2022 Buick Enclave Avenir Review: A Big Ol' Softie

2022 Buick Enclave Avenir Review: A Big Ol' Softie

Buick is in a weird spot. The fancier, sportier shadow of Cadillac looms large over this brand, so in order to deliver a product unique enough to earn its own badge, Buick chose to lean in hard on softness, especially with its higher-end Avenir trims. The recently redesigned 2022 Enclave best exemplifies how Buick is positioning itself in the US, and while it's pretty darn boring, it's also pretty darn comfortable and decently well equipped.

The three-row family crossover shape isn't the most daring from the outset, and while the 2022 Enclave's exterior redesign does look fresher than before, it's still not turning too many heads. Swapping out the single-piece headlights for a dual-layer getup does really sharpen things up in the front, but if you strip the badges from the rear end, people could easily confuse it for a Mazda or any other mass-market family machine. The Avenir badges and unique grill help set it apart a bit, but really only from other Enclaves.

The interior has a few more ups than downs. The Enclave Avenir's dashboard is nicely designed, offering some interesting angles without being intrusive. The leather feels nice, but I wish the Avenir's matte wood trim was offered on more than just the door panels and center console; instead, the dash wears a swath of piano-black plastic that picks up smudges and feels a little cheap. Half the controls are parts-bin GM bits. The ugly gear lever is gone, and in its place is a nicer set of buttons that doesn't take long to get used to. The rear windows lack auto-up capability, a signature Detroit cost-cut that shouldn't really happen on a $60,000 SUV.

But even with those warts, practicality and comfort ooze out of every corner. The Enclave's front seats, which pack ventilation and massaging on my tester, are seriously comfortable. The center console is high, but it has a honkin' hidey-hole under the gear lever, in addition to a capacious cubby under the armrest, and the sizable door pockets can pick up whatever's left lying around. The second-row captain's chairs are just as cushy as the front seats, and even with the rails ratcheted as far forward as possible, there's still a surprising amount of room for a 6-foot beanpole like me. Moving the captain's chairs even a little bit gives the power-folding third row an impressive amount of legroom, and headroom is plenty suitable for adults. With 23.6 cubic feet of cargo space behind the third row, there's enough room to shove a family's worth of groceries or a few weekender bags, and stowing the way-backs opens up an impressive 57.7 cubes of storage.

The 2022 Buick Enclave Avenir's on-road character is probably best described as slow and steady, like every input is being fed through David Gilmour's delay pedal, or a bowl of molasses. Turn into a corner and the body takes a second to react with some roll. Lean onto the gas pedal and it takes a second for the 3.6-liter V6 to convert throttle position to motive force, although once the nine-speed transmission finally settles on a gear, the engine's 310 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque will be enough for most drivers. Step on the brake pedal and expect a bit of squish before speed begins to shed.

The Buick's V6 is plenty peppy, but electrification is still en route.

Andrew Krok/CNET

My tester packs Buick's $1,595 Avenir Technology Package, which feels like a mandatory addition. Along with fancier headlights, the upgrade includes an adaptive suspension that really ramps up the comfort factor. Nasty bits of road disappear underfoot, and all that's left is a soft ride that feels properly luxurious. There's a Sport mode that firms things up, but… come on, it's a Buick, nobody's taking this thing out to the switchbacks unless it's on the way to the golf course.

The Buick Enclave can be had with either front- or all-wheel drive, but AWD doesn't really affect fuel economy. FWD models are rated at 18 mpg city and 26 mpg highway, with AWD variants coming in 1 mpg lower in each scenario. A combined average of 20 mpg isn't exactly praiseworthy in 2022, but it's about on par with competitors like the Acura MDX (21 mpg combined) and Lincoln Aviator (20). Maintaining a light right foot on the highway helped me see 30 mpg for several minutes at a time, which is nice, but even mild electrification would be better.

Buick's infotainment system is more than fine, but as dashboards across the industry grow to contain ever-larger screens, this one feels a little lacking.

Andrew Krok/CNET

On the tech front, the 2022 Enclave has just about everything you could want, although it lacks any sort of real attention-getter. The standard 8-inch infotainment display runs a newer iteration of the Buick's interface, which is plenty fine and includes all the modern fripperies like a 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but the screen is a little small by modern standards (and based on the size of the dash surrounding it). All three rows offer a pair of USB ports, but only the front row gets a zippy USB-C. The Avenir also includes a head-up display that's nice and bright, in addition to a gauge cluster display that shows all the usual information about the vehicle and infotainment system.

Safety-wise, the Enclave Avenir comes with everything Buick can slap on its SUV, including automatic emergency braking, forward-collision warning, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, parking sensors, haptic seat feedback and a surround-view camera system. You know what it could use, though? Super Cruise. Too bad there isn't a single Buick that offers GM's limited handsfree tech, as its entire lineup predates the required electrical and data-processing upgrades to handle it.

Buick's ADAS is easy to use, it's just a shame GM couldn't find a way to make Super Cruise work on this generation of vehicles.

Andrew Krok/CNET

For a marque that isn't even at the top of its conglomerate's food chain, the 2022 Buick Enclave Avenir can be a pricey proposition. My AWD tester's sole upgrade is a $1,595 package that brings the base price from $58,295 to $59,890, including $1,195 for the mandatory destination charge. Fully loading up this bad boy can send the price closer to $65,000 territory. That puts it on par with a well-equipped Acura MDX Advance or Lincoln Aviator Reserve, both of which feel far more modern, and the latter can even pack a plug-in hybrid powertrain for some additional scratch. If you'd rather save some simoleons, a fully loaded Mazda CX-9 offers three rows of Nappa leather seats for about $50,000, and its engine is more potent, but you'll have to make do with Mazda's middling infotainment. Hell, if you don't need the third row, you're sitting in Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class territory at this price point, and that is a tough act to top.

The 2022 Buick Enclave Avenir is kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. While it's done a commendable job carving out its own niche in GM's hierarchy by focusing on smoothness above all else, efforts that pay off in on-road placidity, it lacks any sort of stand-out factor that brings new customers through dealership doors. That might be enough for legacy buyers, but it may be insufficient against a wave of ever-more-impressive large SUVs.

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UPS drone delivers medicine from CVS straight to customers' homes

UPS drone delivers medicine from CVS straight to customers' homes

mobile0c9a66-assets-img-media-upsdrone29 — UPS has been plowing resources into its drone deliveries business.
UPS

UPS has been speeding up its drone delivery work, announcing this year a new drone subsidiary and a growing list of new partnerships. Now, it's starting to make an early push to test out shipping stuff directly to consumers' homes.

Just two weeks after unveiling a new partnership to explore drone shipments, UPS and CVS announced Tuesday that they completed the first commercial medical prescription drone delivery in the US under a Federal Aviation Administration-approved program.

On Friday, a Matternet M2 drone finished two short, autonomous flights to customers' homes near a CVS store in Cary, North Carolina. The prescriptions were lowered to their destinations via a cable while the drone hovered about 20 feet above each address. UPS said one of the packages was delivered to a customer with limited mobility, which makes it difficult for them to make the trip to a nearby store. While UPS declined to say the length of the trips, it said they were both within the line of sight of a UPS drone operator who was on hand to take over the flights if needed.

UPS spokesman Kyle Peterson said these flights weren't the start of an ongoing service but rather the beginning of an evaluation with CVS. This exploratory work includes the delivery of retail products like shampoo and paper towels.

While these CVS deliveries are a small first step, they point to a potentially promising future in which many more people will get their deliveries from e-commerce giants and local stores within minutes via drones, and businesses will be able to use drones to speed up their productivity.

Still, plenty more safety and regulatory considerations are needed before any of this work could become mainstream.

Using its new drone subsidiary, called UPS Flight Forward, the shipper is already providing drone deliveries on WakeMed's flagship hospital campus in Raleigh, North Carolina, sending lab samples back and forth between neighboring buildings and the central lab center. The company is already considering flights between hospitals to provide easier access to lifesaving medicines like anti-venoms.

The FAA has generally allowed drone flights that are within the line of sight of an operator, as was the case with these recent CVS flights, though UPS and its competitors are working toward developing drones that can be used without that requirement so they can fly around without needing an army of employees blanketing every neighborhood.

Last month, the FAA granted UPS a Part 135 Standard certification, giving the company much broader approval to complete drone deliveries, without the need of human line of sight. So far, UPS has expanded its partnerships with hospital complexes, but it's teaming up with CVS to test out retail drone deliveries, too.

There have been a number of other similar drone flight tests in the US, with Google parent Alphabet completing burrito deliveries in 2016 and Amazon Prime Air finishing a test delivery of sunscreen in the controlled airspace of an airport in 2017. Amazon also tested out e-commerce deliveries to customers homes in the United Kingdom.

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Cheap and Easy Ways to Make Your New House Feel Like Home

Cheap and Easy Ways to Make Your New House Feel Like Home

Home sales in the US boomed last year, with 6.12 million units sold in 2021 -- up 8.5% from 2020. New homebuyers tend to spend approximately $10,000 on furniture, appliances, DIY fixes and renovations during the first year of homeownership, according to the National Association of Home Builders. And this is on top of all the other expenses that come with buying a new home, such as a down payment, closing costs and moving.

Decorating and designing your new space can be particularly expensive. So how can you personalize it to feel like home without spending a fortune?

Here are 11 budget-friendly and easy ways to transform your house without exhausting your budget.

Add a fresh coat of paint

"To start, the best place to create a blank slate for personalization is paint," says Olivia Mariani, head of marketing at Curbio."Painting walls is an obvious, easy way to make a home look and feel new, but painting cabinets is another great way to freshen up the appearance of a home."

To decide on a color scheme, brush up on color psychology to create the right vibe for each room. Reds tend to increase energy, while oranges promote activity and greens have been shown to relieve stress. If the walls in your home are painted in basic neutrals, consider adding some color to spice things up.

Read more: How to Choose the Best Outdoor Paint for Your Home

woman painting a wall green in a room with moving boxes — Painting is an easy way to personalize your space.
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Hang your favorite art pieces

Empty walls can feel dull and uninspiring, so decorating your home with interesting art pieces that reflect your personal style is an easy way to transform every room. You can find affordable art (both originals and replicas) online through sites like Society6, Etsy and Artfinder.

Don't forget about the frame. Choose a frame that complements the piece, but doesn't distract from the main visual. You can also use picture lights to add coziness and charm, says Alexis Peters, a strategic interior design advisor at Real Estate Bees.

Decorate with plants

"Bring the outdoors in! Adding greenery and fresh-cut flowers will make your home feel fresh and homey," says Angela Deniston, who also serves as a strategic interior design advisor at Real Estate Bees. Adding plants to your space has been shown to boost mood, increase energy, reduce stress and improve creativity. Plants also help filter the air in your home, which keeps your immune system happy.

If you want to add plants to your home, it's worth doing some research or visiting your local nursery to learn which plants will thrive in your environment, based on light, space, and the amount of attention they need. Some plants are harmful to pets, so be sure to place them out of reach or invest in pet-friendly or faux plants.

Living room full of verdant green houseplants — Bring the outdoors in with a collection of houseplants.
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Shop for secondhand furniture and decor

If you're decorating your home on a budget, one of the best places to get affordable decor and furniture is from friends and family. You might be surprised to find out people you know are getting rid of unwanted items in good condition that might fit well in your space.

You can also visit yard sales and estate sales in your area, which often have cheap furniture and decor. Just keep in mind that while you can score great deals at yard sales, some items may need a bit of TLC or at least a fresh coat of paint.

Upgrade rooms with new textiles

"When designing your home, don't be afraid to pile on the textiles. Pillows, throw blankets, rugs and curtains make a room more inviting and cozy," says Deniston. Not only are textiles an easy way to style every room in your home, but you can find unique and affordable pieces online at places like Wayfair, Amazon and World Market. Textiles can also help breathe new life into worn furniture pieces that you may not have the budget to upgrade right away.

When buying textiles for your house, experts recommend sticking to one color palette, mixing patterns, and layering different textures. Peters recommends, "Pick five colors you want to style your home with and don't stray." To keep things budget-friendly, mix old pieces with new ones that will give your house the look and feel you're going for.

Swap out light fixtures

If your house has outdated light fixtures that don't fit your new aesthetic, consider swapping them out. Depending on the mood you want to create in each room, lighting should either serve as a focal point or as an accent to the existing space.

Like with art, it's important to consider the size and positioning of light fixtures when redesigning your home. A 4-foot chandelier, for example, will probably look better in a large foyer than over your dining room table. You can also add dimmers to contribute to the overall mood and balance out natural light.

Although you can swap out light fixtures on your own, lamps can offer a simpler solution. "Go big or go home," says Peters. "Giant lamps can change a room. Plus, the soft light they radiate adds a warm glow to the space and makes any room look lovely and cozy."

couple on ladder changing a lightbulb in a new home — Lighting should either serve as a focal point or as an accent to the existing space.
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Don't forget about hardware and other accents

Sometimes swapping out the smallest accents can have a big impact. Upgrading your cabinet hardware, changing outlet switch covers, adding interesting door knobs, and even replacing crown molding can instantly transform the look and feel of your house.

While you can find small accents like hardware and knobs for affordable prices, if you have dozens of pieces to update, the price can add up. Repainting your hardware might be a more affordable option in this case -- you can even use metallic spray paints to make cheap, plastic knobs look more expensive. Search Pinterest, Instagram and home improvement magazines to get some inspiration for your own house. Work room-by-room to keep things manageable and start by tackling one type of accent at a time.

Don't discount the accents that aren't visible when you walk into a room, either. Adding contact paper to shelving or using drawer organizers can improve the vibe in your home. "Nothing feels better than when you open a kitchen drawer and find the cooking utensils color coordinated and in a designated spot," Peters says.

Add cozy scents to every room

Making your new home smell inviting and cozy is a simple and affordable way to upgrade your space on a budget. Candles, diffusers and room spray can help elevate your space, and different scents can evoke different emotions, moods and feelings.

For example, you might consider diffusing lavender in your bedroom to promote relaxation before bed. Seasonal scents can also make your home feel more welcoming, and they are easy to swap when you want something new.

Clean and declutter your space regularly

Although you might not consider this a home decor tip, one of the easiest ways to feel good in your new house is by cleaning and decluttering on a regular basis. A clean home can positively impact your mood, too -- 80% of people who live in a clean space are more relaxed and 60% are less stressed than their nontidy counterparts, according to a Clorox study.

Regularly cleaning your home is also very cost-effective. If you have an extra hour or two per week, you don't need to spend money on a professional cleaning crew. If you typically avoid cleaning until the last minute, you might be surprised at how much cozier you feel at home when everything is neat and tidy.

woman carrying baby while vacuuming an apartment — One of the easiest ways to feel good in your new house is by cleaning and decluttering on a regular basis.
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Make room for your favorite hobbies

One of the biggest perks of owning a home is designing the space to fit your specific needs. To make your new house feel more like home, create spaces for the hobbies that you and your family enjoy.

If you love to paint, create a mini art studio in an unused corner, someplace for your easel and art supplies to live permanently. If puzzles are more your speed, find a cheap table to use exclusively for puzzles, keeping your dining room table clutter-free. Yoga lovers can create a quiet space with calming elements like candles and greenery for meditation and exercise.

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How to load the dishwasher the right way

How to load the dishwasher the right way

This story is part of Home Tips, CNET's collection of practical advice for getting the most out of your home, inside and out.

When you're loading your dishwasher, it might seem easiest to just stick everything where it fits. But once you've run the cycle, you might notice your plates, forks and spoons still come out peppered with crust and grime. The way you load your dishwasher really does have a major impact on how well your dishes get cleaned.

These tips can help you get much cleaner dishes the next time you run your dishwasher. (For more cleaning advice, check out how to clean a stand mixer, how to clean a blender, and how to clean a cast-iron skillet.)

Read more: Best Dishwasher for 2022

1. Let the dishwasher do the washing

Leave most of the washing to the dishwasher. Just scrape off the big stuff from the plates first, then load them on in. Don't worry about rinsing, as it can actually trick the dishwasher's sensors. Learn more about why you should skip rinsing here.

2. Put plates on the bottom rack

Load the plates on the bottom rack, but make sure they have a little space between them. Touching can block the water jets and can also cause chips in a plate's finish.

3. Put bowls on the top rack

Put bowls on the top rack. Make sure the bowls are tilted down so they don't gather water.

3. Keep cups upside-down

Same for cups. Put them on the top rack in between the tines, if possible. They should be upside down so they don't fill up with water, but tilt them slightly so that water doesn't pool in any indentations on the bottom of the cup.

bowls and glasses in dishwasher — Bowls and glasses go in the top rack of the dishwasher.
rustycanuck/Getty Images

4. Put spoons and forks in their cup

This sounds obvious, I know, but some people ignore the fact that there's a special cup for utensils. If you're one of these people, stop it. Throwing a handful of utensils on the top rack will not get them as clean as putting them in their designated cup. Besides, putting them in the cup prevents them from dropping down and blocking the sprayer arms.

5. Don't let your silverware and stainless steel utensils touch

Always put silverware except for knives in the designated cups with the handles facing downward. Don't let real silverware and stainless-steel utensils touch, though. During washing, a chemical reaction can cause pitting in the metal.

7. Knife points go down, handles up

Put knives in the silverware cup with the points inside of the cup and the handles upward.

8. Prevent spoons and spatulas from falling

Big serving spoons and spatulas are best placed on the top rack so they don't fall and block the dishwasher's spraying arms. A handy trick is to thread a tine through the hole in the handle to keep the item in place during the wash.

A spatula in the dishwasher with a tine through a hole in the handle — Sticking a rack tine through a spatula or other large utensil can keep it in place during a wash.
Alina Bradford/CNET

9. Wash larger pots separately

Small pots can be placed on the bottom rack, but make sure to do larger pots in a separate load. Larger pots can block water jets, leaving the dishes on top dirty. Also, make sure that all pots are angled down so they get the full benefit of the jets.

10. Keep plastic containers on the top rack away from heat

Put plastic storage containers on the top rack so they don't get warped by the heating element.

11. Put large pans and dishes away from the door

Make sure not to put any large pans or dishes by the door. This can block the detergent from deploying.

12. Don't forget a quick prewash check

Before you start the load, do a quick check of the floor below the sprayer arms. Make sure there isn't any food, spoons or other items that could block the filter or the sprayer arms. Foreign items down there can gum up the works and make your dishwasher not work properly.

Now you can start loading that dishwasher the right way, and get clean dishes every time.

For more, check out the right place to put your fan to keep your room cool, and where to put your house plants so they don't die.

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Melania Trump launches her own NFT platform

Melania Trump launches her own NFT platform

Melania Trump launched a platform for selling NFTs, or nonfungible tokens, the former first lady said Thursday. The first limited edition piece of digital artwork, titled "Melania's Vision" will be on sale until Dec. 31.

These unique tokens are tied to digital assets like a video, meme or, in this case, a painting. Their ownership is recorded in a ledger within the blockchain, similarly to cryptocurrency.

Trump's first NFT is a watercolor by Marc-Antoine Coulon and includes an audio recording from the former first lady, who left office when her husband Donald Trump's presidential term ended in January.

It'll cost around $150 and a portion of the proceeds will "assist children aging out of the foster care system by way of economic empowerment and with expanded access to resources needed to excel in the fields of computer science and technology."

New NFTs will be released on the platform, which uses the Solana blockchain platform and is powered by conservative social media service Parler, on a regular basis.

"I am proud to announce my new NFT endeavor, which embodies my passion for the arts, and will support my ongoing commitment to children through my Be Best initiative," Trump said in a release.

Trump's office didn't immediately respond to a request for further comment on what percentage of the proceeds will go to the initiative.

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Beyond Wordle: The New York Times Games Section, Explained

Beyond Wordle: The New York Times Games Section, Explained

Wordle has officially joined the New York Times Games section: The viral word puzzle is now part of a robust portfolio that includes Spelling Bee, Letter Boxed and the legendary New York Times daily crossword.

"If you've followed along with the story of Wordle, you'll know that New York Times Games play a big part in its origins, and so this step feels very natural to me," Worlde creator Josh Wardle tweeted.

Last year, New York Times Games reached 1 million subscribers, and the paper's online games were played more than 500 million times.

Here's everything you need to know about the puzzles in the New York Times Games family, including how to play them.

For more, find out how to start playing Wordle, tips on how to best guess the daily word and how to download Wordle to keep it free forever.

Wordle

The Times announced it acquired Wordle at the end of January, for an undisclosed sum in the "low seven figures."

On the off chance you've never played, the immensely popular word game gives you six chances to guess a five-letter word.

If the right letter is in the right spot, it shows up in a green box, while a correct letter in the wrong spot shows up in yellow. A letter that isn't in the word at all shows up gray.

Wordle players have all kinds of strategies -- including starter words, like "ADIEU" and "ROATE," that are heavy on vowels.

And despite complaints, the daily word game has not gotten more difficult since it was purchased by the Times.

"Nothing has changed about the gameplay," Times' communications director Jordan Cohen told CNET in an email. In fact, all the words in Wordle for the next five years were written into a script before the game launched in October 2021. (Spoiler: You can view that script on Medium.)

Spelling Bee

Outside of the daily crossword puzzle, Spelling Bee has the most devout following, with a daily column by Isaac Aronow and more than 600 comments a day on average.

It's easy to learn the game but tough to master it: Each puzzle features a seven-cell honeycomb, with six letters arranged around a seventh in the center.

Players simply come up with as many words containing at least four letters as they can. You can reuse letters as often as you want, but each word must contain the center letter.

Words with four letters are worth one point, while longer words receive more. (A "pangram" uses all seven letters at least once. )

Proper nouns aren't recognized, nor are obscure or obscene words -- but exactly what qualifies as obscure is hotly debated through multiple threads.

"Of course, everyone has a different opinion about whether a clue or word is 'fair,' and solvers are not afraid to express that," Wordplay columnist Deb Amlen told CNET. "But don't all families disagree sometimes?"

The Spelling Bee comment section is filled with gripes and brags, peppered between clues to help struggling members of the Hivemind figure out all the possible words and achieve "Queen Bee" status.

Spelling Bee enthusiast Nancy Pfeffer became so enamored with the game's online "family" that she embarked on a 5,000-mile cross-country road trip last summer to meet some of her fellow players in person.

"What comes to mind when I think about our solvers is 'community,' in the best meaning of the word," Amlen said.

"I can't think of any other newspaper games section that draws such a devoted and enthusiastic audience," she said. "Wordplay commenters have helped and supported each other when personal problems arise. There are local Wordplay groups that meet up in real life to get to know each other. Our games act as a kind of social outlet for like-minded puzzle lovers."

The game launched as a weekly feature in The New York Times Magazine in 2014 and a daily digital edition debuted four years later.

As of August last year, Spelling Bee has been maintained by Sam Ezersky, who constructs the puzzles, decides what words are acceptable and posts the new game at midnight PT (3 a.m. ET).

And, yes, there are people up at 3 a.m. waiting for the new Bee.

Read on: 10 Tips to Winning the New York Times Spelling Bee

The Mini crossword

New York Times Crossword Mini — The NYT Mini crossword offers a five-by-five grid Sunday through Friday and a seven-by-seven layout on Saturday.
New York Times/Screenshot by Dan Avery/CNET

Sometimes you don't have the time, energy or gray matter to work on a full-blown New York Times crossword puzzle. Since 2014, the Times has offered an easier, smaller puzzle, designed by cruciverbalist Joel Fagliano, now digital puzzle editor at the Times.

The Mini is an amuse-bouche of a crossword, with a simple five-by-five grid Sunday through Friday and a seven-by-seven layout on Saturday. (Occasionally larger "midi" puzzles with 11-by-11 layouts pop up, too.)

Even within that limited space, Fagliano has devised something of a formula, as he told the Poynter Institute for Media Studies: "Six or seven clues that are pretty easy, two that are trivia and two that are a bit more cryptic."

If you've been too intimidated to try your hand at a Times crossword, a Mini is definitely a good place to start.

Letter Boxed

Launched in 2019, Letter Boxed, like Spelling Bee, relies more on vocabulary than knowledge of trivia: Three letters are featured on each side of a square and players must connect the letters to make words that are at least three letters long. The final letter of one word becomes the first letter of the next.

The catch, though, is that letters on the same side of the "box" can't be used consecutively.

The aim is to use all 12 letters by making as few words as possible. But, unlike a crossword, there's no one route to success. (The Times' answer to yesterday's puzzle, as a result, is just labeled "Our Solution.")

The New York Times Letter Boxed — In Letter Boxed, letters on the same side of the square can't be used consecutively.
New York Times

Vertex

Eschewing words altogether, Vertex is an interactive version of a tangram, a Chinese geometric puzzle, that allows users to connect dots to create triangles that ultimately form a larger image.

"At its core, a vertex puzzle is a drawing game with a logic component," according to an article on the Times website.

The number on a dot indicates how many connections it has to other dots. If you link vertices correctly, the triangle they form will be filled in a specific color.

Tiles

The Times debuted Tiles, its first nonword game, in June 2019. It's a high-concept, artfully designed take on the classic tile game Mahjong solitaire.

Instead of Chinese characters and symbols, though, users try to match squares featuring intricate patterns -- some are inspired by hand-painted Portuguese Azulejo tiles, others by the work of 1970s Op artist Bridget Riley and German color theorist Josef Albers.

New York Times Games Tiles — A screenshot of a Tiles game.
New York Times/Screenshot by Dan Avery/CNET

Players click on matching pairs to make them disappear until they've cleared the entire board. But the variations in the tile patterns are far more subtle than in traditional Chinese mahjong tiles, making the game significantly more difficult.

Unlike crosswords, which appeal to completists, Tiles is aimed at a more meditative player. In fact, there's even a "zen mode" that goes on forever without clearing the board.

"One additional strategy around launching Tiles is to reach users who may not be native English-language speakers," The Times wrote a release announcing the game.

New York Times Crossword app — The app version of the famous crossword puzzle.
New York Times/Screenshot by Dan Avery/CNET

The New York Times crossword puzzle

The main draw for Games subscribers is online access to the venerable New York Times crossword puzzle that you can solve on your phone. Not just the current puzzle, but the daily archives going back to November 1993. Subscribers also get access to the new crossword the evening before it appears in print.

The app version of the Times puzzle has an autocheck feature that immediately tells you if you've entered the wrong letter. If you're stuck, you can also have the app "reveal" a square, word or the remainder of the puzzle.

More competitive players can track their solve rate and stats and see how they compare to other players on a leaderboard.

How much is a New York Times Games subscription?

Distinct from the main Times subscription, a New York Times Games digital subscription costs $5 a month or $40 for a year, and includes Spelling Bee, Letter Boxed, Tiles, Vertex and the daily crossword puzzle.

The Times offers the Mini and the logic puzzle Sudoku for free to nonsubscribers. For now, Wordle will also be free for nonsubscribers.

Read more: Finished Wordle? Try one of these similar games

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Jeff Bezos Thanks 'The Lord of the Rings' Showrunners For 'Ignoring' His Notes

Jeff Bezos Thanks 'The Lord of the Rings' Showrunners For 'Ignoring' His Notes

If you weren't already excited for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, even more exciting news came out of the show's UK premiere on Tuesday night. Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, aka a man who has no experience as a showrunner, said the actual showrunners of the prequel series wisely ignored his notes.

"Every showrunner's dream -- and I mean every showrunner -- their dream is to get notes on scripts and early cuts from the founder and executive chairman," Bezos said (via Variety). "They loved that. I need to thank you both for listening whenever it helped, but mostly I need to thank you for ignoring me at exactly the right times."

Bezos' son also had notes -- for his father.

"My kids have become Tolkien fans as well," Bezos said. "And after Amazon got involved in this project, my son came up to me one day, he looked me in the eyes, very sincerely, and he said: 'Dad, please don't eff this up.'"

Those at the UK premiere, held at the Odeon Luxe cinema in Leicester Square, London, watched the first two episodes.

"The Rings of Power unites all the major stories of Middle-earth's Second Age: the forging of the rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, the epic tale of Númenor, and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men," showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay said in January. "Until now, audiences have only seen on-screen the story of the One Ring -- but before there was one, there were many… and we're excited to share the epic story of them all."

The series features a huge cast, including Morfydd Clark as Galadriel, Robert Aramayo as Elrond and Maxim Baldry as Isildur.

Two episodes will premiere on Thursday on Prime Video at 6 p.m. PT.

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