I know Steam Replay isn’t out yet, but I figure it’s still a good enough time to get the ball rolling.

This is your place to share any and all thoughts on your gaming for 2025.

Games you talk about do NOT have to be limited to this year’s releases.

Feel free to share:

• Favorites
• Disappointments
• Surprises
• Memorable moments
• Self-reflections
• Anything else!

Let us know how your gaming for 2025 went.

Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2025/day/8

Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it nicely, with the code collapsed by default inside an expandable section with syntax highlighting (you can replace python with any of the "short names" listed in this page of supported languages):

<details>
<summary>Part 1</summary>

```python
Your code here.
```

</details>

I figured I can't have been the first to notice this but I can't find any specific mention, and it still trips me up every so often.

If I want to link to Tildes, I can type
http://tildes.net,
https://tildes.net, or
www.tildes.net,

and they format automatically. Simply tildes.net (or blog.tildes.net) doesn't automatically turn into a link, which makes sense.

However, if I do inline links, only the first two will work:

Tildes (http), and
Tildes (https).

Tildes (www) results in Error 422 (Unprocessable Entity), topic_id36: String does not match expected pattern.
Tildes and Tildes (blog) do the same.

I saw the link canonicalization issue on GitLab but I don't know if this would fall under that.

Introduction

Deep in the Caribbean, the pirate haven of Mêlée Island is home to the deadliest brood of ne'er-do-wells what ever sailed the seven seas: the infamous scurvy seadog Meathook; the buccaneer Sword Master whose name is feared in every corner of the isle; and most horrifically, the spectral ghost pirate LeChuck. Onto these disreputable shores late one night arrives the hapless, clueless, and utterly guileless flooring inspector Guybrush Threepwood, with nothing to his name but the dream of somehow becoming a real pirate himself.

Discover a thrilling world of swordplay, thievery, and, er, treasure huntery in The Secret of Monkey Island. Insult your enemies, fire the cannons, find true love, concoct mysterious voodoo brews, poison guards, evade cannibals, traverse hellish catacombs, raise a pint of grog, and (maybe) discover the Secret for yourself!

The Secret of Monkey Island

Happy December! This month we're playing the legendary 1990 Lucasfilm Games point-and-click adventure from the minds of Ron Gilbert, Tim Schafer and Dave Grossman.

You see, one of my favorite rides in Disneyland is Pirates of the Caribbean. You get on a little boat and it takes you through a pirate adventure… Your boat keeps you moving through the adventure, but I’ve always wished I could get off and wander around, learn more about the characters, and find a way onto those pirate ships.

• Ron Gilbert, from the Lucasfilm Adventurer, Fall 1990

I was sorting through some boxes today and I came across my copy of Tim Power's On Stranger Tides, which I read in the late 80's and was the inspiration for Monkey Island. Some people believe the inspiration for Monkey Island came from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride — probably because I said it several times during interviews — but that was really just for the ambiance. If you read this book you can really see where Guybrush and LeChuck were plagiarized derived from, plus the heavy influence of voodoo in the game.

• Ron Gilbert, from Grumpy Gamer, 2004

The Secret of Monkey Island is renowned for its zany humor, great (and mostly fair) puzzle design, gorgeous pixel graphics, and memorable soundtrack. Unlike other adventure games of the era, SMI invites you to try anything and everything without worry — you can't die. It's chock full of goofy swashbuckling anachronisms and hilarious good times. Maybe a little frustration too. Hey, you can just look up the answers when you get stuck. We couldn't do that in the '90s. Respect the grind.

The game originally released for DOS, Amiga, Macintosh, Atari ST, FM Towns, and Sega CD. Those versions are no longer available for purchase in the usual places (you might try eBay but save up your pieces o' eight if you go that route). All the original versions are playable in ScummVM if you lack the necessary hardware. If you find yourself needing access to a Dial-A-Pirate wheel, the original has been helpfully digitized here for your convenience.

Different releases of the original game have different audio and graphics. Some people have opinions about which version is best. These are all valid. I prefer the version I grew up with, but no shade on the others. They all have their own charms.

The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition is a 2009 remaster that is the official recommended way to play today. It includes fully recreated high-resolution graphics, music, and voiced dialogue, with a modernized UI. It includes a quick toggle between classic and remastered modes, which is a nice touch. The Windows version is currently on sale for 50% off from GOG (DRM-free), and also available from Steam. It is reportedly playable on Steam Deck.

From what I can tell the Special Editions of SMI and its first sequel were also sold as a bundle for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and iOS. I can't speak to the current availability of any of those but they're probably all terrible ways to experience it anyway.

Limited Run Games has also issued a few re-releases of the original game in recent years. I don't know much about these, and good luck finding them for sale anywhere.

Genres: Adventure, Point-and-Click

Links: MobyGames, Wikipedia

Game Setup

The main purpose of this topic is to get people up and running with the game. As such, it's recommended that you:

• Share which version of the game you're playing
• Share what hardware you're playing it on
• Share if there are any tools/mods that you recommend
• Share anything you think is important for people to know before they start the game
• Ask questions if you need help

Another purpose of this topic is to revisit the game and its time period:

• Do you have any memories or associations with this game itself?
• What about its system or era?
• What aspects of retro gaming were common at the time?
• What other games from the same time period are you familiar with?
• What are you expecting from this game in particular?

Finally, this topic is the beginning discussion for people starting to play it:

• Post updates sharing your thoughts as you play.
• Ask for help if you get stuck.
• Offer help to others.

It is recommended that you reply to your own posts if you are making consecutive updates so that they are in the same thread.

IMPORTANT: Any links to the game should be legal distributions of the game only. Please do NOT link to any unauthorized copies.

IMPORTANT: Put any spoilers in a dropdown block. Copy/paste the block below if needed.

<details>
<summary>Spoilers</summary>

Spoiler text goes here.
</details>

FAQ

Closing Thoughts

How appropriate, you fight like a cow.

Not really sure where this fits in terms of topic.

My wife and I live in Minnesota, and we can get some gnarly snow and cold weather. This year she had repeatedly expressed desire for a high quality, durable boot for the winter.

I've seen various recommendations but honestly most of them feel astroturfed.

Does anyone here have a good suggestion on a boot that will last, be high quality, and keep her warm in the winters in deep snow?

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Yas Marina Circuit
December 5-7, 2025

Next race:

Pre-Season Testing 2026 - Sakhir
Bahrain International Circuit
February 11-13 & 18-20, 2026

Australian Grand Prix
Albert Park Circuit
March 5-7, 2026

See you all next year -- Enjoy the break!

Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2025/day/7

Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it nicely, with the code collapsed by default inside an expandable section with syntax highlighting (you can replace python with any of the "short names" listed in this page of supported languages):

<details>
<summary>Part 1</summary>

```python
Your code here.
```

</details>

Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2025/day/6

Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it nicely, with the code collapsed by default inside an expandable section with syntax highlighting (you can replace python with any of the "short names" listed in this page of supported languages):

<details>
<summary>Part 1</summary>

```python
Your code here.
```

</details>

A few years ago I started shopping at Lidl and came to really like their bakery.

I noticed over time that their bagels became smaller.

Smaller than the bagels at Giant supermarket, and two real bagel shops I eventually found. Currently "everything" bagels at Lidl are 79 cents each. At the real bagel shops "everything" bagels are $2 each.

The Lidl bagels are smaller, the "everything" bagels don't have salt or nearly as much. I like them better than the bagels from one of those two "real" bagel shops.

Thankfully, the smaller Lidl bagels have fewer calories!

I remember a few years ago I saw several articles about bagel places scooping out some of the bread for people watching their weight.

Duh, they should have just made them smaller.

The Lidl bagels are still large enough to make decent sandwiches.

As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

This topic is part of a series. It is meant to be a place for users to discuss creative projects they have been working on.

Projects can be personal, professional, physical, digital, or even just ideas.

If you have any creative projects that you have been working on or want to eventually work on, this is a place for discussing those.

The November 2025 Backlog Burner event is officially over!

Over the month of November, 12 participants moved 155 games out of their backlogs.

Congratulations to the following Bingo winners:

• u/aphoenix (BLACKOUT!!!)
• u/CannibalisticApple (GOLF BLACKOUT!!!)
• u/Eidolon (WITH TWICE THE GOTHIC!!!)
• u/Evie (WITH A NON-STANDARD 5x6 CARD!!!)
• u/J-Chiptunator (BLACKOUT!!!)
• u/JCPhoenix (WITH A SVELTE LOOKING HOURGLASS!!!)
• u/dannydotcafe ([BABA] [IS] [WIN]!!!)
• u/kfwyre (BLACKOUT!!!)
• u/Wes (BLACKOUT TIMES FOUR!!!)

A big thank you to ALL who participated in the event, whether that was by playing games, joining in conversations, or reading people's posts here.

As always, it has been an absolute blast doing this with everyone. I truly love this event. Thank you all.

Use this topic to post your final bingo cards, give recaps of your games, and share any thoughts you have on the event itself.

See you again for the next Backlog Burner in May 2026!

Statistics

• We averaged 12.9 games per person and 36.2 games per week.
• There were 229 comments posted across 4 topics.
• Across all 155 game titles with thousands of letters between them, there was only one letter Q (in Titan Quest).
• We have now passed a cumulative 500 games played since the first Bingo-based Backlog Burner back in November 2023.

Platforms

Games were played on at least 16 different platforms.

• iPad
• Macbook Pro
• Nintendo 3DS
• Nintendo DS
• Nintendo Switch
• Nintendo Switch 2
• Nintendo Wii U
• PC (Linux)
• PC (Windows)
• Playdate
• PlayStation
• PlayStation 2
• PlayStation 4 (PS4 Pro)
• Steam Deck
• Steam Deck (RetroDECK)
• Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Super Famicom)

Highlights

Nobody sent me any highlights. 😭
Let's just say this WHOLE event was a highlight! 😁🥰

Changing Mullvad server at router level

Reddit is becoming increasingly more and more hostile to VPN connections to the point where I often get the "whoa pardner" error message and have to try 4-5 different VPN servers on my desktop or phone before I finally get one to work with Reddit. Same thing sometimes with Google/YT, it keeps asking me to prove I am not a bot and a bit of experimentation with the servers gets me through.

This makes me wonder, is it as easy to switch my Mullvad server on OPNsense? I get the sense from the YT videos I have watched, I have to effectively setup an entry for every Mullvad router as separate instance on my OPNsense' VPN WireGuard settings and toggle which instance is being used at the router level?
I know I can technically have Mullvad on my router to hide all my traffic and then on all my devices that I use Reddit on, I can additionally have Mullvad on them too and play with the servers I am connected to on my device specifically until I find one that works but I am curious what the workflow is if I choose to do all my Mullvad related configs at the router level.

Making custom block?

I have a love-hate relationship with Reddit. On one hand, I can't deny that certain subreddits are useful as someone in tech, but I also can't deny that certain subs are just a time-sink and some subs are just toxic (looking at you AITA). I can often prevent myself from browsing the time-sink/toxic ones but sometimes I lose myself in them and I am in search of a way to block them via Mullvad at my router. Obviously a DNS-block won't work if I want to block reddit.com (the home page) and certain specific subreddits but leave any other tech related subreddits open for me to read so the next best thing I assume is some kind of firewall? But I don't know if such a firewall exists that can basically start doing regex on a URL to see if it should be accessible from within the network? Which makes me wonder if I can create my own firewall but I don't even know the first step, as in would this be something that integrates with OPNsense, or a stand-alone program I have to create myself? I know Python, Java and have some basic knowledge of C++ but don't even know if those are the language I need to know to create such a filter or if the filter I am looking for is even possible? Any and all pointers welcome.

Have you watched any movies recently you want to discuss? Any films you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's interesting about it? Are you having trouble with anything?

What have you been doing lately for your own fitness? Try out any new programs or exercises? Have any questions for others about your training? Want to vent about poor behavior in the gym? Started a new diet or have a new recipe you want to share? Anything else health and wellness related?

I'm looking for a USB hub that:

• Has at least 4 usb ports
• The USB ports are all along the same edge of the device. (For easy access even when the hub is behind my monitor)
• Can be bus-powered (i.e. doesn't need to be plugged into an outlet)
• Has a detachable cable for the connection from the hub to my computer

It'd also be nice if it:

• Was USB 3.0
• Cost less than $50 USD
• Had a mix of USB-A and USB-C
• Didn't look ugly

I've spent a couple hours looking, and the only hub I've found that hits my hard requirements the 4 port and 7 port variants of a hub from StarTech.com . I was curious if anyone was aware of anything better in this price range, before I just pull the trigger.

Happy Friday -- It's the final race weekend of the 2025 season. McLaren captured the WCC races ago, but the WDC is still up for grabs between Oscar Piastri (392pts), Lando Norris (408pts), and Max Verstappen (396pts).

Who do you think will take it home?

Any other predictions about what will happen in Abu Dhabi? Who will win Formula 1.5 this weekend? Will we get a replay of AD 2021? Will Michael Masi be revealed at the last moment to the Race Director? Will Yuki say "Screw Redbull!" and bin it into Max? Will Max say "Screw Redbull!" and just drive off into the desert sunset? Will Kimi channel his inner Bottas and have a 5-day pit stop? Will Alonso take P1 on Sunday?

All takes -- serious and unhinged -- welcome.

What have you been listening to this week? You don't need to do a 6000 word review if you don't want to, but please write something! If you've just picked up some music, please update on that as well, we'd love to see your hauls :)

Feel free to give recs or discuss anything about each others' listening habits.

You can make a chart if you use last.fm:

http://www.tapmusic.net/lastfm/

Remember that linking directly to your image will update with your future listening, make sure to reupload to somewhere like imgur if you'd like it to remain what you have at the time of posting.

Add awesome game deals to this topic as they come up over the course of the week!

Alternately, ask about a given game deal if you want the community’s opinions: e.g. “What games from this bundle are most worth my attention?”

Rules:

• No grey market sales
• No affiliate links

If posting a sale, it is strongly encouraged that you share why you think the available game/games are worthwhile.

All previous Save Point topics

If you don’t want to see threads in this series, add save point to your personal tag filters.

I’ve been mulling over this for the past few weeks.

Even though I haven’t drastically changed lives over the course of my lifetime, I still feel like I’ve had eras:

• As a young adult in the UK and around the world, figuring things out
• As a student in Canada
• As an employee in another province
• And now as an independent consultant in Switzerland and France

Although I still live a comfortable western lifestyle, I do feel these different eras are akin to different lives. 18 year old me wouldn’t guess what 30 or 40 year old me became. Not only professionally but also emotionally and day to day.

To delineate my eras, I consider career/professional matters but also outlook on life, lessons learnt, relationships, country/city of résidence (or lack thereof).

Do you have a similar feeling? Why or why not? And what do you consider you life or lives to have been so far?