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Gaming

What are the web games that have are part of your daily routine?

What are the web games that have made into your daily routine? Yana Iskayeva/Getty hide caption

Yana Iskayeva/Getty

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Beyond Wordle: Fun daily games you must play

Millions of us play little daily games on our phone. But if you’re looking to expand the horizons of your morning distractions beyond Wordle and Connections, we’re here for you. Today we’re recommending some fun daily online games, including MapTap, Catfishing, TimeGuessr, The Loop, and Clues by Sam.

Beyond Wordle: Other Favorite Online Games

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This collage shows an AI character named Tung Tung Sahur, which looks like a tree trunk with a face and limbs and is carrying a wooden bat, while standing on a pile of $100 bills. Multiple smaller versions of the character are in the background, along with falling $100 bills.

Tung Tung Sahur, one of the world's best-known "Italian brainrot" characters, was created using seven prompts in an AI image generator. A legal battle is underway to determine who, if anyone, can claim ownership. AFP via Getty Images/Collage by Emily Bogle/NPR hide caption

AFP via Getty Images/Collage by Emily Bogle/NPR

Deep Dive

Only on NPR

A battle over 'Italian brainrot' could shape who owns AI art

A legal battle over what looks like a cartoon stick could help set the rules over whether creators can claim ownership of their AI-generated characters.

Who owns Italian Brainrot?

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In this illustration, a pair of hands holds a video game controller while the word "START" shows up on a screen in front of the hands and controller.

Feeling stuck, bored or restless in life? You might be ready to start a side quest. In video games, it's a mission that deviates from the main storyline, helping to build the world's lore . In real life, it's an activity that doesn't serve any other purpose than bringing more whimsy into your day-to-day. Westend61/Getty Images hide caption

Westend61/Getty Images

Life Kit

Feeling restless? Level up your life by starting a side quest

Feeling restless in life? Level up your main quest with an activity that has no other purpose than to add whimsy to your life. Play experts share tips on how to find the perfect side quest.

Left: Meta CEO and Chairman Mark Zuckerberg arrives at Los Angeles Superior Court in February. Right: Tarek Mansour, co-founder of Kalshi, at the Semafor World Economy Summit in April.

Left: Meta CEO and Chairman Mark Zuckerberg arrives at Los Angeles Superior Court in February. Right: Tarek Mansour, co-founder of Kalshi, at the Semafor World Economy Summit in April. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP and Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

Patrick T. Fallon/AFP and Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Exclusive

Technology

Meta considered buying Kalshi before developing its own prediction market app

Mark Zuckerberg met with Kalshi's CEO last year about a potential deal, but talks did not move forward. Now Meta is making its own prediction market app.

Meta considered buying Kalshi before developing its own prediction market app

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This photo shows a person's hand holding a smartphone with DraftKings on its screen. In the background is a computer monitor that is displaying DraftKings' website.

The state of New Hampshire receives revenue from sports wagers made with DraftKings, but officials are worried that people will switch to new prediction market platforms. Zoey Knox/NHPR hide caption

Zoey Knox/NHPR

National

As hoops betting spikes, it's New Hampshire and other states vs. prediction markets

NHPR

In New Hampshire and states with legalized sports gambling, wagering helps fund government services. But now competitors like Kalshi and Polymarket are getting a cut of the action.

Some states with legal gambling are concerned about losing a cut to new technology

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The scrappy survivors of Expedition 33.

The scrappy survivors in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Sandfall Interactive hide caption

Sandfall Interactive

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Best Video Games of 2025

If you’re anything like us, you spend a fair amount of your screen time playing video games. Whether you like combat, horror, or peacefully going over archival research, NPR’s roundup of best games of 2025 is a helpful guide to find something that’s just right for you. Today we’re talking about some of the best video games featured including Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Hades II, Silent Hill f, Butcher’s Creek and The Roottrees Are Dead.

2025 Best Video Games

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Three versions of Activision's Call Of Duty games are seen on sale at a Best Buy store in Mountain View, Calif., on Aug. 3, 2011. Vince Zampella, one of the creators behind the best-selling video games, has died at age 55.

Three versions of Activision's Call Of Duty games are seen on sale at a Best Buy store in Mountain View, Calif., in 2011. Vince Zampella, one of the creators behind the best-selling video games, has died at age 55. Paul Sakuma/AP hide caption

Paul Sakuma/AP

Obituaries

Vince Zampella, video game pioneer behind megahit Call of Duty, dies at 55

One of Vince Zampella's crowning achievements was the creation of the Call of Duty franchise, which has sold more than half a billion games worldwide.

Performers onstage at The Game Awards 2025 at the Peacock Theater on December 11, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.

Performers onstage at The Game Awards 2025 at the Peacock Theater on December 11, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Frank Micelotta/Picturegroup hide caption

Frank Micelotta/Picturegroup

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 sweeps The Game Awards — analysis and full winners list

Independent video game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 swept the Game Awards last night. The L.A. ceremony draws millions of views for its industry honors and exclusive previews of upcoming games.

This undated photo released by the Charlotte Chess Center shows Daniel Naroditsky playing chess on the board.

This undated photo released by the Charlotte Chess Center shows Daniel Naroditsky playing chess on the board. Kelly Centrelli/Charlotte Chess Center/AP hide caption

Kelly Centrelli/Charlotte Chess Center/AP

Obituaries

American chess grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky dies at 29

The Charlotte Chess Center, where Naroditsky trained and worked as a coach, announced his death, calling him "a talented chess player, educator, and beloved member of the chess community."

2025 Pokémon World Championships show how competitive the game still is

More than 25,000 people gathered at the Anaheim Convention Center in California for the 2025 Pokémon World Championships this year. Jamal Michel hide caption

Jamal Michel

2025 Pokémon World Championships show how competitive the game still is

The annual event pits some of the trading card and video game's most seasoned players against each other — and it demonstrates how Pokémon has maintained its grip on pop culture.

POKEMON WORLD NOSTALGIA

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Flames shoot up during Dimension 20's sold-out Madison Square Garden show in January 2025.

Flames shoot up during Dimension 20's sold-out Madison Square Garden show in January 2025.  Andrew Max Levy/Dropout hide caption

Andrew Max Levy/Dropout

Culture

It started with friends at home. Now Dungeons & Dragons is in its stadium era

In the past decade or so, actors and comedians have adopted D&D as a performance medium. Podcasts and web series have expanded into stadium tours – and fueled growing interest in the game more broadly.

Dungeons & Dragons live shows spawn new fans of the tabletop game

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