In 2007, I started marking the end of the prior year by publishing a list of all the video games I played in the preceding 12 months.Ive changed my approach since then, especially this time, as I look back at the 110 (or so) video games I played in 2024.Game File is a thrice-weekly newsletter about the culture and business of video games, written by longtime gaming reporter Stephen Totilo (Kotaku, Axios, MTV News, The New York Times). Subscribe here for scoops, interviews and regular updates about gaming with the authors nearly 8-year-old twins.Todays list is divided into shorter lists. First, there are the 2024 gamesand some older gamesthat I played with my son and daughter in the past year. The twins both just turned eight and have been gaming with me since 5 , though only on Switch until we added a second platform this year (guess why!).After the list of games I played with my kids is the rundown of games I played alone. Im excluding any that arent out yet and that I only played for work. I may have forgotten a game or two as well. That tends to happen.When I started making these lists, as a young reporter for MTV News, I was trying to make a case for finishing games. I was distressed that the finales of too many games went unseen. I would do my part to normalize the act of getting to the end of what were playing. That first list, published in early 2007, was 102 games long, and I marked off the 21 games I had finished. Half Life 2: Episode 1! Chibi Robo! Suikoden V! And so on.By 2017 (269 games played in 2016; a second straight year of not getting to Bloodborne) I dropped the bit about completing games. I switched to recommending my favorites. That seemed more useful for readers.After writing my 2019 run-through, I took a break from these lists. But I have brought it back now, thanks to the urging of Polygon editor-in-chief Chris Plante. (He said he liked them! I think he wasnt joking?)I hope youll find some interesting games below. I think I found some hidden gems. Please also let me know what Im missing, what the kids might like, which games I should give more time to and so on. And, yes, its silly that I played 70 hours of a game I didnt love when there was so much else to play.A caveat: Via my work, I got access to most of these games via free review copies.And if you are in a rush: Scroll to the bottom for my nine favorite games of 2024!New 2024 games I played with my kidsAnother Code: Recollection (Switch) Our biggest surprise of the yearthe first half of this recollection is a beautiful 3D remake of a 2D mystery game released on the DS in 2005. I was a little worried this game was too grown-up for my kids. Teenage protagonist Ashley Robbins explores an old mansion, trying to track down her missing dad while solving puzzles and tracing a family tree that had several branches clipped by early deaths. The interactivity of the mystery hooked them, there was only one gunshot and my daughter later told me that she learned from the game that daughters eventually become disappointed with their dads. Uh.. educational! We wound up loving the game even before we got to the collections latter half, a remaster of the second, longer but inferior Another Code that was first released on the Wii in 2009.Astro Bot (PS5) The kids first PlayStation game and one of their favorites of the year.Botany Manor (Switch) a plant mystery game that I dug more than the kids did.Cat Quest III (Switch) One of our favorite co-op games.Just Dance 2025 (Switch) Responsible for getting Blackpinks Pink Venom forever stuck in my head.The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Switch) Better than decent, but less than what weve come to expect in our three years of playing Zelda games together. Its our least favorite, ranking below Tears of the Kingdom (my sons favorite), Links Awakening remake (my daughters top pick), Breath of the Wild and Skyward Sword HD. In this game, Zelda copies echoes of objects and enemies, then deploys them to solve puzzles and defeat foes. Its a great concept we would have enjoyed more, if selecting and using echoes wasnt cumbersome and if we were impressed with more than one of the games dungeons (just the one on the mountain).Lego Horizon Adventures (PS5) Weve had an okay time playing co-op.Little Kitty Big City (Switch) The kids love being a cat that can knock peoples cell phones from their hands.A Little to the Left: Seeing Stars (Switch) An expansion to one of my daughters favorite games.Mario vs Donkey Kong (Switch) An early 2024 fixation that long since faded.Mika and the Witchs Mountain (Switch) We liked this adventure about delivering packages via flying broomstick, but dropped it and need to return.Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition (Switch) This speedrun compilation is probably the only way the kids can stomach the NES Zelda or Metroid. And its the first time Ive re-expierienced Zelda II since the 1980s.Princess Peach Showtime (Switch) The kids favorite playable Peach transformation in this game: pastry chef. Please give us a full-scale cake-decorating game, Nintendo.Stitch (Switch) Fun puzzle game.Sticky Business (Switch) A sticker-making simulator that didnt really click with them.Super Mario Party Jamboree (Switch) The board game part stokes too many bad feelings, but the mini-games are mostly a joy.Older games I introduced to themKatamari Damacy Reroll (Switch) I first tried this all-time great with them when they were six, but the dual-analog controls were too confusing. At age seven, they got into it and loved rolling everything up. They loved it so much that we went on to playWe Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie (PS5) Soooo good, and eventually enough Katamari for them.Games from previous years that we kept playing in 2024The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch) Almost exclusively played this year for catching horses, visiting stables to swap new horses for old, and, most recently, for upgrading horses (Update: While I was writing this, we also revived our first dead horse.)Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Switch) A perennial go-to until Mario Kart 10 is finally released (We agree that MK Tour = MK 9, yes?).Unpacking (Switch) My daughter played through it through at least four more times this year, sometimes calling me in to help. But I could not convince her to try Black Star mode.Vampire Survivors (Switch) The newish adventure mode didnt hook us, but the kids did enjoy playing the Among Us level.WarioWare Move It (Switch) We cannot get enough of the Megagame Muscles mode and thankfully havent pulled any muscles speeding through itGames from prior years that I started in 2024 (without the kids)Against the Storm (2023, PC) Fun strategy game but kind of hard to read the screen on Steam Deck.Assassins Creed Nexus VR (2023, Meta Quest) My only VR game of the year.Control (2019, PS4) Ive wanted to start this one for years. Kamala Harris Presidential run finally gave me a reason to (shes in the game!).Final Fantasy VII (1997, PSOne) Yes. It took me a while. I could only afford an N64 while I was in college, so I missed this one! The 2024 release of FFVII Rebirth sparked an idea: Ill play the original and the remake games in parallel. Im still working on it; I most recently finished the Wall Market section in original and in RemakeFinal Fantasy VII Remake (2020, PS4) See above.Match Factory (2023, mobile) I wanted to see why this was such a big hit for Take Two.Monopoly Go (2023, mobile) Got hooked for one intense month.Pseudoregalia (2023, PC) Im so glad I got a nudge to play this spectacular indie 3D platformer.Warframe (2013, PC) Played it for article research, and, sorry, I dont think I have the time.Games from prior years that I went back to (without the kids)Assassins Creed Mirage (2023, PS5) Finished it. Pretty, enjoyable but Id finished its predecessor, AC Valhalla, interested in a part of Mirage protagonist Basims life that Mirage doesnt cover.Destiny 2 (2017, Xbox Series) I doggedly caught up with the games sci-fi soap opera right up to the events leading into its 2024 expansion The Final Shape. I then put it down and fell hopelessly behind again.Elden Ring (2022, PS5) Got to Lyndells capital city, then put it back downfor now?Shinsekai Into the Depths (2019, Switch) The hideous beauty of this summers sleeper Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess sent me back to its lead creators previous, visually sensational work.Wolfenstein: Youngblood (2019, Xbox One) MachineGames newest first-person anti-Nazi adventure, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, was so fantastic it made me wonder if Id been too dismissive of its previous one. I learned last month that some post-release patches make Wolfenstein: Youngblood more appealing to play. My brief December 2024 return was promising, so its back in my queue for 2025.The rest of what I played1000 X Resist (PC) Humble brag that I played this acclaimed story-driven sci-fi game too early, before some game-improving patches, including the addition of a map for the games confounding hub. I still need to finish it.After Inc (mobile) Discovered the game existed at 8 AM on its launch day, played it until 9:30 AM, requested an email interview with developer at 9:54 AM, got replies at 10:32 AM, published an article about it that afternoon.Animal Well (PC) A great game about discovery, and one of the most impressive displays of svelte game construction that Ive ever experienced.Arco (PC) Beautiful, pixelated role-playing adventures in fictional Mesoamerica.Arranger (Switch) A clever adventure in which you slide the ground beneath the protagonists feet, though that concept wore out its welcome by games end.Balatro (PC) A poker-styled roguelike that deserves all of its praise.Ballionaire (PC) Pachinko roguelike need to play more.Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden (PS5) A ghost-hunting adventure set amid the Salem Witch Trials. Made a great first impression but was released when I was busy with too many other games.Bingle Bingle (PC) A roulette-styled take on Balatro, more or less. I preferred the poker version.Black Myth Wukong (PS5) Only on chapter 3; not sure what to make of it yet.Bloodshed (PC) Vampire Survivors as a boomer shooter. Sampled it during Steam Next Fest.Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Xbox Series X) Heard the campaign was good, started it, got distracted.Captain Laserhawk: The GAME (PC) Played this Web3 Ubisoft game to report a story. Got to buy an NFT with my own money to do so. Anyone jealous? No?Cataclismo (PC) Another good conceptbuild castles with Lego-like bricks and defend themthat clashed with my preference to play PC games on Steam DeckChildren of the Sun (PC) Connect-the-dots, but with an assassins bullet.Clickolding (PC) The years best-named game? But it glitched during the finale; been patched since.Creatures of Ava (Xbox Series X) An eco-conscious open-world game about saving alien wildlife. I was going to play it with my kids, but was unsure what the games message might be. I didnt have enough time to play it to vet it for them. But I plan to.Cryptmaster (PC) A dungeon-crawler powered by the words you type. Loved the bit I played. Need to get back to it.Deep Rock Galactic Survivor (PC) Vampire Survivors but with mining.Dragon Age: The Veilguard (Xbox Series) Spent 70 hours playing through its main quest, its side quests, and slaying all of its dragons and cant even say I loved it. A compulsively playable game with several character arcs I was determined to see through (Death-fearing Emmerichs was my favorite), even though I had never been into Dragon Age and was bummed by The Veilguards simple puzzles.Dragons Dogma 2 (PS5) Enjoyed it for five hours, but got sucked into other mega-games.Dungeons of Hinterberg (Xbox) This is an impeccably designed adventure about a woman on vacation in the Alps who spends her afternoons exploring dungeons and her evenings making friends, as she attempts to figure out whats happening in one strange town. The games dungeon design rivals what has appeared in recent Zeldas. This one greatly over-achieved.Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (PS5) See earlier.Flappy Bird (mobile) Played the crypto version for reporting research.Frostpunk 2 (PC) Sampled it on Steam Deck, waiting for the console version.Hades II (PC) Sampled it on Steam Deck, waiting for it to exit early access.Harold Halibut (PS5) An adventure game that was too slow for my taste.Hauntii (Xbox Series X) Enjoyed the demo of this starkly-rendered ghost adventure, but wasnt drawn into playing much more.Helldivers 2 (PS5) I didnt start playing this online shooter when it seemed like the rest of the gaming world was; then could never find the right moment to jump in.I Am Your Beast (PC) Sampled this murder speedrunner that reminded me of Bulletstorm in all the best ways.Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (Xbox Series X) Didnt like the first playable scene nor the last; loved everything in between.Infinity Nikki (PS5) I sampled this free-to-play dress-up action-adventure game to size up whether itd be good for my daughter, who has been seeking fashion games or some similar virtual Barbie type of experience. The moment I saw some outfits classified as sexy, I bailed. Dont think the kids need to experience gacha design, either.Karate Survivor (PC) Vampire Survivors, but with martial arts, and a cool combo system. Need to play more.Kunitsu Gami: Path of the Goddess (PS5) Gorgeous strategy game slightly undermined by a tedious town management system.Life Eater (PC) A game about scrubbing through timelines using an editing application. I bounced off it but want to try it again.LOK digital (PC) A fascinating game about made-up words and their magical powers.Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Switch) A puzzle-filled mystery that should have been my thing, but I had to put down to play other games. I want to get back to it.Lunar Lander Beyond (PC) Its a remake of a classic Atari game from the studio behind the time-splitting role-playing game CrisTales? Loved the audacity.Magical Delicacy (Xbox Series X) A Metroidvania with cooking that I wanted to like more than I did.Mario and & Luigi Brothership (Switch) Only just started it.Mars After Midnight (Playdate) A game about feeding Martians, from Obra Dinn and Papers Please designer Lucas Pope. Pretty good.Metaphor ReFantazio (Xbox Series X) Never played a Persona, didnt know what to make of the first two hours I sampled. Will try it again.Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (Xbox Series X) Tried it. Not my thing.Monument Valley 3 (mobile) Lovely, like the earlier onesMouthwashing (PC) Just started it. Cant assess it just yet.News Tower (PC) A strategy / assembly-line game about a profession I know a thing or two about. Very good.Nonogram 3D Mega Puzzle (PC) Its, uh, Picross 3D 3!Pacific Drive (PS5) A roguelike in which you drive a station wagon through storms; but with a save system that seemed to be the enemy of parents. Ive been told they improved it, so I plan to go for more drives.Palworld (Xbox Series X) Im not a Pokmon person nor an Ark person, but several hours with Palworld left me intimidated about the gravitational pull of combining the twoPaper Trail (Switch) Bounced off this one after I misjudged it as a puzzle game about level-folding that my kids would like; it was too frustrating for them.Pennys Big Breakaway (PS5) A Dreamcast-inspired 3D platformer that I wasnt quite good enough to really enjoy.The Plucky Squire (PS5) A game set inside a book and around it. It has its moments but was another one that faltered as an experience to share with my kids. It might have been the pacing. Or the distraction of Astro Bot one system menu game icon away.Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Xbox Series X) An excellent Metroidvania in a year perhaps too full of them.Proverbs (PC) A mix of Minesweeper and Picross set in a Bruegel painting. Who could ask for anything more?The Rise of the Golden Idol (PC) Loved its predecessor but never finished its DLC, so I put this down to go back to that. Will return.Rise of the Ronin (PS5) Enjoyed 20+ hours of this open-world adventure set in 19th century Japan. I was perfectly satisfied except thats only half of it. Shades of Far Cry 2 and other games with a second map that is not needed.The Rogue Prince of Persia (PC) Liked this roguelike well enough.Rotwood (PC) Cartoony combat game that didnt keep hold of me for long.Schim (Switch) I loved the concept of a 2D platformer about jumping from shadow to shadow, but lost interest after some repetitious levels.Senuas Saga: Hellblade 2 (Xbox Series X) An adventure that was stunning to look at and listen to, if less impressive to play.Skull & Bones (Xbox Series X) Got to the games second half in search of the bespoke nooks and crannies that typically win me over to most Ubisoft open worlds. Didnt find them.STALKER 2 (Xbox Series X) I was happy for the developers to launch this, but STALKER is just too hostile an experience for my liking.Star Wars Outlaws (Xbox Series X) I didnt like the instant-fail stealth but found planets that were marvelously rewarding to explore. Outlaws has a gameplay structure that doesnt spoon-feed, encourages exploration and serves as a promising response to the fatigue many Ubisoft players have expressed about the companys icon-filled open worlds. A shame its core gameplay wasnt more catchy.Stellar Blade (PS5) A strangely structured game with a terrific counter-based combat system, some stunning sci-fi spectacles but also the disappointing assumption that I play side quests in order to unlock skimpier outfits for my characters (thats what we get for all those soda cans?). Some cumbersome early platforming left me skeptical Id play much, but the combat got me and I rolled credits at 39:58:48 hours.Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (PS5) Like others, not the game I was looking for from this development team and not a remotely a strong showcase for their strengths.Temtem: Swarm (PC) Vampire Survivors, but kind of with PokmonTowerborne (PC) This sidesdrolling 2D loot game from the makers of The Banner Saga seemed fine, but the prospect of full save wipes while its in early access sent me fleeing. Ill wait for the full release.UFO 50 (PC) I am not nostalgic for the punishing games of the NES era, but I was smitten by many of the faux-classic games in this collection. My favorites include the submarine Metroidvania Porgy, bizarre platformer Mooncat, painting/racing game Paint Chase, social strategy puzzler Party House and Puritans vs devils chain reaction game Devilition. With its abundance of more games than anyone can reasonably handle, I declared UFO 50 the perfect video game for 2024.Ultros (PS5) A Metroidvania with psychedelic graphics, gardening, some clunky planting andI swear one of the best mid-game gameplay twists Ive ever experienced. Dying for more people to reach it and discuss it.We Never Yield (PC) Co-op free running with a catchy soundtrackWilmot Works It Out (PC) Enjoyed the demo of this game about piecing together jigsaw puzzles.Windblown (PC) A roguelike from the makers of Dead Cells that I enjoyed, aside from its controversial virtual barfing.Yars Rising (PC) An old Atari game is remixed in more than 100 different ways. The remixes are used mainly as hacking games in a new 2D adventure. This was the strangest approach I saw all year to honoring a classic, but a very fun one.My top 9 for 2024Another Code: RecollectionArcoAnimal WellAstro BotBalatroDungeons of HinterbergIndiana Jones and the Great CircleUltrosUFO 50

Doom may be over 30 years old, but people aren't sick of it yet. On the contrary: Fans have ported the action horror game to just about platform imaginable, from graphing calculators and treadmills to pregnancy tests. If it has a screen, it can probably run Doom.Given that, perhaps it isn't all that surprising that the latest port of Doom is designed to run in your internet browser. In fact, there are likely dozens of ways to access the original Doom online. What makes this version unique, however, is that you aren't just playing in a browser window, but in a CAPTCHA window. CAPTCHAs are, of course, the minute challenges you're hit with when trying to access something on the web that are intended to prove that you are, indeed, human, and not an automated bot. Some of the earliest CAPTCHAs asked you to type out a distorted series of characterssomething a robot (or perhaps, these days, a generative AI bot) would struggle to bypass itself. Since then, these types of challenges have advanced to cover a wide range of puzzles and tasks. Now, that includes a playable version of Doom. Doom is surprisingly fun as a CAPTCHAAs reported by TechCrunch, the 1993-style CAPTCHA was built by Guillermo Rauch, CEO of Vercel. The company just so happens to have an AI website builder, which Rauch used to build this port. You can try it out for yourself here.Although the game came out over three decades ago, and this version offers but a snippet of the full experience, this CAPTCHA version of Doom is not easy. The goal is simply to kill three enemies before the enemies kill you. You can use the arrow keys to move forward, backward, left, and right, and the space bar to shoot. That's it. However, as soon as you walk forward, enemies start firing at you, and death is close at hand. Part of the reason for the difficulty is the sheer amount of firepower coming at you from all directions. The CAPTCHA is set in a small arena, with a horde of monsters in a cage in the center, all flinging fire your way. There are four corridors leading out of the arena, all featuring even more enemies shooting at you. How to beat Doom: CAPTCHA EditionI can offer three pieces of advice from my short experience playing this CAPTCHA: One is to keep the space bar held down, to fire off as many shots as you possibly can. DOOM doesn't care about accuracy, so your objective is to simply face an enemies while shooting in order to hit them. The second is to ignore the enemies in the center cage: There are simply too many of them, and you'll quickly be overrun by fire. You're better off running past and trying to pick off the enemies in one of the corridors instead. As the monsters in the cage will be firing after you, they may hit and kill some of the enemies in the corridors, which won't contribute to your kill requirements, but will give you a split second of breathing room to target another enemy.Finally, I suggest taking at least one turn to run around the cage as many times as you can. You'll last longer than you'd expect, and you can watch the monsters in the cage mow down a ton of corridor enemies. Play your cards right, and you can use this tactic to snag three kills of your own, and win the CAPTCHA. Unfortunately, since there's no site to visit, you don't really win anything other than the game contained within. At least you've proved you're human. As TechCrunch highlights, this isn't even the first time Doom has been ported to CAPTCHA. Miquel Camps Orteza made the game a CAPTCHA back in 2021, but that offering was much more limited. Instead of being able to run around a small map, that CAPTCHA simply had you pick off immobile enemies one-by-one until you reached the four-kill quota. If you prefer your Doom: CAPTCHA to have more challenge and heightened stakes, stick with Rauch's.

Several sites, including Tumblr and Craigslist, have removed their RSS feeds. Other services, like TikTok, never offered an RSS feeds to begin with. This is annoying if you want to follow things without creating an account, the way you can with Bluesky and Mastodon. Even worse: there are even some news sites that don't offer feeds, which is a problem if you're setting up an RSS reader and hoping to follow your favorite sites.OpenRSS is a free service that builds open RSS feeds for various sites. Unlike similar services, this isn't automatedthe team there actively builds and maintains the integrations. The service is run by a nonprofit that is transparent about its financials right on the about page.You can head to their feeds page to see an overview of apps that are supportedclick any of them to find more details about how to use it. For example, for Craigslist, you can browse the site to any region then either run a search or head to a sub-section. In your browser's address bar, add openrss.org to the beginning of a domain in your address bar. Hit enter and an RSS feed for the page will open. This means you can keep track of anything you're hoping to buyjust create an RSS for the term and you'll see when someone posts it. Credit: Justin Pot Tumblr works the same way: head to any profile page and add openrss.org to the beginning of the URL, as in openrss.org/www.tumblr.com/username. You'll now get every new post by that user right in your feed reader.OpenRSS offers feeds for more than the apps listed on their feeds page. You can find others by adding the URL openrss.org to the beginning of any website on the webif OpenRSS offers a feed for the site, it gives it to you (and if not, you'll see a page explaining that). It's a quick way to find feeds for sites that don't make them obvious. Keep OpenRSS in mind the next time you can't find an RSS feedit just might do the trick.

We may earn a commission from links on this page.When you finally decide to declutter and organize your home, the initial clearing out and restructuring is important (and so satisfying), but keeping things in order going forward will pose a greater challenge. To lead a more organized and decluttered life over the long haul, focus on three pillars that form the Organizational Triangle. Once you master these rules, your home will stay in much better shape and, eventually, it will become a habit.What is the organizational triangle?The Organizational Triangle was conceptualized by pro organizer Andrew Mellen, the mind behind The Most Organized Man in America's Guide to Moving and Unstuff Your Life: Kick the Clutter Habit and Completely Organize Your Life for Good. While Mellen writes and speaks about all manner of organization and decluttering, he describes the Organizational Triangle as "the foundation" of all of his workand having followed these rules myself over the last six months, I can absolutely say they're the foundation of my home, now, too. This three-tiered approach provides a simple process for maintaining a clutter-free home: Every item needs a homeKeep like with likeUse a something in, something out approachKeep these three tenets in mind during your initial decluttering, and going forward as well, so your place stays neat and wont require another big clean in a year or so.Here's a deeper look at what each step involves.Organizational Triangle step 1: Every item needs a homeThis step is crucial when youre first starting out. No matter which of the many available cleaning techniques you choose to follow, youll almost certainly end up categorizing your possessions by whether you want to keep, throw out, donate, or sell them. When aligning your clearing out with the tenants of the Organizational Triangle, youll need to closely assess anything you decide you want to keep.That's because every item in your home should have its designated space, whether thats a certain drawer, cabinet, basket, or shelf. If you cant think of a permanent home for something, you either need to make one or get rid of that thing. Nothing should be floating around, moving from space to space, or otherwise homeless within your home. The reason for this is simple: Anything you want to access should be somewhere you'll know to look for it. It should only ever be in one of two places: in its designated spot, or in your hands. Decluttering is useless if the items that remain end up piled on a table or arent easy to find when you actually need them. Kootek 16 Pack Drawer Organizer $21.99 at Amazon $29.99 Save $8.00 Shop Now Shop Now $21.99 at Amazon $29.99 Save $8.00 Step 2: Keep like with likeThe second step is to reorganize your space to keep alike things together, always. For instance, dont keep some screwdrivers in the garage and others in the kitchen, even though it seems intuitive to imagine that when you need a screwdriver while doing an indoor task, it will be handier to have one closer to you. Dont keep a basket of batteries in each room; put them all together. Etc.If you have AA batteries in a drawer in your living room in case you need them for the remote, but all your other batteries in a basket in a kitchen cabinet, you might not remember where to find those AA batteries when the remote for the fan in your bedroom goes out. Youll go to search the kitchen basket, find nothing, and buy AA batteries from the store, wasting money. Meanwhile, the batteries in the living room will be yet more clutter. Reusable household reminders, 48 $29.99 at Amazon Shop Now Shop Now $29.99 at Amazon Step 3: Something in, something outSomething in, something out is a tried-and-true organizational method you should only employ once you have finished an initial round of decluttering and are moving forward into a more organized lifestyle. But it's pretty basic: When you get something new, get rid of something old to make space for it. If youre following the Organizational Triangles rules, you know there needs to be a spot for everything, but space is finite. Dont cram too much into your shelves and drawers or else theyll end up cluttered, too.If a lot of items fit into a space, thats great, but in most cases, you need to be strategic about how much stuff you accumulate. If you can only use one of a thing at a time and youre committed to following the above rules about putting every item back in its place when youre done using it, there's no point in having more than one. Accumulating multiples of objects only makes it easier for you to slack on the rule about putting things back where they belong after use. Following a something in, something out rule can also act as a check on your impulse buying habit, since you'll know that buying something new means getting rid of something old. HOMZ Heavy Duty 31 Quart Modular Plastic Stackable Toy Organizer Bins $44.99 at Amazon Shop Now Shop Now $44.99 at Amazon

Apple has moved to settle a five-year-old class action lawsuit over Siri privacy. Reuters reports that the proposed settlement was filed on Tuesday in Oakland, CA. The company agreed to pay $95 million to class members, estimated to be tens of millions of Siri-enabled device owners. US District Judge Jeffrey White needs to approve the settlement before it becomes official.The lawsuit stemmed from a 2019 report that Apple quality control contractors could regularly hear sensitive info accidentally recorded by the voice assistants Hey Siri feature. The clips were said to include medical information, criminal activities and even sexual encounters. Reuters says Apple denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle the case.Engadget reached out to Apple for comment. Well update this story if we hear back.Two plaintiffs claimed their inadvertently recorded mentions of Nike Air Jordans and Olive Garden restaurants led to receiving ads for those products. After talking about it with his doctor, another plaintiff said he got ads for a brand-name surgical treatment.After the original story broke five-plus years ago, Apple highlighted its layers of privacy protections and stressed that the recordings werent tied to Apple accounts. It also said its quality control teams studied the clips in secure facilities and were bound by strict confidentiality agreements.After an internal review, Apple suspended the program and admitted it wasnt fully living up to its ideals. The company returned to reviewing Siri recordings soon after but with some big changes. It reportedly fired hundreds of quality control contractors and changed its policy so that only Apple employees could review private Siri data. It also moved to delete inadvertently triggered audio clips and began requiring users to opt in to sharing Siri recordings or transcripts.Reuters notes that the proposed $95 million in cash amounts to about nine hours of profit for the company. (Nice work if you can get it.) The settlements class period runs from September 17, 2014 when Apple launched Hey Siri in iOS 8 to December 31, 2024. If you owned a Siri-enabled mobile product during that period (and Judge White approves the settlement), you might get up to $20 per device. However, youll have to join the class, and it isnt yet clear how to do that.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apple-agrees-to-settle-a-2019-siri-privacy-lawsuit-for-95-million-195820723.html?src=rss

Samsung just announced pending US availability for a new smartphone and fitness tracker. The Galaxy A16 5G and Galaxy Fit3 are both modest devices that are just about perfect for the budget-conscious. These gadgets will be available for purchase in the US on January 9, after becoming available in other parts of the world a couple of months back. The Galaxy A16 5G is a step up from its predecessor in nearly every way. This is a very good thing, as the Galaxy A15 5G easily found a spot in our list of the best budget Android phones. The A16 features a thinner design and slimmer bezels, all while including a slightly larger screen. This 6.7 FHD Super AMOLED display boasts 800 nits of peak brightness and a 90Hz refresh rate. It comes equipped with an Exynos 1330 processor, a 5000mAh battery with 25W fast-charging and up to 8GB of RAM. Customers can also choose up to 256GB of internal storage, though it supports microSD cards. As with many modern smartphones, the cameras are the real stars of the show here. Theres a 50MP rear camera, a 5MP ultra-wide, a 2MP macro lens and a 13MP front camera. Thats a pretty good setup for the price, which starts at just $200. The A16 5G will be available in black and light gray. Samsung The Galaxy Fit3 is a fairly bare-bones health tracker thats described as the perfect entryway for anyone seeking to begin their health journey. It offers some decent capabilities, like fall detection and sleep tracking. It even monitors blood oxygen levels, which is something not many trackers do at this price point. The battery life is great, at 13 days, and the IP68 rating means that it should be able to handle being submerged in water, so long as its not taken too deep. The tracker pairs with the Samsung Health app, which allows access to 100 different workout types. The Fit3 costs $60 and comes in a few colors, including gray, silver and gold. These colors apply to both the band and the tracker itself. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/samsungs-galaxy-a16-5g-phone-and-fit3-tracker-are-coming-the-us-193710051.html?src=rss

The best thing about the start of a new year isn't the goal-setting or the aspirational self-improvement it's watching Awesome Games Done Quick. AGDQ is one of the premiere events for speedrunning, with an entire week of high-skill gameplay and loads of heart as gamers raise money for charity. The organization's winter beneficiary is the Prevent Cancer Foundation, which runs programs intended to stop cancer before it starts, emphasizing early detection and prevention.The fun begins on January 6 and there is a lot to see. GDQ events highlight a great mix of modern and retro games across just about every genre. Expect plenty of platformers like Astro Bot, one of our favorite new game releases of 2024, which will be run on January 6 at 6:30 PM ET.Games Done Quick / Richard NgoWednesday is packed with good stuff, such as New Super Mario Bros. Wii with the unusual category of "Any% While Playing Piano," which you can catch at 4:43 PM ET. The beloved and hilarious awful block is also on January 8, kicking off with the truly terrible game Superman 64 at 11:24 PM ET. And the entire finale day is looking excellent, with another intriguing musical category of "Saxophone-Controlled Boss Showcase" happening for Elden Ring. Groovy!Be sure to keep an eye on the schedule during the week. It displays your local time zone and will be updated with any shifts that happen from delays or extra zippy world records. All the action happens on the Games Done Quick Twitch channel, which is also embedded below. The pre-show begins on January 6 at 11:30 AM ET and the stream will be live 24/7 until the final run calls time.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/how-to-watch-awesome-games-done-quick-2025-191752532.html?src=rss

Things aren't looking good right now for Netgear because of a patent litigation.

We've got some new hints about the OnePlus Watch 3 series and the software features it could have.

Honkai: Star Rail Version 3.0 drops soon with a new world, story chapter, and two five-star characters.