough challenge no matter who you choose, but Tepig can put your mind at ease more often than the others. Gen 6: FennekinGames: Pokemon X & YStarter options: Chespin (grass), Fennekin (fire), Froakie (water)Full guide: IGN's Pokemon X and Y guidePokemon X and Y continue the dominance of Fire types in this list. The sixth generation has a quirk where you can choose from two sets of starters, first between the new bunch of Chespin, Fennekin and Froakie, and later between the Kanto starters from the original games. For this list, we’ll focus on the starters unique to this game, of which Fennekin is the standout. The Fire Pokemon can almost stroll through the gyms, being super effective against three and resistant to two more. Though two of those gyms are in the early stages of the game, the final three being Fairy, Psychic and Ice based means that Fennekin’s third evolution, Delphox, now imbued with Psychic typing, can head off to the Pokemon League relatively unscathed. Froakie evolves into Greninja, a Water/Dark type Pokemon, making it super effective against Olympia’s Psychic team but weak against Valerie’s Fairy types. Being a Water type mostly gets it into trouble, matching up poorly against Ramos’ Grass types and Clemont’s Electric types, something Grant’s early Rock gym doesn’t make up for. Chespin’s story makes for similar reading, struggling off the bat with Viola’s Bug gym and going on to gain a Fighting typing after evolving into Chesnaught which leaves it at a disadvantage against Olmpia and Valerie. As the games progress, the Elite Fours get a bit more balanced. Pokemon X and Y is another example of a series of battles suited to a different type each time. You’ll want Water to overcome Malva, Fire to overcome Wikstrom and Grass to overcome Siebold. Delphox just about has the edge, able to resist whatever Diantha’s Gardevoir throws at it. Gen 7: LittenGames: Pokemon Sun & MoonStarter options: Rowlet (grass), Litten (fire), Popplio (water)Full guide: IGN's Pokemon Sun & Pokemon Moon guideRounding out this Fire type four-peat is Litten from Pokemon Sun and Moon. Despite having to struggle through the first couple trials (the Alola region’s version of gyms, of which there are only seven), Litten is the obvious choice for the rest of the battles. Mallow’s Grass trial is the only lineup where each Pokemon is weak to Fire, but Sophocles’ Electric gym contains two Steel types and a Bug type. And by the time you arrive at Acerola’s Ghost trial you could have evolved Litten into the Fire/Dark type Incineroar whose attacks will be super effective against the whole lineup, especially the Grass and Ice Pokemon in Acerola’s team. The final trial, in which you must face Mina with her Fairy Pokemon, is a little more complicated because of Incineroar’s Dark typing. A regular Fire type would be able to resist Fairy attacks, but Incineroar is damaged normally by them. Helpfully, Mina has a Steel, Grass and Bug type in her team.Litten’s starter counterparts, Rowlet and Popplio, will find success with one of the first three trials, but will cease to have an advantage over any of the late game battles. Rowlet’s evolution, Decidueye, gains Ghost typing, which is a blessing and a curse for Acerola’s trial, but doesn’t garner much of an advantage elsewhere. Popplio evolves into the Water/Fairy type Primarina, but that doesn’t affect its fortunes with the trials at all. Sun and Moon’s Elite Four are just a small fraction of what awaits you in the Pokemon League. After becoming champion yourself, you face challenges from 10 more trainers looking to take your place. These battles, on top of the Elite Four themselves, are too diverse for any starter to have any advantage over the other, meaning Litten’s ability to clear the trials is even more vital. The Alola region also introduces just eight Fire Pokemon in comparison to Grass and Water’s 13 (after the series had become more balanced in that regard) so snapping Litten up early is a great aid.Gen 8: SobbleGames: Pokemon Sword & ShieldStarter options: Grookey (grass), Scorbunny (fire), Sobble (water)Full guide: IGN's Pokemon Sword and Shield guideSobble’s victory over Grookey and Scorbunny might be the closest of the lot. All three Pokemon are the best picks against three gyms, with Gordie and Raihan’s Rock and Ground gyms being perfect for Sobble and Grookey, and Melony’s Ice gym and Opal’s Fairy gym being tailor made for Scorbunny. Additionally, the first three gyms are Grass, Water and Fire typed, in that order, lending no advantage to any of the three starters. Raihan’s gym being the final one gives it a bit more importance, so the gym battles give a hair’s breadth of a lead to Grookey and Sobble. The Galar region’s version of the Elite Four, The Champion Cup, allows Sobble to just inch past Grookey in the standings. None of these Pokemon’s final evolutions gain any new types, making them work with what they’re given from the start. The semi-final opponents don’t lean any particular way, but Bede's Fairy Pokemon, followed by Nessa’s Water types and Raihan’s Fire and Ground heavy Dragon team, favour Fire, Grass and Water respectively. If success against the toughest opponents is most valued, then Sobble just about edges victory here. Other considerations like the rivals, Team Yell, and random encounters are even less impactful than normal in Pokemon Sword and Shield. Team Yell uses mostly Dark types, which attack and defend normally against Fire, Water and Grass types, and the introduction of overworld Pokemon means random encounters happen less. If there’s any other factor that tips the scales towards Sobble, it would be that its final evolution, Inteleon, has a nicely balanced set of stats. Gen 9: FuecocoGames: Pokemon Scarlet & VioletStarter options: Sprigatito (grass), Fuecoco (fire), Quaxly (water)Full guide: IGN's Pokemon Scarlet and Violet guideThe sixth Fire type to be chosen on this list is one of the clearest winners. You might think that the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s focus on player freedom might allow for little separation between Sprigatito, Fuecoco and Quaxly – You can do the gyms and raid Team Star bases in any order you like and you can avoid encounters with wild Pokemon almost entirely. But even with all of that, the Paldea region feels designed to be dominated by Fuecoco. The gyms in Scarlet and Violet don’t level scale, so if you have a bad matchup, you can just return once you’re able to power through a disadvantage. Still, the highest level gyms being Psychic/Fairy and Ice types, courtesy of Tulip and Grusha, and the two lowest level gyms being Katy and Brassius’ Bug and Grass types, means there’s a good reason to go with Fuecoco (and its Ghost type final evolution, Skeledirge) regardless of your strategy. Being a water type, Quaxly isn’t strong against any gym until it reaches its third form, Quaquaval, where it becomes a Fighting type, helping it in Larry’s Normal type gym. Sprigatito fares a bit better, evolving into Grass/Dark type Meowscarada, enabling it to best Tulip’s gym and Ryme’s Ghost gym. The Team Star base raids place even more importance on what starter you pick, being vital to the story progression of the game. The crews based around Dark and Poison Pokemon have an abundance of Bug Pokemon who have to be cleared before you can face the boss, while crews based around Fairy and Fighting types are perfect for Skeledirge, who is immune to attacks from the latter. Quaquaval and Meowscarada are worthy opponents for the first member of the Elite Four, Rika and her Ground Pokemon, but from Poppy’s Steel team onwards, Skeledirge finds itself miles ahead of the competition.      

I’m always looking for deals that feel like smart picks, not just filler with a discount tag. Today’s lineup actually delivers, and it includes Oblivion Remastered at it's lowest price for PC Players. There’s a Charizard box that’s packed with value for collectors and players, a power bank that charges fast enough to keep up with modern laptops, and a $7 game utility that quietly makes your old Steam library look and play better. You’ll also find a cleanly designed pair of open-ear headphones with premium sound and battery life, plus a moody vinyl release that fans of Stray will appreciate.TL;DR: Best Deals TodayPokémon TCG Charizard ex Super Premium CollectionPokémon TCG 151 Single Card Crashes$65.00 at TCG PlayerLossless Scaling$6.99 at HumbleThe Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion RemasteredStray Soundtrack 2 LP Vinyl$42.99 at IGN StoreCUKTECH 15 Ultra Power Bank Cleer ARC 3 Open Ear HeadphonesPokémon TCG: Terapagos ex Ultra-Premium Collection$139.54 at AmazonPokémon TCG: Stacking Tin (Q1 2025)$19.99 at AmazonPokémon TCG: Scarlet and Violet - Paldean Fates Booster Bundle$70.61 at AmazonPokémon TCG: Iono’s Bellibolt ex Premium Collection$54.95 at AmazonPokémon TCG: Scarlet and Violet Shrouded Fable Elite Trainer Box$54.96 at AmazonPokémon TCG: Poké Ball Tin 3-Pack Bundle 2024- Poké Ball, Premier Ball, Moon Ball.Pokémon TCG: Poké Ball Tin 3-Pack Bundle 2024- Poké Ball, Great Ball, Ultra Ball.Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet - Surging Sparks Booster BundlePokémon TCG: Paradox Clash Tin: Iron Leaves ex or Walking Wake ex$39.98 at AmazonPokémon TCG: Azure Legends Tin - 5 Packs$29.99 at AmazonPokémon TCG - Scarlet & Violet: Journey Together - 1 Blister PackPokémon TCG: Scarlet and Violet - Journey Together Booster Bundle$37.97 at AmazonPokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet — Journey Together Elite Trainer Box$99.49 at AmazonResident Evil - Mother Miranda 1-4 Scale Statue$899.00 at IGN StoreThe Ultimate Cosplay LibraryPokémon TCG: Scarlet and Violet - 151 Booster Bundle49" Odyssey QD-OLED G9 (G95SC)Destiny 2 - Volume 1 Original Game Soundtrack 2 LP Vinyl$43.98 at IGN Store57" Odyssey Neo G9 Dual 4K UHD Quantum Mini-LED 240Hz 1ms(GtG) HDR 1000 Curved Gaming MonitorSupreme Unreal & Unity Game Dev BundlePortable SSD T9 USB 3.2 Gen2x2 4TB (Black)Portable SSD T5 EVO 4 TB USB 3.2 Gen 1Each one of these stands out in a useful way. I’m not just talking about decent prices—I mean the kind of stuff you’ll actually use, display, or revisit more than once. Here’s a closer look at why these are worth your attention today.Free to Play VR Sandbox Game: DigiGods on Meta QuestDigiGods is a free-to-play, physics-based, VR game that allows players to create, play, and share in a sandbox environment. Safety is a top priority with the use of AI content filtering and human moderators to ensure a safe and positive environment.See it at MetaPokémon TCG Charizard ex Super Premium CollectionPokémon TCG Charizard ex Super Premium CollectionI like this bundle because it gives you something to actually hold onto, not just a few random booster packs. It includes three promo foil cards (Charizard ex, Charmander, and Charmeleon) a detailed Charizard figure, and 10 booster packs. That’s solid value, and it’s all bundled in a way that makes sense for collectors or players.Squirtle - 148/142$71.24 at TCG PlayerBulbasaur - 143/142$51.05 at TCG PlayerTerapagos ex - 170/142$59.99 at TCG PlayerDachsbun ex - 169/142$33.45 at TCG PlayerHydrapple ex - 167/142$32.35 at TCG PlayerAt under $50, it’s hard to argue with the appeal. The Charizard line has always been popular, and the cards in this set are exclusive promos that won’t be around forever. I think this is an easy pickup if you’re looking to build your collection or just want something that looks great out of the box.Pokémon TCG 151 Single Card CrashesPokémon TCG 151 Single Card Crashes$65.00 at TCG PlayerI’ve been tracking the Pokémon 151 singles for a while, and a few prices have finally started to slide into that sweet spot between “collectible” and “still reasonable.” Blastoise ex (Illustration Rare) is sitting around $66, and Venusaur ex is close behind at $60. Even Charizard ex, in Secret Rare form, has dipped to around $39, which is surprising considering how popular it is.Blastoise ex - 200/165$66.18 at TCG PlayerVenusaur ex - 198/165$60.01 at TCG PlayerZapdos ex - 202/165$50.75 at TCG PlayerCharmander - 168/165$48.87 at TCG PlayerAlakazam ex - 201/165$45.00 at TCG PlayerSquirtle - 170/165$38.50 at TCG PlayerBulbasaur - 166/165$39.19 at TCG PlayerCharmeleon - 169/165$31.88 at TCG PlayerCharizard ex - 183/165$38.95 at TCG PlayerPikachu - 173/165$29.99 at TCG PlayerWartortle - 171/165$28.30 at TCG PlayerDragonair - 181/165$28.00 at TCG PlayerIf you’re trying to complete the set or build out Gen 1-themed pages, now’s a good time to grab singles like Charmander, Bulbasaur, or Squirtle for under $40. Most of these aren’t meta-competitive, but they’re stunning in a binder and full of nostalgia. I think this wave of price dips won’t last long once more collectors start closing out their sets.Psyduck - 175/165$20.73 at TCG PlayerMew ex - 193/165$26.79 at TCG PlayerPoliwhirl - 176/165$25.49 at TCG PlayerGiovanni's Charisma - 204/165$15.00 at TCG PlayerErika's Invitation - 203/165$14.14 at TCG PlayerBlastoise ex - 184/165$12.99 at TCG PlayerVenusaur ex - 182/165$11.98 at TCG PlayerMachoke - 177/165$10.50 at TCG PlayerMew ex - 205/165$13.49 at TCG PlayerMew ex - 205/165 (151 Metal Card)$14.98 at TCG PlayerNidoking - 174/165$9.23 at TCG PlayerCaterpie - 172/165$10.99 at TCG PlayerNinetales ex - 186/165$11.01 at TCG PlayerLossless ScalingLossless Scaling$6.99 at HumbleI picked this up to test on a few older games, and it’s now something I install by default on my ROG Ally X. It lets you scale windowed games to fullscreen without that soft blur you get from built-in GPU scaling. There are a bunch of algorithms to pick from depending on the style of game: FSR, integer scaling, even Anime4K.If you’ve got a handheld like the ROG Ally or a modest desktop setup, this is the kind of quiet upgrade that makes a difference. It doesn’t try to do too much. What it does, it does really well. Easily worth it if you play anything retro or experimental. Whilst it's not reccomended, I've had some very interesting results running this alongside XeSS AI Image upscalling (Stay tuned for a guide on that one).The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion RemasteredThe Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion RemasteredDeluxe Edition also available for $49.79This is currently the best price for Oblivion on PC bar subscribing to Game Pass. I’ve played the original Oblivion enough times to know exactly where it shows its age, which is why I’m glad this remaster exists. The updated visuals and improved UI give the game a second life without losing what made it great in the first place. You still get the full experience, including expansions like Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine, plus all the classic side content.If you missed it the first time around or just want to revisit Cyrodiil without modding your setup into oblivion (pun intended), this is the version to get. I think forty bucks is a fair ask for one of the most influential open-world RPGs of its time, especially with all the extras baked in.Stray Soundtrack 2 LP VinylStray Soundtrack 2 LP VinylPre-order: Releases Q4 2025$42.99 at IGN StoreI don’t usually go for game soundtracks on vinyl unless they feel like something I’d actually sit down and listen to, and this one fits. Stray isn’t just a cat game. It’s a full-on atmosphere piece. The soundtrack blends synths and quiet texture with enough character that you can almost hear the neon signs buzzing. It’s available as a two-disc set on heavyweight black vinyl, and the packaging looks just as moody as the game itself.If you liked wandering those cyberpunk alleyways with nothing but low music and glowing signage for company, this is an easy recommendation. I think it’s the kind of record that holds up on its own, but also hits differently if you’ve played the game. Pre-orders are open now and ship in Q4 2025.CUKTECH 15 Ultra Power BankCUKTECH 15 Ultra Power BankDon't forget the on-site couponI’ve gone through enough power banks to know when one’s actually designed with some thought behind it. This one pushes up to 140W with USB-C PD3.1, which means it can charge a MacBook or gaming handheld fast enough to matter. The smart display is a nice touch too. It shows real-time stats, not just another blinking light.The 20,000mAh capacity is plenty for multiple phone charges or a full laptop cycle, and the recharge time is quick if you’ve got the right charger. I’d say it’s ideal if you travel with more than one device and hate juggling low battery warnings. Cleer ARC 3 Open Ear Headphones Cleer ARC 3 Open Ear HeadphonesDon't forget to use $15 off on-site couponI like the open-ear design because it avoids the usual trade-off between situational awareness and good audio. These stay just outside your ears, but the sound quality still holds up thanks to Dolby Atmos and Snapdragon Sound support. And the fit’s more comfortable than most earbuds I’ve worn, especially for longer sessions.The battery life is solid with up to fifty hours total from the case, and it includes features like auto volume adjustment and UV sterilization. It’s built for someone who actually uses their earbuds all day, not just in short bursts. If that’s you, I think you’ll appreciate the attention to detail here.Pokémon TCG 151 Booster BundlePokémon TCG: Scarlet and Violet - 151 Booster BundleCurrent pricing is over twice the MSRPI really want this listing to disappear into the tall grass. It’s six booster packs. That’s it. For $66.65. The MSRP was closer to $30, which makes this a laughable markup for what’s essentially a fancy six-pack with no promo cards.I love Pokémon 151. It’s packed with great Kanto art, and yeah there's some killer hits in there. But paying twice retail for the chance at a Charizard? That’s a pass. I think if you’re going to spend over $60, you should at least know what you’re getting.I dug up some single card options that are actually worth the money. You can grab Alakazam ex for around $10, a clean Zapdos holo for under $5, and even that Blastoise art rare for $66 or less if you don’t mind a little light play.Blastoise ex - 200/165$66.18 at TCG PlayerVenusaur ex - 198/165$60.01 at TCG PlayerZapdos ex - 202/165$50.75 at TCG PlayerCharmander - 168/165$48.87 at TCG Player

This article contains spoilers for Andor season 2 episodes 1-3. The first three episodes of Andor season 2 introduce another rebel cell operating out in the galaxy known as the Maya Pei Brigade. Cassian (Diego Luna) stumbles across a group of survivors marooned on Yavin 4 when he arrives to drop off the TIE Avenger he stole at the behest of Luthen (Stellan Skarsgård). The brigade take him hostage, believing that he’s an Imperial test pilot and not really listening to any arguments otherwise. But despite the fact that they try to keep their identity a secret, Cassian soon learns who they are and tries to use that to his advantage. After his guard tells them that they are in fact a part of the Maya Pei Brigade, Cassian tries to argue that they’re all on the same team. He tells them that his friend (Luthen) has been supplying their efforts, that they’re all part of the same rebellion, but they can’t see past their own infighting to realize that Cassian is telling the truth. While we don’t actually see Maya Pei herself – some of the Brigade believe that she died in the battle they fled, others believe she’s still alive – this isn’t the first time we’ve heard her name mentioned. In season 1 of Andor, we hear her name come up both from Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) during her investigation into Ferrix and from Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) while talking with Luthen about other rebel cells. Saw doesn’t really care for Maya, calling her a “Neo-Republican” and admonishing her methods. In Legends canon, Maya Pei served on Senator Bail Organa’s security team during the Clone Wars, and later joined the Alderaanian Resistance. She was part of a team sent by Organa to steal cargo that would strategically weaken the Empire. While we don’t know much about Maya in standard canon, aside from the fact that this version of her is also leading a rebel cell, it seems like she’s pretty badass. However, when we meet the Maya Pei Brigade, it seems like they are on their last legs. They have clearly fled from an intense battle of some sort. Gerdis’ (Ben Norris) brother left them all on Yavin 4 claiming to go back for more survivors from the Brigade. However, not all of the survivors believe that he’ll come back for them. Some of them believe that Gerdis’ brother abandoned them, and they’re on their own now. Between infighting amongst the group and the deadly beasts that roam the jungle, the odds that the Brigade survived after Cassian left aren’t very high, but they also aren’t zero. We know that the Rebel Alliance eventually decides to call Yavin 4 home a bit more permanently. Maybe what’s left of the Brigade will help the moon become more habitable. Or maybe Maya Pei does survive and finally finds herself reunited with her crew.  Whatever happens, this group is a great look at how separate the rebel cells were before the Alliance as we know it was formed. The Maya Pei Brigade is a reminder that there were so many in the galaxy during this time fighting the Empire in their own ways. Even though we don’t meet Maya Pei herself, her Brigade is still an important piece at play during this time in Star Wars history. The first three episodes of Andor season 2 premiere are available to stream on Disney+ now. Three new episodes debut per week on Tuesday nights, culminating with the finale on May 13.

In the wide world of antiques, buying a piece of art for the wall or pottery for your bookshelves is easy, but, when it comes to the big stuff, it can be hard to know what to shop for that will complement what you already have. And, if you’re starting from scratch, it can be even more difficult. There is so much out there to choose from that it can be very intimidating!If you’re confused about what antique furniture you need or what’s actually worth investing in, then you’ve come to the right place. Below, I’ve rounded up the foundational antique pieces that every home needs based on your own personal decorating style. (Not sure how you actually identify your style? Keep reading and we’ll help you decide!)Related StoriesIf Your Style is Grandmillennial...Lincoln BarbourA collection of Spode’s pheasant plates feels right at home in this stately wood hutch. ...Shop for a HutchIf there is one thing the grandmillennial loves, it’s antique dinnerware. From piled up china plates to loads of silver, a grandmillennial’s collection needs a place of honor, which is why every grandmillennial needs a good hutch. While these can fetch a pretty penny, they’re timeless pieces that can travel from house to house and will evolve with changing styles. Humble pine is a classic choice but seek out one with dark, polished wood for a fancier feel. Related StoryIf Your Style is Maximalist...Rikki SnyderDesigner Christina Salway’s Hudson Valley farmhouse mixes eras and design styles with ease thanks to her expert touch. ...Shop for Furniture with Folk Art FlourishesWe already know maximalists love color and pattern more than anything else, so they probably have enough soft goods to fill two houses. Instead, the maximalist should hunt for furniture with folk art flourishes. Hand-painted details that have happily patinaed with age add just the right amount of roughness to a space without sacrificing on the beauty. Seek out wedding chests or wardrobes, like the one shown here, for a folk art piece with some visual heft. Related StoryIf Your Style is Farmhouse...Erin KellyDesigner Liz Dutton kept her family’s Ohio farmhouse simple with a rustic Jenny Lind bed and classic white bedding. ...Shop for a Jenny Lind BedSure, there are countless reproductions of Jenny Lind beds, but nothing compares to the joy you’ll experience finding one in the wild—even better if it’s dug out from the back of a barn or uncovered in your great aunt’s attic. Jenny Lind beds, named after the Swedish songstress who became a national superstar when she traversed America in the mid-1800s, are simple, which ensures they’ll fit seamlessly in any bedroom, regardless of what other furniture or textiles you already have. Related StoryIf Your Style is Cottagecore...Kirsten FrancisThis breakfast nook by designer Stephanie Perez is a cottagecore dream thanks to wicker baskets, a skirted bench, and mix-and-match pillows. ...Shop for Wicker Baskets You can never have enough wicker baskets, at least that’s what the Beatrix Potter books would have you believe. Woven baskets are as practical as they are pretty, serving as the perfect stash spot for blankets or freshly plucked garden veggies. While true antique baskets may run on the higher end of the price scale, vintage ones are just as stylish and usually can be picked up at your local antiques mall for under $20. Related StoryIf Your Style is Preppy... Laurey W. GlennThis entry from designer Whitney McGregor blends country sensibilities with classic preppy flair....Shop for a Scrubbed Pine DresserScrubbed pine furniture adds just the right layer of humble texture that a prep style devotee needs. Still steeped in history and charm, scrubbed pine dressers work in a variety of spaces. They make great display and storage pieces in an entry but look equally chic in a guest or kid’s room (try one as a bedside table!). Their chameleon nature is exactly why they can move quickly at an antiques show or on an antiques shop’s floor, so if you see one take it as a sign from the antiquing powers that you NEED it. Related StoryIf Your Style is Minimalist...Brian WoodcockShown here with another Shaker favorite—the peg rail—this simple chair is as humble as it is hardworking. ...Shop for a Ladder-Back Chair Yes, the minimalist deserves a little fun too. Now I know you aren’t one to fill your house with superfluous things, especially just in the name of a good deal. If the minimalist is bringing something into their home it has to be functional and timeless, and if there is one group of aesthetes who matches that outlook, it’s the Shakers. Both timeless and chicly utilitarian, a Shaker-style ladder-back chair is exactly what the minimalist needs. (And don’t forget that peg rail to keep things neat and tidy!)Start Shopping!Anna LoganSenior Homes & Style EditorAnna Logan is the Senior Homes & Style Editor at Country Living, where she has been covering all things home design, including sharing exclusive looks at beautifully designed country kitchens, producing home features, writing everything from timely trend reports on the latest viral aesthetic to expert-driven explainers on must-read topics, and rounding up pretty much everything you’ve ever wanted to know about paint, since 2021. Anna has spent the last seven years covering every aspect of the design industry, previously having written for Traditional Home, One Kings Lane, House Beautiful, and Frederic. She holds a degree in journalism from the University of Georgia. When she’s not working, Anna can either be found digging around her flower garden or through the dusty shelves of an antique shop. Follow her adventures, or, more importantly, those of her three-year-old Maltese and official Country Living Pet Lab tester, Teddy, on Instagram.  

Before you pick up that hammer or start sketching out new floor plans, take a seat and grab some popcorn. Renovating your home isn’t just about blueprints and measurements, it’s about finding inspiration, seeing possibilities, and setting the tone for your space. And what better way to ignite your creative spark than by diving into some of cinema’s most iconic interiors and renovation stories? From Tom Hanks’s hilarious take on the pains of a revamp in Money Pit to Diane Lane's heartfelt telling of an impulsive house restoration in Under the Tuscan Sun, these films offer more than just great storytelling—they can reshape how you think about your own home. Ready to binge-watch your way to a renovation masterpiece? Here are 10 movies that will get your design juices flowing.Beetlejuice (1988)© Warner Brothers /courtesy Everett CollectionDelia Deetz throws a memorable dinner party for her city friends.While the hit sequel dominated the box office last year, thanks in large part to production designer Mark Scruton’s gothic reimagining of the underworld (and Connecticut), it’s Tim Burton’s 1988 original that holds a place in my dark, twisted heart. From decorator Otho’s brutal mauve-and-viridian makeover of the normcore Maitlands’ Victorian pile to Delia Deetz’s collectible design-adjacent sculptures-come-to-life, the movie offers something about interiors that so much of our TikTok culture lacks: a real point of view. —Sean SantiagoBaby Boom (1987)Courtesy of MGM StudiosWatching any Nancy Meyers movie is a great idea before embarking on a renovation. The houses in her films are lustworthy (see Kate Winslet’s charming English cottage or Cameron Diaz’s movie star–level Los Angeles abode in The Holiday). High on the list of Meyers’s films to watch before a renovation should be Baby Boom. When J.C. Wiatt (Diane Keaton) leaves her sophisticated, decorated New York City apartment for a house in Vermont, which she bought without seeing it, there is much to learn. The takeaway: Make sure your budget is big enough for the unexpected. After a series of leaks and plumbing failures, Keaton’s character makes more than enough money to repair her house with a booming baby food business. —Bebe HoworthIn the Mood for Love (2000)©Miramax//EverettThis Wong Kar-wai masterpiece isn’t about a renovation per se, but it does start with a serendipitous moving day in Hong Kong in 1961. Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung) and Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung) are next door neighbors in a bustling apartment building. When they discover their spouses are having an affair, the pair develop a relationship of their own. The forbidden romance is just one facet of this film’s aching beauty. The rooms, though not luxurious, are jewel boxes, thanks to Christopher Doyle’s seductive cinematography and interiors defined by dark red drapes, abstract wallpaper, delicate jadeite dishes, and Su’s body-hugging cheongsams. Chow and Su’s seductive pas de deux, captured in mirrors and through yellow-painted door frames, blossoms in their apartment’s cramped halls and in the dark, narrow streets of ’60s Hong Kong. It’s a movie that’s chock-full of secrets—the alluring sets are just the start. —Anna FixsenInteriors (1978) Entertainment Pictures//AlamyIn Woody Allen’s Interiors, precision and perfection are just a small step from psychosis. The film is no stranger to Allen’s infamously poor treatment of women—basically all the female characters struggle with some sort of mental or emotional infirmity—but the exquisite taste of the lead character, an interior designer named Eve, is another matter. Her home is sumptuously minimal—a lesson in sophisticated restraint and color theory. As she adjusts and readjusts her interiors, we are driven to consider the purpose of endless editing. Is Eve’s need for pleasant proportions the sign of an adept expert or is it an expression of her anxiety amid a crumbling marriage and the neglect of her family? When renovating we usually expect delayed timelines and broken vases to send us over the edge, but what if that very quest for visual perfection is the last straw? —Camille Okhio Mother! (2017)Courtesy of Paramount PicturesThink your renovation plans are stressful? Step into the twisted world of Mother!, where Jennifer Lawrence’s character discovers that renovations are the least of her problems. This psychological nightmare follows a young wife meticulously restoring her poet husband’s Victorian mansion, only to watch her domestic dreams implode as uninvited guests invade her space, and her beloved’s attention drifts. Fair warning: Darren Aronofsky’s fever dream of architectural horror may not offer practical DIY tips, but it will certainly put your own renovation woes into perspective. After all, at least your walls aren't bleeding…yet. —Julia CancillaIt’s Complicated (2009)Courtesy of Universal PicturesPour yourself a glass of wine and settle in for the ultimate pre-renovation comfort watch. It’s Complicated follows Jane (Meryl Streep), a successful bakery owner with an enviable Santa Barbara home who finds herself in a steamy affair with her ex-husband Jake (Alec Baldwin) while simultaneously falling for her charming architect, Adam (Steve Martin). Between planning her dream kitchen renovation and navigating romantic entanglements, Jane finds her perfectly ordered life descending into delicious chaos. This film serves up the perfect blend of laughs, love, and interior design porn. —Julia CancillaMr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)Bettmann//Getty ImagesIf you’ve ever looked for real estate, built a house, dealt with contractors, or renovated a house, every joke in this classic comedy will hit home. Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House tells the story of ad executive Jim Blandings (Cary Grant) and his family, who have fled their New York apartment for the Connecticut countryside. The family purchases a dilapidated farmhouse and embarks on a renovation project from their worst nightmares. Not only is this film brimming with a star cast (including Melvyn Douglas and Myrna Loy), it’s replete with many a scene that will have you laughing and nodding your head in relatability. If you can’t get enough of this lovable story, make it a double feature by watching The Money Pit, an adaptation inspired by Mr. Blandings starring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long. —Rachel Silva The Money Pit (1986)Sunset Boulevard//Getty ImagesHey Zillow zealots, want to buy a mansion for $200,000? Watch The Money Pit first. If the Oscars (or more likely the Golden Globes) had an award for Best Renovation Movie, this one would have cleaned up. The 1986 classic stars Tom Hanks and Shelley Long as a young couple who buy a listing that is too good to be true—after viewing it, suspiciously, by candlelight. Taking Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House as his inspiration, director Richard Benjamin hilariously ups the ante—from the exploding doorbell to the collapse of the main Colonial-style staircase to the clawfoot tub filling up with disgusting sludge. In the effort to rebuild, Hanks and Long’s relationship nearly collapses too—an experience relatable to any couple undergoing a renovation. Caveat emptor. —Ingrid AbramovitchRosemary’s Baby (1968)Silver Screen Collection//Getty ImagesNot that you want the whole story to happen to you, but Rosemary’s Baby is one of my favorite movies to watch and think about when it comes to renovations, new beginnings, and the meaning and emotional promise that starting work on a new house holds. The movie depicts a newlywed couple making a home together; we are taken step by step from the blank, echoing, gloomy interiors of the Dakota to the cheerful announcement by Mia Farrow of additions of wallpaper and white paint, to the result: brightness and young energy as the defining impression in all the rooms. Director Roman Polanski very deliberately sets up the progress on their apartment as a timekeeper of the story and a trick on us, since as it gets more cheerful events grow darker. (Visually, the whole thing reminds me of Elsie de Wolfe, actually, and her effect on design at the beginning of the 20th century.) I’m not talking about this movie showing you which shade of white to pick, I’m talking about the real power behind a renovation: the dreams. It’s all in there. —David Netto Life as a House (2001)©New Line Cinema//EverettWhile it’s likely that your renovation will require many a therapy session afterward, it could also be the therapy. In Irwin Winkler’s Life as a House, jaded architectural model fabricator George Monroe (Kevin Kline) is diagnosed with terminal cancer. With a time limit on his life, he decides to demolish the shack left to him by his father and build his own custom house. He decides to take custody of his misanthropic teenage son, bringing him into the project and slowly reconnecting with him through it. If you need a reason to feel some kind of higher purpose in breaking down walls, this film will deliver that in spades. —Rachel Silva Something’s Gotta Give (2003) Courtesy of Warner Bros PicturesIt’s hard for me to just choose one film. I’m obsessed with anything by Nancy Meyers and Woody Allen! These directors’ films offer a master class in the details that transform a house into a home. Meyers’s signature kitchen porn—from Something’s Gotta Give’s Hamptons heaven to The Parent Trap’s London townhouse—has launched countless Pinterest boards and renovation dreams. Meanwhile, such Allen films as Manhattan and Hannah and Her Sisters showcase the aspirational yet attainable prewar apartments that define urban sophistication, complete with book-lined walls, original architectural details, and the most beautiful wood floors. These aren’t just sets, they’re blueprints for creating spaces that feel both elevated and effortlessly homey. —William Li Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)©Touchstone Pictures//Everett“Stop the bus!” This is the Diane Lane movie—based on the book of the same name by Frances Mayes—that launched a million escapist fantasies about buying a crumbling villa in Italy. For anyone even slightly susceptible (we are legion), it is hard to unsee the apricot stucco house in its overgrown Mediterranean garden in this 2003 classic and not imagine ourselves in Lane’s sneakers. The story, loosely based on Mayes’s, follows Lane’s writer character as she recovers from a bad divorce and heads to Tuscany on a bus tour. As she passes through the town of Cortona, she notices a sign for a house for sale. This is the Hollywood version of restoring a 400-year-old house, with an adorable contractor and lovable workers who bring a shine to the villa’s terra-cotta floors and frescoed walls. —Ingrid Abramovitch

Nothing strikes terror in the heart of a homeowner like a renovation. Costly change orders. Navigating mistakes made by previous owners. Keeping cool amid disruptions and making sure neighbors do too. Decisions, decisions, decisions! In order to help you prepare for a project of any size, we reached out to the experts: Elle Decor A-List designers who have learned through decades of experience what you should do—and what you certainly should not do—when it comes to renovating. Copy their moves. You’ll thank us later.DON’T: FOLLOW TRENDS“Please do not follow trends,” Young Huh says. “We’ve had enough of the modern farmhouse!” In other words, trends don’t age well. “These designs will look dated over time,” says Mark D. Sikes, “and you’ll find yourself having to renovate again.” DO: BUILD ON HISTORYInstead of following trends, Ghislaine Vinas suggests honoring the history of your home. “If your home has history or has been renovated over the years, try pulling back its original character to serve as a starting point for your renovation,” Vinas says. “Understanding the home’s history can help create a narrative for the look and feel of the home.” DON’T: BUILD ON MISTAKES There’s honoring the house’s history, and then there’s building on bad decisions. Do the former, not the latter, David Kaihoi warns. “Renovation is house healing,” he says. “If someone took a shortcut in the past and made strange soffits or bizarre lighting plans, do not continue down that road. You will always look at those decisions in the future and kick yourself.” Noe DewittThe guest bedroom in a New York home renovated by Redd Kaihoi. DO: CONSIDER YOUR TEAM“Thou shalt not go with the cheapest contractor and not expect multiple change orders,” Michelle Smith says. “Hire a good contractor,” Rayman Boozer warns. “A vision is no good without someone who shares it and can execute it.”In order to find the best team, Miles Redd says to interview as many contractors as you’re able to and always ask to see finished projects in order to understand what they’re able to do. “Trust your gut,” Redd says. “Contractor and client becomes a very intimate relationship, and it is important to have someone who is responsive and understands what you want.” Similarly, Kaihoi says that “even if you feel confident in your team, the exercise of comparing quotes will make you think about the process in a holistic way and unearth details you likely haven’t considered.”Vetting your team shouldn’t include getting design advice from your build crew, says Jessica Davis. “Enlist a designer or architect for this,” Davis says. “Contractors often lack the training on scale and proportion, mixing materials, what is trendy versus classic, and they likely are a bit behind your trusted design professional.”DON’T: MICROMANAGE Finally, once you have the design professional lined up, don’t micromanage the project. “You know the saying about too many chefs in the kitchen,” Sheila Bridges says. “The more people involved, the more communication breaks down, and the more likely mistakes will be made. This ultimately costs more money.” DO: HAVE A PLANOnce you have your team assembled, make sure to have a plan in place. “The worst thing to do,” says Martyn Lawrence Bullard, “is to enter into the work without having an exact plan. That leaves you open to delays and expensive change orders.”Instead, says Young Huh, “be sure of what you want to do: your schemes, details, and color ways, before you start. Be decisive, be bold, and always have a clear plan from the get go. Not having a plan in place is a surefire way to go way over budget.”JASON SCHMIDTThe living room of a Long Island project by Ashe Leandro with a distinct furniture layout. DON’T: CURTIAL IMAGINATION Be logical in your plan making, but, Alexa Hampton advises, be aspirational, too. “You have to study your furniture plans and sort out in advance what you need to live, and also how you’d like to live. That mindset allows functionality to mingle with the magical side of design,” Hampton says.DO: THINK BEYOND THE DECOR“Always include a water recirculating pump,” Peter Dunham says. “It means all your taps have hot water immediately and it saves a lot of water.”“My essential rule for renovations and decoration—actually, all interior design projects—is to consider what the floors look like, and especially the carpets,” Thomas Jayne says. “Floors have the least amount of variables for their design. It is challenging to find and include the perfect flooring or carpet at the end of the project after all the design choices are made. The right floors can immediately transport a room.”Put plywood behind walls that will have hooks, toilet paper holders, or curtain hardware, Michelle Smith says.DON’T: GO OVERBOARD WITH THE LIGHTING“Avoid going overboard with recessed lights,” says William Cullum. “They are a necessary evil, and you want to make sure you can light a room evenly.” Cullum adds that when selecting recessed fixtures, pay attention to the color temperature. “There is nothing more terrifying than turning on an extremely bright, cold, white overhead fixture,” he says. As for additional lighting tips, Kaihoi says that dimmer switches should be everywhere. “If there is a light fixture, let it be dimmable!”DO: KEEP THE PEACE“It always gets worse before it gets better,” Bridges says. To keep calm, Vinas suggests that her clients live somewhere else during the renovations. “The dust and disruptions can become overwhelming for the homeowners. It also allows the general contractor to work faster without people around.”DON’T: FORGET THE NEIGHBORSJean Liu emphasizes how important it is to be respectful of those living around the job site. “Consider sending a note about the anticipated length of the project, and send a token of appreciation for their patience when the job is done,” Liu says. “It will pay off in spades to be friends instead of foes.”And last: “Don’t worry,” Hampton says. “Like childbirth, the pain of renovation will soon be forgotten. Any discomfort you experience will be erased by the lovely life you’ll live once you move in.” Noe DewittThe completed renovation of designer Jean Liu’s Manhattan studio apartment.