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Labor Day Weekend Travel: What to Do if Your Flight Is Delayed or Canceled

Labor Day Weekend Travel: What to Do if Your Flight Is Delayed or Canceled

What's happening

An estimated 12.8 million Americans will fly over Labor Day weekend.

Why it matters

While air travel has returned to pre-pandemic levels, many airlines are still plagued by significant delays and cancellations.

Labor Day is here and, despite ongoing flight disruptions and high ticket prices, an estimated 12.6 million Americans will be flying over the three-day holiday weekend, according to data from travel site Hopper.

American Airlines alone estimates 2.5 million customers will board 26,400 scheduled flights through Monday. 

Many of those fliers will face delays and cancellations. On average, 23% of flights in August were delayed from departing US airports, an increase of nearly 30% compared to 2019. And cancellation rates last month were more than double their 2019 rates, as airlines mobilize to address staff shortages, pickets, weather disruptions and other issues.

By 10 a.m. ET on Thursday, American Airlines had already reported 100 delayed flights, according to the website FlightAware, and 23 cancellations. Industrywide, more than 800 flights within, into, or out of the United States have been delayed Thursday morning and 102 canceled.

Analysts don't expect schedules will get back to normal until at least the fall, when demand settles down and new hires have had time to be trained up. 

If you're flying over Labor Day, here's what you need to know about avoiding a travel nightmare, what the airlines owe you if there's a cancellation or delay, and more. 

For more travel tips, here are some great travel gadgets, guidance on renewing your passport online and 19 things to add to your travel checklist. before leaving home.

Why have there been so many delays and cancellations?

Layoffs and contract buyouts during the pandemic have left many airlines short-staffed, fueling ongoing delays and cancellations.

Getty Images

Since Memorial Day, US-based airlines canceled more than 50,000 flights and delayed over a half-million, according to NPR. Delta said it canceled 100 scheduled daily flights in the US and Latin America between July 1 and Aug. 7. Southwest Airlines nixed almost 20,000 summer flights.   
The biggest factor has been that airlines are incredibly short-staffed. When the pandemic slowed air travel to a trickle, many carriers bought out employees' contracts and encouraged older pilots to take early retirement.

As a result, from December 2019 to December 2020, the number of airline workers shrank by at least 114,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Now carriers are clamoring to staff back up, but they're finding it hard to fill positions. 

The shortages extend to ground staff, baggage handlers, gate personnel and other workers, FlightAware spokesperson Kathleen Bangs told CNET. "They did a lot of buyouts during the pandemic. It's a remarkable growth period and they're just back-footed." 

It's particularly acute with pilots because it can take up to five years and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to train someone to fly a commercial airplane.

"Most airlines are simply not going to be able to realize their capacity plans because there simply aren't enough pilots, at least not for the next five-plus years," United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in a quarterly earnings call back in April, NBC News reported.

Extreme weather has also added to the problem: Severe thunderstorms have caused multiple delays and flight cancellations, and that's aside from hurricane and wildfire season. Aircraft can fly at lower altitudes to try to avoid storm systems, but that burns more fuel -- a dicey proposition given the high cost of jet fuel. 

How to avoid having your flight delayed or canceled

There isn't much you can do to prevent a delay or cancellation. But there are some common-sense steps that will give you a better shot at making it to your destination -- or at least relaxing at home or in a hotel room, rather than stewing in the airport.

Download your airline's mobile app to keep on top of changes to your flight schedule.

Pavlo Gonchar/Getty Images

Leave extra time for layovers. You might think an hour is plenty of time to get from one gate to another, especially in the same terminal. But if the first leg of your journey is delayed that hour can turn into 30 minutes. And with most airlines closing the plane doors about 15 minutes prior to departure, you could easily miss your connection.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Denver International Airport (DEN) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) top the list of busiest hubs over the Labor Day holiday, according to Hopper.

Don't book a late-night flight. If you miss a connection, most airlines will work diligently to get you on the next available flight. But if you booked the last flight of the day to your destination, that may mean having to wait until morning -- and either pacing through the airport for hours or booking a night in a nearby hotel. 

Download the airline's app on your phone. Opt into flight notifications and start manually checking the status of your flight regularly, at least 24 hours in advance. As soon as you hear your flight has been cut, find out if you've been transferred to another flight.

Monitor the weather at both your departure and arrival airports. Start checking the weather in both places a few days before your flight. Some airlines will actually reschedule your flight in advance of a major weather front at no extra charge. If a storm is on its way, you might consider leaving a few days earlier or later or finding a different route.

Buy travel insurance. Depending on why your flight is canceled or delayed, the airline might not comp any meals, accommodations or transport you're forced to purchase. The payout for travel insurance may not cover all of your expenses, but it will definitely be more than the cost of a policy, typically 5% to 10% of your trip cost.

What to do if your flight is delayed or canceled

Time is of the essence, so be proactive about rescheduling your flight. 

"A lot of the time you can reschedule yourself on the flight of your choice" using the airline's app, said David Slotnick, senior aviation reporter for The Points Guy. "It'll save you a lot of time and aggravation." (Like CNET, The Points Guy is owned by Red Ventures.)

If that's not possible, call the airline. Even if you get sent to an automated system, it may have a call-back function. You can still call if you're already at the airport. Do it while you're in line to talk to an agent and take whichever option is available first.

What does the airline owe you if your flight is canceled?

While some airlines are able to get you booked on a different carrier if your flight is canceled, not all can.

Dmitry Marchenko/Getty Images

In the US, if a flight is canceled because of something that is the airline's fault -- a mechanical issue or a staffing shortage -- the carrier is required to refund your ticket.

"If you get canceled for any reason -- you don't take your flight -- they have to offer you a cash refund," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told NPR. "If you'd rather take miles or a different flight, fine. But that's up to you, not them. They've got to give you a refund. That's a basic rule,"  

The Department of Transportation website mandates airlines must also refund the cost of your ticket after a schedule change or significant delay, but the agency hasn't defined what constitutes a "significant delay."

"Whether you are entitled to a refund depends on many factors -- including the length of the delay, the length of the flight and your particular circumstances," according to the DOT website. Whether a refund following a significant delay is warranted is determined "on a case-by-case basis." 

If you don't request a refund, the airline is still responsible for getting you to your destination. But it could be much later than your original flight. Under most circumstances, carriers should provide vouchers for meals and hotels.

Make your plans quickly, though: Airport hotels fill up quickly amid widespread delays and cancellations.

Some airlines will work to get you on another flight with a different airline, Slotnick said, but not every airline has relationships with other carriers. 

What are airlines doing to address delays and cancellations?

Hiring more employees. "All the airlines are doing major hiring initiatives," Slotnick said. "They're rushing to hire pilots and deploy them." They're also trying to improve work conditions for existing workers: In April, Delta announced it would start paying flight attendants during boarding, rather than just once the plane door closes.

The move, a first for a major US airline, is seen as a countermeasure to a unionization push among workers.

Scheduling more flights. Someairlines are boosting service in popular corridors when they can. "They're trying to strike the right balance between adding flights and creating some slack in the system," Slotnick said.

For example, United Airlines recently launched or resumed 30 flights between the US and Europe, its largest expansion ever. Regular flights from Denver to Munich, Chicago to Zurich and New York to Bergen, Norway, are underway, as well as daily service between Boston and London.

When fully operational, United's transatlantic route network will be more than 25% larger than it was in 2019, before COVID-19 cratered air travel.

Some airlines have ramped up their roster of scheduled flights, while others have pared down to avoid having to cancel them later.

James Martin/CNET

Scheduling fewer flights. Otherairlines are going in the opposite direction, reducing their capacity rather than risk being forced to cancel a scheduled flight. JetBlue has already reduced its May routes by almost 10%, Conde Nast Traveler reported, and will likely make similar cuts throughout the summer.

"By reducing our flight schedule for the summer and continuing to hire new crewmembers, we hope to have more breathing room in the system to help ease some of the recent delays and cancellations that we've seen in the industry," a JetBlue spokesperson told the outlet. 

Southwest Airlines, the world's largest low-cost carrier, cut more than 8,000 domestic flights in June "to adjust to capacity," the company told The Business Journals. 

Delta  "temporarily cut" some Labor Day weekend flights from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and New York's LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy airports to deal with a large number of airline crew members and air traffic controllers who have already called in sick, The Washington Times reported.

Giving passengers more notice. All the airlines are making a concerted effort to give passengers as much information as possible, Slotnick said, through text updates and other notifications.

"Even a year before the pandemic, airlines were trying to be proactive about informing passengers, even 24 or 48 hours in advance of a possible cancellation," he said.

Offering waivers
United, Delta and other carriers are offering travel waivers to passengers to encourage them to move their flights out of busy time periods. All waiving the usual flight-change fees and some are even foregoing the usual fare difference.

The Department of Transportation has stepped in to hold airlines accountable

On Sept. 1, the U.S. Department of Transportation launched a new website that lets fliers know what they're entitled to when their flight is significantly delayed or canceled. The Aviation Consumer Protection site has a dashboard that compares what policies are regarding rebooking, meal and hotel vouchers and complimentary ground transportation for carriers including Alaska, Allegiant, American, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit and United.

The Transportation Department's Air Consumer Dashboard compares offerings from major carriers.

Department of Transportation

"Passengers deserve transparency and clarity on what to expect from an airline when there is a cancelation or disruption," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. "This dashboard collects that information in one place so travelers can easily understand their rights, compare airline practices, and make informed decisions."

Buttigieg said the goal was to get the airlines to "raise the bar."

"Look, Americans have had experiences with cancellations, delays and poor customer service that just aren't at an acceptable level," he told NPR. "A lot of the airlines are not quite transparent about how and when they'll take care of passengers. "So we're going to put that information out ourselves."

Just knowing that information is out there for air travelers to see has spurred carriers to improve their offerings, Buttigieg added. 

The Department is also collecting comments on a proposed rule requiring airlines to proactively inform passengers about their right to a refund. It would also provide a clearer definition of a "significant change" to a scheduled flight and require airlines to provide non-expiring vouchers to passengers unable to fly because they contracted COVID-19 or other communicable diseases.

The proposal would also mandate carriers that receive pandemic assistance issue those passengers refunds instead of vouchers.

Are any airlines better or worse in terms of cancellations?

In 2021, Delta had the fewest cancellations of any major US airline.

Boarding1Now

Without naming names, Slotnick says that, broadly speaking, low-cost airlines have tighter margins with less slack, so theoretically you're more likely to face a cancellation.

But booking with a big carrier doesn't mean you're immune.

"The regionals have parked a lot of planes because they don't have enough staff," Bangs said. "And a lot of people who book on a major airline don't realize they're actually flying with a smaller carrier."

SkyWest, a smaller airline out of St. George, Utah, subcontracts for Delta, United, American and Alaska Airlines. So does Indiana-based Republic Airways.

Sometimes, bigger is indeed better: Last year, Delta had the best record in cancellation rates, according to The Wall Street Journal's annual airline rankings. The Atlanta-based airline scrubbed 0.6% of its scheduled departures in 2021, a third of the industry average of 1.8%.

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The Best Strollers of 2022: Cost, Convenience and Best Features

The Best Strollers of 2022: Cost, Convenience and Best Features

A stroller can be one of the most expensive purchases you make as a new parent. We say "can" because the stroller market is so vast and varied that your choices range from sub-$100 umbrella strollers to premium models that ask $1,000 and up. With so many different options for wheeling around your bundle of joy, it's easy to become overwhelmed. 

In many ways, shopping for a stroller is like shopping for a car. Just as you'd do for that similarly daunting process, you must first identify your needs. Do you want a small stroller you can take anywhere and deploy and break down quickly, or do you want a large stroller that's more comfortable and can carry more stuff? How many seats do you need? Do you want to be able to swap in a car seat? And how much are you willing to spend? Once you have a better idea of what you want, you can narrow down your options. 

To help you in your search, we tested nine strollers across several different categories. Keep reading to find out which ones deserve your attention.

Read more: How To Choose the Right Baby Stroller for You

Screenshot by Nasha Addarich Martínez/CNET

It's a great idea to buy a convertible stroller for your first baby if you're considering having a second. It gives you the flexibility to add another seat and convert it into a double later on down the line. But while a convertible stroller will work well enough, a dedicated double stroller might better suit your needs. The Baby Jogger City Mini GT2 Double is an all-terrain side-by-side double stroller with several advantages over a convertible double stroller. For one, its maneuverability doesn't change with the number and size of the kids it's carrying. A convertible double stroller has its seats arranged in a tandem configuration. If you have an older toddler in the front seat, the added weight over the front wheels will affect your steering effort. A side-by-side doesn't have that problem if you don't exceed the stroller's weight limits.

Another benefit of the side-by-side layout is the ease of getting your child into the seat. Since there's nothing in front, lifting them into the seat is a breeze. My 3-year-old liked to climb into his seat himself, though this was a double-edged sword as he could just as easily climb out if he wasn't buckled in. Buckling him in was easy when I just used the waist belt, but the shoulder straps' interlocking harness system was tricky. The harness parts all go together a certain way, and getting them to stay that way while your child is squirming can be challenging. Another shortcoming is the small under-seat storage basket. It's a relatively small space for such a large stroller, though it will fit a backpack-style diaper bag, provided you can squeeze it past the crossbar right over the basket. There are also no cup holders, so if you want a place to dock your latte, you'll need to buy one separately from Baby Jogger.

Being an all-terrain stroller, the GT2 Double has larger wheels and a fantastic suspension that provide a smooth ride on pavement and more off-road capability for outdoor excursions. To set the brake, simply pull the lever on the right rail. 

One drawback of side-by-side double strollers is that they're wide. The GT2 Double will fit through standard-size doorways, though sometimes just barely. You need to be aware of the placement of the back wheels when pushing through a door to avoid snagging them. The stroller's extra width makes it less ideal for cruising narrow store aisles. It's best suited for wide-open spaces, so the GT2 Double has become my go-to theme park stroller. As I already mentioned, it's supremely maneuverable and very easy to get my kids in and out of. Thanks to the individually reclining seatbacks and flip-up footrests, it's also great for taking naps. If one child falls asleep, you can lean them back and pull down the sunshade, which provides generous coverage.  

Folding the GT2 Double is as easy as pulling the straps on the seats. The stroller collapses neatly in half, though you need to be ready for the top to swing down to avoid smacking your shins. Carrying the GT2 Double by those straps is easy enough, but at 36.5 pounds, it's far from being a lightweight stroller. Getting it in and out of your car requires some muscle, especially if you lift it over and into a conventional trunk. Additionally, its substantial width makes it bulky even when folded, so you'll need to clear a good amount of space to make room for it.  

Price: At around $700, the GT2 Double isn't cheap. But it makes life with two young kids a little bit easier, and for that, I say it's worth every penny.

Screenshot by Nasha Addarich Martínez/CNET

Unless you're a stroller enthusiast, you probably won't notice when another parent rolls up next to you with a fancy set of wheels. But everyone will notice the Wonderfold W4 Luxe. This imposing four-seat stroller wagon stands at 4.5 feet tall with the canopy fully extended and is just over 4 feet long. On walks, it will take up most of the sidewalk. Despite its size, the largest Wonderfold model is relatively easy to maneuver, though don't expect it to navigate tight corridors and aisles. You will feel the weight of the wagon (plus your kids) when pushing uphill or for long periods, but the large 12-inch wheels in the rear make that task less laborious.  

The Wonderfold W4 Luxe is kind of like a Pack 'n Play on wheels and, as such, it's spacious. The wagon comes with two bench seats, which accommodate two children each. The shoulder room will be tight with two toddlers on one bench, but it's manageable. We usually install the front-facing bench for our two kids, leaving space for blankets, toys and whatever else they need in the front of the wagon. I like that the walls are tall enough that my 3-year-old can't just jump out whenever he wants, and he likes the secret zipper door in the front that allows him to crawl in and out when opened. The canopy is simple and effective, providing plenty of shade no matter the sun's position. When not needed, the canopy rods slide out and stow neatly in the back of the wagon. Also in the back is a large external cargo basket that can hold your diaper bag and more.

The W4 Luxe's best feature is also its biggest downside: it's massive. The wagon weighs 58 pounds in total, and while folding it does shrink it down substantially, it's still bulky. This isn't a stroller you can fit easily in an average-sized trunk. You need to be able to fold some seats down or have a truck bed to toss it into -- and even then, lifting it in and out won't be easy. With all that said, the Wonderfold W4 Luxe isn't well suited for everyday stroller duties. 

Price: This wagon will set you back by $900. But if you have two or more kids and go on regular family adventures, the W4 Luxe is a fantastic option that you'll get years of use out of.

Screenshot by Nasha Addarich Martínez/CNET

After more than 60 years in the baby products game, Chicco has earned a reputation among parents for being a trusted brand. In the competitive stroller market, Chicco's offerings fall right in the middle of the price spectrum, and even though its strollers aren't super high-end, they offer a lot of bang for your buck. The Chicco Corso is a perfect example. 

The Corso is a full-size, single-seat travel system stroller, which means it was designed from the outset to be compatible with a car seat (in this case, the Chicco KeyFit range). Though the Corso's seat is suitable for newborn babies (it reclines fully and comes with an infant insert), it's easier to keep your little one in their car seat, remove it from its base, pop it into your stroller and go. Doing this avoids transferring your baby, which is a game-changer if they're sound asleep and want them to stay asleep.  

The Corso is a midrange stroller, so it feels plain compared to high-end offerings in the same class. Some of its materials are somewhat rough to the touch, and overall the seat lacks the plushness you might expect based on its upscale, modern design. I tested the Corso LE model, which does add a few more premium features, such as a faux leather wrap for the handlebar and bumper bar and a larger cargo basket with cup-holder pouches. It also upgrades the wheels from plastic to a treaded rubber design. These enhancements help raise the Corso's luxury quotient, but if you're expecting Uppababy or Nuna levels of quality, you'll be sorely disappointed.        

What the Corso lacks in luxury, it makes up for with practicality and value. The Corso is handy with a supple ride that's easy on your hands and your baby. The seat has three recline positions and will lay flat. Meanwhile, the canopy provides good coverage thanks to a zip-out extension. I love the one-handed folding mechanism, similar to the Chicco Bravo and it comes in handy when you've got a baby occupying your other hand. Once folded, the stroller stands on its own -- a highly underrated feature.

The Corso is often paired with a KeyFit infant car seat (the standard Corso gets the KeyFit 30 while the Corso LE gets the KeyFit 35). That makes sense since a travel system stroller works best when you have the car seat it's designed to work with. You can, however, buy the Corso separately.

Price: At around $500, the Chicco Corso is a versatile stroller that looks chic and performs well and is a comparable option from Uppababy or Nuna.    

Screenshot by Nasha Addarich Martínez/CNET

It's rare for a stroller to live up to its marketing hype, but the Veer Cruiser does just that with a rugged design that offers capability and utility in spades. The Veer is a versatile stroller wagon that seats two children. The wagon can be pulled or pushed, though pushing requires some getting used to as it steers from the back in this configuration. In keeping with its extreme outdoorsy image, the wagon is designed to be hosed down when it gets dirty. This is a great feature, especially if your kids spill food from the center snack tray. 

The Veer Cruiser's 12-inch rear wheels help it crawl over uneven terrain, while the front wheels with integrated suspension help smooth out the ride. The sides of the wagon are at a good height for a toddler to rest their arms on and they can easily climb in and out. Though the sides, seat backs and handle bar collapse flat, the Veer Cruiser is still bulky when folded due to its large wheels. It's also on the heavy side at 32.5 pounds.

The Veer Cruiser has many useful features out of the box, but some conveniences that come standard on other strollers are only available as optional accessories. For example, if you want shade for your children, you'll have to fork over an additional $60 each for the retractable canopies. If you want more cargo space, the rear cargo basket will set you back at around $80. The advantage of offering everything à la carte is you can customize your Veer Cruiser to your heart's content with unique colors and prints. The Veer Cruiser is undoubtedly a pricey option (especially after accessories), but you'll appreciate this wagon's versatility and robustness if you find yourself outdoors often. 

Price: At $699, the Veer cruiser is pricier than other strollers on this list. But if you enjoy having the option to fully customize your stroller to your ever-changing baby needs, it may be well worth the price.

Screenshot by Nasha Addarich Martínez/CNET

Full disclosure: I've owned an original Minu since 2018, so I've had a lot of time to consider what it does well and where it falls short. With that said, I can say the changes UppaBaby made to the Minu V2 go a long way towards addressing the issues I had with the original. The UppaBaby Minu is the brand's lightweight, compact stroller. Its significantly smaller dimensions make it well-suited for traveling on a plane, but the Minu also works as an everyday stroller.

The Minu V2 builds on the original with small but meaningful improvements. The latch that keeps the stroller together when folded is now hinged and spring-loaded, making it easier to release and unfold. The canopy has been redesigned with a zip-out extension, replacing the previous pull-down shade that got loose and floppy over time. There's also an adjustable leg rest, a welcome addition for naps in the stroller. 

These enhancements only make a great stroller even better. The Minu V2 still boasts exceptional maneuverability and a smooth, comfortable ride for a small stroller. Storage space is limited, but there's enough room in the cargo basket to stow a backpack-style diaper bag. Another reason you'll love it is it fits just about anywhere. There's no need to worry about clearance issues when you're rolling through a densely packed store -- and no matter what other junk you have in your trunk, odds are the Minu V2 will fit. Unfortunately, one feature that hasn't been updated is the two-pedal brake system. Normally, you step on the red pedal to set the brakes on both wheels and step on the green to release them, but in some cases, the pedals stick and fail to lock or unlock both wheels. This is an annoyance but won't affect functionality too much as you can still set the brake manually on each wheel.

Price: The Minu V2 is priced at around $450, which is high for a compact stroller. But its ease of use and overall build quality will ensure that you get plenty of mileage out of it. 

Screenshot by Nasha Addarich Martínez/CNET

If you like the idea of the Veer Cruiser but can't bring yourself to spend that kind of money on a wagon, the Evenflo Pivot Xplore is a compelling alternative that's substantially easier on your wallet. Like the Veer, the Pivot Xplore is an all-terrain stroller wagon with a reversible handlebar that allows you to pull it like a wagon or push it like a stroller. It seats two kids facing each other and comes with a detachable snack tray that snaps in the middle. It also comes with two canopies and an external cargo basket, features that are available only as optional accessories on the Veer.

The Pivot Xplore's large wheels with foam-filled rubber tires perform well on uneven terrain, though not as big as the Veer's. In addition to being competent off-road, the Pivot Xplore rides smoothly on pavement and requires little effort to push or steer when in stroller mode. The seats are spacious, offering plenty of room for your kids to grow thanks to a deep, expandable footwell and wide seat cushions. Drop the wagon's front rim to get in or out, and your kids can come and go as they please. The three-point waist belt is easy to use and holds them securely in place if you need them to stay put. 

Storage is another thing this stroller wagon does well. Each seat has an interior side pocket for storing snacks, sippy cups, toys or whatever your kids pick up on the trails. There are also two exterior pockets that are a good size for storing water bottles. The basket hangs off the back of the wagon and provides a decent amount of space for jackets or a small diaper bag. Do keep in mind that it can get in the way of your legs when pushing in stroller mode. 

It's tough to avoid bulkiness with a wagon, especially an all-terrain wagon with large wheels. The Pivot Xplore weighs 34.7 pounds, but it doesn't feel that heavy loading it into your car when folded. The folding process is straightforward, but it does require some muscle to get the two ends of the stroller to scissor in half and click together in the middle. 

Price: At just under $400, the Pivot Xplore offers a tremendous amount of value for the money. For nearly half the price of the Veer, you get almost as much utility.

Screenshot by Nasha Addarich Martínez/CNET

If you're a parent that's constantly on the go, you need a stroller that can keep up with your busy lifestyle. The Ergobaby Metro Plus is a compact stroller that offers a lot of convenience and takes up hardly any space at all when folded. 

Thanks to its compact dimensions, the Metro Plus can fit just about anywhere, whether you're making your way through a crowded store or rolling down the narrow aisle of an airplane. It also folds up small enough that it's approved for stowage in the overhead bins of most airlines, which is great because a stroller comes in handy when boarding or deplaning with a toddler. At just under 17 pounds, the Metro Plus is exceptionally light. Moving it from one car to another is effortless, especially since you don't have to rearrange your trunk to get it to fit. 

The Metro Plus is reasonably spacious for a compact stroller with a well-padded seat. The seatback reclines flat for nap time and has an adjustable leg rest. The canopy is mounted high on the stroller, limiting coverage, and there's no visor extension. Meanwhile, the cargo basket is decent for a small stroller and has a good clearance between the bottom crossbar and the basket. I also appreciate the adjustable handlebar, a feature I wish the Minu had. The Metro Plus rides well on smooth surfaces, but it can get bumpy going over chunky asphalt. The stroller is supposed to fold with only one hand, but I found the folding mechanics awkward and almost always had to use two hands to origami it into the correct position. It could just take some getting used to, however.

I wouldn't recommend the Metro Plus as your only stroller, but it works great as a lightweight second stroller that you can quickly grab and go. 

Price: At right around $300, it's a fair bit cheaper than the Minu. 

Other strollers we've tested

Screenshot by Nasha Addarich Martínez/CNET

Because the stroller market is so competitive, manufacturers need to keep innovating new features to make their products stand out. One such innovation is the self-folding mechanism, a design that allows a stroller to fold itself automatically without operator assistance. If you frequently have your hands full by the time you get to your car, this is huge, as you have one less thing to worry about when you're trying to get your baby back in the car. The Evenflo Gold Otto is a new addition to the niche self-folding stroller segment, and though it's not perfect, there's a lot to like about it. 

For starters, it's true to its name. Just press the button on the handlebar and the Evenflo Otto automatically collapses down. To unfold it again, hit the same button and pull the handlebar up to watch the stroller snap into position. When folded, it's not quite as compact as the other travel strollers I tested, but it's still easy to squeeze into your trunk or the back seat. It could use some improvement in the ride and handling department. The Otto uses small foam wheels and doesn't have much in the way of suspension. As a result, the ride can be bumpy at times. The wheels on my tester squeaked more than I liked. 

Price: The Otto only costs around $200. If you can live with the above issues, the Otto would make a great second stroller for running quick errands. 

Screenshot by Nasha Addarich Martínez/CNET

The Chicco Cortina Together is a dedicated double stroller with seats arranged in tandem or in-line configuration. It has some handy features, but like other strollers in this category, it also has some major downsides. But first, let's go over what it does well. The Cortina Together can accommodate two larger toddlers thanks to spacious seats with high backs. Additionally, the stroller can accept two Chicco infant car seats (KeyFit 30/35 or Fit2) without adaptors. There's also a nifty parent tray with two built-in cup holders and a small storage compartment beneath the handlebar. The storage basket is large, though not as large as it appears since about one-third of it serves as the footwell for the rear seat.   

Now on to the stroller's drawbacks. The Cortina Together is difficult to push and steer when loaded up with two kids. Its small plastic wheels don't roll well on anything but smooth surfaces, and the suspension doesn't do much to dampen the ride over rough pavement. When folded, the Cortina Together is long and unwieldy, and though it might fit in a large, mostly empty trunk, you'll need to clear a good amount of space for it in most cars. It's also fairly heavy at 36.6 pounds. 

Price: At around $320, the Cortina Together isn't too expensive, but there are better double stroller solutions out there. 

How we tested

I began researching the most popular strollers online, looking for models with stand-out individual reviews and high aggregate review scores. After acquiring a sampling of strollers from various categories and price ranges, I tested them over several months. On the many walks around the neighborhood, visits to the park, shopping trips and all-day excursions during that time, I evaluated each stroller based on the following criteria:

Convenience: How easy is it for the parent to use, break down and transport?
Comfort: How do my children like riding in it? Do they get sweaty from the seat material? Are the straps comfortable to wear?
Ride and handling: How smooth is the ride? How easy is it to push and steer?
Value: Do you get your money's worth for the price you pay?

Stroller FAQs

What are the different types of strollers?

It seems like the stroller market invents new niche categories every year, but here are the basic types of strollers available: 

Full-sized: This is the standard stroller size. Full-sized strollers typically feature more robust construction than compacts and have wider seats. Some full-sized strollers, like the Uppababy Vista, are convertible strollers, meaning they can accommodate a second seat if you want to convert it to a double. 

Double: A double stroller has two seats arranged in either an in-line or side-by-side configuration. 

Travel system: This type of stroller lets you swap the seat out for a compatible infant car seat or bassinet. Because it's modular, you can add pieces as you need them. Another handy travel system feature allows you to flip the seat around, so your baby's facing you. 

Compact: Made for parents who are always on the go, compact strollers offer many of the same benefits as their full-sized counterparts but in a smaller package. They're sometimes called travel or lightweight strollers. 

Umbrella: Even smaller and lighter than a compact, umbrella strollers are great for traveling as they're portable when folded. They also tend to be pretty basic, so don't expect to get many features. But because they're so simple, umbrella strollers are affordable choices. 

Jogging: Parents who can't live without their morning run might consider a jogging stroller. These purpose-built buggies have large wheels and beefed-up suspensions to handle rough terrain. They usually also include air-filled tires and a hand-operated brake to help you slow down. 

Stroller wagon: As the name implies, stroller wagons are one part wagon and one part stroller. They're great for when your kids are a little older as they offer more space. They also give you more cargo options than a typical stroller. 

Car seat carriers: Like a travel system stroller, a car seat carrier will snap into an infant car seat. But that's all they're designed to do. They're sometimes called stroller frames, which is apt because that's exactly what they are. Since there's no seat or anything in the way of creature comforts, these tend to be relatively inexpensive. 

Can you use a stroller for a newborn?

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, a baby should be able to hold their head up between their first four and six months. Before that, they lack the muscle strength in their neck to keep their head upright. That means most stroller seats aren't suitable for newborn babies. One exception is if your stroller can recline completely flat. Some companies also make newborn inserts for their stroller seats, which give your baby a little more support in a seat that's frankly too big for them.

But even though you can put your baby in some stroller seats, it's probably best to keep them in a car seat or bassinet. Travel system strollers are great options, as they give you flexibility from birth to toddlerhood. If you don't have a true travel system stroller, you might still be able to get an adapter for it that will allow you to use your car seat.

Do you need more than one stroller?

No, you don't need more than one stroller. But having a second one significantly opens up your options for taking the baby out. That's because you can have two strollers that each specialize in doing one thing rather than having to choose one stroller that's a jack of all trades but master of none. For example, you could pick a full-sized stroller for long outings where you want storage space and ride comfort and pair it with a compact for running quick errands.

If you think you're a one-stroller family, make sure you get something versatile that can meet all your needs. Full-size travel system strollers work well in this role, and if it's going to be your only stroller, you can spend a little more money on one. You might consider upgrading to a premium brand like Uppababy or Nuna.

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

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WWE Clash of Champions: Results, new champions, match rankings and full recap

WWE Clash of Champions: Results, new champions, match rankings and full recap

Emanating out of Charlotte, North Carolina, WWE's Clash of Champions pay-per-view was OK. It wasn't bad, per se, but there was nothing on the show that was truly exceptional, with most of the event being average to good. Seth Rollins was the MVP of the night, being a key part of the strong open and closing matches. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks was on its way to being a standout match but was stymied by a poor finish.

Here's a quick rundown of highlights:

• Seth Rollins is still Universal Champion, but he and Braun Strowman lost the Raw Tag Team Championships to Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler. Not that it'll end up meaning anything, but Rollins was pinned fairly cleanly by Roode.
• AJ Styles vs. Cedric Alexander was on the preshow, for some reason.
• Becky Lynch retained her Raw Women's Championship via DQ, lengthening her feud with Sasha Banks.
• Roman Reigns vs. Erick Rowan was a waste of time -- until Luke Harper returned.

Below you'll find all the results of the night, as well as match recaps and ratings. See you next month for WWE's Hell in a Cell event, which will be headlined by Seth Rollins vs. Bray Wyatt. 

Seth Rollins retains his Universal Championship

Hot start, with Strowman bulldozing Rollins and going for his powerslam finish. Rollins escapes, works over Strowman's legs and hits three superkicks followed by a frogsplash. Rollins is so good. Two count. 

Good action, with Rollins springboarding all over the place and Strowman showing great intensity. The crowd is quiet, tired from a long and only OK show. Strowman hits his running shoulder tackle on the outside twice, but Rollins sidesteps him on the third one. Strowman crashes through an announce table, and Rollins hits dual suicide dives. The two end up fighting on the turnbuckle, and Strowman eventually hits a frogsplash from the top. Props.

We get a light, polite "this is awesome" chant. Rollins locks in a sleeper hold but Strowman rolls out. Rollins hits a curbstomp for a one count. He hits another for a two count. A third stomp for another two count. Rollins goes for a fourth but Strowman counters, hoisting him up for a powerslam. Strowman's leg gives out, Rollins nails a pedigree and then a final curbstomp for the pin.

After the match Rollins is attacked by Bray Wyatt, aka The Fiend. They'll wrestle next month at Hell in a Cell.

Rating: 3.5 stars. Very similar to SummerSlam's main event between Rollins and Brock Lesnar, but not as good. Suffered from a flat crowd, but still a solid main event. 

Erick Rowan beats Roman Reigns (!) 

Not much to this match. It's no DQ, so it's just a bunch of brawling outside the ring. Rowan has improved his intensity a great deal, but the crowd doesn't buy him as a threat to Reigns. Which is a shame, because the match was just Rowan beating down Reigns, trying to convince the audience he's a threat to Reigns.

One moment did impress the crowd. On the outside, Reigns jumps from the steel stairs for an elevated Superman Punch, but Rowan counters by grabbing him by the throat and pulling him up for a huge powerbomb through an announcer's table. This gets Rowan a 2 count. 

Match ends when a returning Luke Harper blocks a spear attempt from Reigns. Harper and Rowan double team Reigns. Rowan gets the win.

Rating: 1.5 star. Cool powerbomb spot and it's awesome that Luke Harper, who is awesome, is back. Other than that, this was not good. 

Kofi Kingston retains his WWE Championship

Orton and Kingston start slow. This is likely because they're following a hot match and want to restart the crowd, but it's also vintage Orton. 

The wrestling here is actually very tight. The two exchange snug shots, and Orton ends up bumping Kingston out of the ring. He then follows up with suplexes all around the outside area, including two on the announce table.

The pace slows down though as Orton picks apart Kingston. Eventually Kingston mounts a comeback, but it's not a particularly vigorous one. He goes for a Trouble in Paradise, but Orton counters with a nice neckbreaker. Kingston gets some of that missing fire, though, with a huge over-the-top-rope dive.

Orton regains control and there's more slow-paced dissection. He sets up an RKO but Kingston counters into a rollup. Kingston starts a comeback but is cut off with an RKO outta' nowhere. Kingston gets a foot on the rope at 2. Orton goes for his infamous punt but Kingston dodges and nails a Trouble in Paradise to retain.

Rating: 3 stars. A lot of nice wrestling here, but nothing remarkable. 

Sasha Banks beats Becky Lynch via DQ

Crowd reacts big to Lynch, and is more into this match than the last few. Lynch starts out on top, but once Banks gets control the crowd breaks out into loud "Let's go Sasha!/Let's go Becky!" dueling chants.

After Banks worked over Lynch for some heat, Lynch mounts a comeback. She gets cut off in spectacular fashion though, with Banks countering a flying clothesline with a Banks Statement submission. Lynch powers out and hits an exploder suplex. Crowd has been more quiet, but wakes up with more dueling chants.

The two women trade submissions in the center of the ring, Banks going for the Banks Statement and Lynch the Disarmer armbar. Lynch ends up on top, getting her submission, but Banks gets her foot on the rope. Good stuff here. Banks nails double backstabbers and rolls Lynch into a Banks Statement for an intense false finish, but Lynch gets the rope break.

Banks villains it up, tossing in a chair to distract the ref and then, while the ref isn't looking, hitting Banks in the torso with another chair. She follows up with a shining wizard for a two count. The ref accosts Banks for using a chair and then Lynch takes a chair herself and swings for Banks, but Banks ducks and Lynch hits the ref. 

The two then brawl into the crowd. Lynch uses the stair rails to put Banks in a Disarmer armbar, which was gnarly. Banks and Lynch brawl into the backstage area, where Lynch smears Banks with mustard, and eventually come back to the ring. We're told by Michael Cole that Lynch has been disqualified for hitting the ref. Cool. Inside the ring Lynch destroys Banks with a chair.

Rating: 3.5 stars. A very good match with a weak finish. In fairness, Lynch looked like a badass babyface tearing apart Banks and leaving as a defiant champion, but that's in spite of an uninspired ending.

Still the champ.

WWE

Shinsuke Nakamura retains the Intercontinental Championship

After The Miz' entrance, Sami Zayn comes out to berate the audience, talk smack about The Undertaker and to introduce Shinsuke Nakamura. It sucks that Zayn is a manager, because he's such a terrific wrestler, but he is a fantastic manager. 

Nakamura and The Miz open with some chain wrestling. Zayn immediately takes the mic and starts commentating from the side. After about 30 seconds of amazing commentating, Zayn's mic gets cut off. 

Miz works over Nakamura's leg throughout the match, leading up to a Figure Four submission that gets a nice pop thanks to this being Charlotte, North Carolina, aka Flair Country. Nakamura grabs the ropes to break up the pin. Zayn distracts Miz, allowing Nakamura to his a modified Kinshasa to the back of Miz' head for a 2 count. Miz regains control and nails a Skill Crushing Finale, but Zayn distracts the ref.

Ending comes as Miz chases Zayn around the ring. Nakamura cuts him off, then hits a Kinsasha in the ring for the win.

Rating: 3.25 stars. This match had a slow start, got very good towards the end but had a finish that made The Miz look dumb. Miz's offense also looked weak at points. 

Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss retain Women's Tag Titles

Alexa Bliss comes out with a Harley Quinn-inspired look tonight.

Nikki Cross starts the match with Mandy Rose, who after some taunting from Cross tags in Sonya Deville. Eventually Rose is back in the ring against Bliss. Some sloppy stuff here, some of Bliss' forearms and slaps look great but there was some conspicuous mishaps too. The two were at some points a second or two out of sync. 

R-Truth runs into the ring and is chased by the 24/7 Championship crowd for a quick distraction. Bliss tries to rollup Truth, but he kicks out and runs into the crowd. This sentence must be completely incomprehensible to someone who doesn't regularly watch Raw.

Deville and Rose hit a double-team move on Bliss, but the pin was broken up by Cross. Bliss tags in Cross, Cross scores the pin on Rose after a top-rope neckbreaker. 

Rating: 2 stars. Not bad, a well laid out match (except for the 24/7 distraction), but there was a lot of sloppy wrestling here and the crowd wasn't particularly interested.

The Revival defeats The New Day

The Revival are awesome and The New Day very good, but these teams are struggling to get the crowd alive. The New Day dominate until The Revival out Xavier Woods and double team Big E. The crowd did wake up when Big E, after around 5 minutes of being beaten down, tagged in Woods. 

Woods runs wild on The Revival, but is cut off when he gets kicked in his injured leg. Big E comes in for a nice sequence that ends up with The Revival hitting a Shatter Machine on the outside. Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder then pick apart Woods in the ring and nail him with a Shatter Machine. They could go for a pin but decide to work over Woods' leg more.

Dawson puts Woods in a submission lock and Woods taps out.

Rating: 2.75 stars. Some nice wrestling here, but the middle section of the match felt plodding and the crowd, though sporadically invested, on the whole wasn't super into it. 

Bayley retains her SmackDown Women's Championship

Flair opens hot with a big boot to Bayley, who then retreats out of the ring. Flair chases Bayley around and, back in the ring, hits her with some chops and some snug-looking strikes. Outside the ring Flair throws Bayley into the ringside barricades. Pretty gnarly looking. Here the crowd pipes up with a "Let's go Charlotte!" chant. 

Flair starts working over Bayley's leg. The story of the match so far is that Flair is murdering Bayley. Bayley reteats to the corner and the ref stops Flair from keeping the offense up. Bayley takes the bottom turnbuckle padding off, pulls Charlotte into it in an illegal move and, surprisingly, gets the 1-2-3. 

After the match Bayley legs it to the back.

Rating: 2.5 stars. This match actually told a coherent story. Flair was killing Bayley, who blatantly cheated to retain her title. The hero looks strong, the villain looks evil. It was too short to be a great or even good match, but was solid for what it was.

Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler are Raw Tag Champions

Good opening match here. It opens with Strowman dominating both Roode and Ziggler, then tagging in Rollins. Ziggler turns the tide with a wicked DDT on Rollins outside the ring. The crowd was a little quiet at the beginning, but really got into the match as the bad guys kept cutting off Rollins from tagging in Strowman. 

Big pop when Strowman gets tagged in. He runs wild -- literally running Ziggler and Roode down on the outside -- but Ziggler rakes his eyes and double teams him with Roode. Eventually Strowman tags in Rollins. Amazing hot tag. This guy was flying all over the place, springboards inside the ring, suicide dives outside, more springboards inside. 

Match ends when Roode sets up a Glorious DDT and Strowman bumps Roode into Rollins. Strowman and Ziggler take a tumble outside, and Roode hits a DDT on Rollins for the win. 

Robert Roode, bottom of the card a month ago, pins the Universal Champion.

Rating: 3.5 stars. Slow start, but ultimately a solid match with a very good final few minutes. 

Your new tag champs. 

WWE

Preshow results

AJ Styles defeats Cedric Alexander in a United States Championship match: The first surprise of the night is that this match was on the preshow. Styles beats Alexander in a 5-minute match.

Drew Gulak retains the Cruiserweight Championship: Gulak beats Humberto Carrillo and Lince Dorado in a triple-threat match.

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Beyond Axie Infinity: 'Web3 Games' Hope to Convert Crypto Skeptics

Beyond Axie Infinity: 'Web3 Games' Hope to Convert Crypto Skeptics

The moment Chris saw Axie Infinity, he was hooked. He was once an avid gamer, playing hours of League of Legends every day, but stopped after deciding he was sinking too much time into an unproductive hobby. Axie Infinity promised something different. Inspired by Pokemon, it's a video game about training and battling monsters. That sounds like hundreds of other games, but one element distinguishes Axie Infinity. It's built on the blockchain.

Axies are the Pokemon of Axie Infinity, but they're owned as nonfungible tokens, or NFTs. A cryptocurrency called Smooth Love Potion is earned by battling these Axies. Players can also breed Axies, then either sell or battle with them. Chris, who declined to give his real name and goes only by the pseudonym Cryptobarbarian, felt he could justify playing video games again -- as long as it paid.

"It was fun for the first few weeks, but it gets boring really fast," the 28-year-old said. From there, he said, Axie Infinity became purely about making money.

Axie Infinity is a browser game. Accessing it is free, but you need to buy a team of three Axies to play. At its peak of popularity, bottom-tier Axies cost around $350 each, meaning playing the game once required a four-figure investment. The game allows Axie owners to lease out their monsters to other players, however. A longtime crypto investor, Cryptobarbarian told me he bought $30,000 worth of Axies and loaned them out in return for 40% to 70% of the profits. (CNET wasn't able to verify his purchases.)

The strategy paid off at first. Axie Infinity was a hot ticket in CryptoTown, generating over $15 million a day last August. But thanks to a combination of poor in-game economics, inflation threatening the real world's economy and a $600 million hack reportedly caused by a fake job posting, the price of Axies and the game's Smooth Love Potion cryptocurrency collapsed. The same monsters that cost hundreds of dollars last year now fetch under $10.

"I got around 100 players playing for me with high-end Axies," Cryptobarbarian said to me over Twitter, "which overall cost around $100,000 at the height and are now worth nothing."

To gamers, stories like this provide ample reason to reject "Web3 gaming," a term referring to the integration of NFTs and cryptocurrency into games. The significant carbon footprint of ethereum and bitcoin adds to the resentment. Be it Ubisoft bringing NFTs into Ghost Recon or Square Enix launching Final Fantasy 7 NFTs, gamers have fiercely resisted the blockchain coming anywhere near their industry.  

Three Axies in Axie Infinity. 

Sky Mavis

The fear is that crypto and NFTs will deform gaming into a side hustle, transforming its purpose from entertainment to moneymaking. Play-to-earn titles such as Axie Infinity prove the point; they're not games as much as they are financial speculation with the veneer of a game.

"I've never met anyone that played it just for fun," Cryptobarbarian said of Axie Infinity, "only to make money." 

But Axie Infinity doesn't represent the future that many Web3 developers envision for gaming. Video game firms, both small and large, are developing titles they hope will clean the slate of Web3 gaming. All are on carbon-neutral blockchains such as polygon or solana, which are far more efficient than ethereum. (Whether they're as secure is an open question.) The goal isn't to make titles that entertain crypto speculators, but rather to make games fun enough that people can justify playing them regardless of whether they earn crypto. 

"I've long been a believer that gaming is one of the consumer internet categories that is most likely to bring on mainstream adoption of crypto," said Amy Wu, head of gaming at FTX Ventures, the investment arm of the FTX crypto exchange. "But I also believe when you have a hit game with Web3 elements, it's very likely that the majority of players will never actually trade those tokens. They're just playing the game."

Free to play, play to own

The upcoming wave of Web3 games will range from free-to-play mobile titles to big-budget AAA games for PC and console. On the simpler end of the scale is Shatterpoint. With an art style inspired by Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, it's an action RPG for Android and iOS that, on paper, looks like many top App Store games. There's a single-player campaign plus a PvP multiplayer mode. You earn new weapons and gear as you progress and, much like Fortnite and Call of Duty, the multiplayer is broken up into different "seasons."

But these seasons, segmented by "the shattering" in the game, is where the blockchain comes in. Players will be given a certain list of goals each season. If they complete one -- say, being one of the first 100 players to reach level 50, or staying atop of the PvP leaderboard for a certain amount of time -- their character will be converted into an NFT. Only a limited amount of NFTs will be minted per season. 

There are two reasons why players might want to bother scoring an NFT. The shattering acts as an in-game reset, so any gear you've collected will vanish. NFT characters, of which there will be a limited amount each season, are permanent. However your character looks when it's minted into an NFT, with whatever combination of gear equipped, that's how it'll look in perpetuity. The second benefit is that these NFTs can be sold on a marketplace -- if there's a market for them.

A screenshot from Shatterpoint. 

Estoty Games

There are three crucial elements that make this model sustainable, says Shatterpoint developer Benas Baltramiejunas. First, the game is free to play -- unlike P2E games like Axie Infinity, which requires the upfront cost of three Axie NFTs. Second, none of the items retained as an NFT can resemble "pay to win" mechanics. There can only be cosmetic benefits to owning it, not a competitive edge. Last, and most important, the game is designed with the assumption that most people playing won't be interested in minting their character as an NFT. It has to be fun for them too.

"We're using the NFT approach to create a bit of competitiveness, to incentivize players to play," he said. Shatterpoint is monetized by traditional microtransactions and from taking a small cut of NFT sales -- 2.5% is the traditional cut creators take. Baltramiejunas hopes that focusing on NFTs will result in both better game design and fairer prices. If developers can create a compelling game, revenue can theoretically be sorted out organically through whatever the player base sets as the value of the NFTs. 

"In free-to-play games you have whales which account for 10% of the player base but 90% of the revenue," Baltramiejunas said. "If you only have those microtransactions for monetization, you are only focusing on those whales during the content creation, and you're leaving everybody behind. However, with NFT integration, you don't need to monetize that aggressively. The market decides." 

NFT brands expand into gaming

While Shatterpoint is a mobile game that produces NFTs, the coming years will see many examples of the reverse: NFT collections turning into games. NFT drops, such as the famed Bored Ape Yacht Club, are doubling as crowdfunding platforms that produce games. Creators earn millions in royalties from sales, and use that money to expand the brand, theoretically boosting NFT prices in the process. Some brands are expanding into TV and film. Many are dabbling in gaming.

One such example is My Pet Hooligan. It's a product of AMGI Studios, an animation studio where former Pixar animator Colin Brady serves as chief creative and technology officer. The studio sees Unreal Engine 5 and blockchain technology as the next technologies that will drive entertainment, Brady told me at the recent NFT.NYC conference. 

AMGI Studios' goal of 2021 was to use Unreal Engine 5 to create an animated film for Netflix at half of the traditional cost. While the film was being greenlit, Brady explained, AMGI technical lead Kevin Mack approached him about starting an NFT collection. 

The result was My Pet Hooligan, a set of 8,888 3D rabbits. "We sold out in less than a minute, and all of a sudden people started saying, 'hey, when movie? When TV show? When video game?'" Brady said. The studio, filled with Unreal Engine programmers, already had a game in the works. 

The result is Rabbit Hole, a sandbox game that looks like a mix of Grand Theft Auto and Ratchet and Clank. Rabbit Hole is currently in closed alpha, available only for My Pet Hooligan NFT holders with only one map functional. The build of the game I saw at NFT.NYC was intriguing. It was certainly incomplete, with noticeable frame-rate issues, but had the clear foundation of a fun sandbox game.

My Pet Hooligan NFTs on the OpenSea marketplace.

AMGI Studios/OpenSea

Rabbit Hole will eventually be available for PC and console. Brady says the goal is to reach 1 million players by the end of the year.  To encourage the type of in-game socialization seen among players of Fortnite and Roblox, the studio developed a companion facial-recognition app for phones. If you perch your phone where a webcam typically is on a computer, it'll track your face and replicate all facial movements on your on-screen Hooligan.

Unlike Shatterpoint, which will integrate just NFTs, Rabbit Hole will use both NFTs and crypto. It will have a play-to-earn mechanic -- or play and earn, as technical lead Kevin Mack prefers to say -- in the form of in-game currency Karrots. These will be used to buy clothing, dances and more for the Hooligan avatars, but it doubles as a cryptocurrency that can be exchanged for ether or bitcoin. You can earn money playing Rabbit Hole, but Brady said it's not going to be life-changing cash. 

Then there's the NFT element. This is primed towards holders of the 8,888 My Pet Hooligan NFTs. While players who download the game will start with a generic Hooligan, My Pet Hooligan owners will be able to use their NFT as an avatar in the game. 

If the game gets popular enough, Mack said, there will be a certain prestige to owning one of these avatars. But he recognizes that to make that happen, the team has to make a game that people actually want to play.

"Superman No. 1 is valuable because Superman was a great comic," he said. "I think the NFT space for a while started to get that a little backward, where they thought the things were valuable just because they were collectable." 

To infinity...

Of all the NFT brands expanding into games, Bored Ape Yacht Club is the biggest. BAYC creators Yuga Labs are developing Otherside, a "metaverse" MMORPG. The term "metaverse" is nebulous, but in this case it refers to an open world where items are owned as NFTs and in-game currency is crypto that can be exchanged for dollars. Details on Otherside are scant, but Yuga has a huge warchest for it. The game's map will be made up of 200,000 plots of land, which players can buy and own. Over $350 million was raised from selling land back in May. 

Otherside may be the Web3 game with the highest budget, but perhaps the most ambitious is Star Atlas. 

In development since 2020, the Eve Online-inspired Star Atlas is crafted like a traditional AAA game. Michael Wagner, CEO of Star Atlas development studio ATMTA, told me there are around 200 developers working on the game. It's scheduled for release in 2026. 

Like Eve Online, Star Atlas is half game, half space simulator. Players ride spacecraft through the galaxy, socializing and battling with each other, exploring exoplanets, mining lands and meteors for resources and so on. 

Games like Eve Online are giant, big enough for players to lose themselves in for years. Star Atlas hopes to mimic that feat. On the way to doing so, it uses almost every new tool Web3 offers.

It starts with funding. Wagner said $185 million in revenue was raised in 2021, through the sale of an Atlas token and NFT ships, with a "substantial margin" of that funding development. In the game, ships, items and land will be owned as NFTs. There will be a comprehensive crypto economy built atop the game, which Wagner says will allow for not just a market, but a labor economy too. The economy isn't just in the game; part of Star Atlas will be built on the blockchain, meaning elements will be open source. People will be able to develop apps on top of this data, for things like spacecraft maintenance or resource management. 

Part of Star Atlas' economy will involve taxation. Just like in real life, a certain percentage of all sales will go to a treasury. There will be a DAO, or decentralized autonomous organization, in which token holders can vote on how these funds are used, be it to fund a new marketing campaign or a user engagement campaign. Then there will be another DAO specifically for the game itself, where token holders can vote on changes to the game, like additional features or ways to balance combat. 

"We've structured the economics of the DAO such that we don't lose control in the near term," Wagner said. "But in the future, it would even be possible for them to vote us out as the principal developer of the game and bring in somebody new if they think they could deliver the product in a superior fashion to us." 

Risks and rewards

The potential of Web3 gaming is tremendous, but its challenges are enormous. An examination of Star Atlas alone highlights many issues Web3 developers are likely to face.

First and foremost, making video games is hard. Making high-quality AAA games is harder still, even for veteran game studios, and the Star Atlas game alone is audacious in its ambition. The Web3 components offer additional opportunity for failure: An imbalanced economy, for instance, has the potential to completely break the game. Then there's security and regulation. Crypto has been a digital Wild West for years, with scams endemic. Regulators are slowly changing that. It's an open question whether Web3 gaming can survive in a regulated environment. 

"In many countries, consumer protection is the No. 1 driver of regulations. Given gaming is so mainstream, it will be a topic," said FTX Ventures' Wu. "100%, these assets are going to be regulated."

The final issue is the very commodity that fuels crypto tokens and NFT projects: hype. Games are often promised on NFT project road maps before a single second of development has been undertaken. As Brady noted, it took less than a day for My Pet Hooligan holders to demand the announcement of a game, movie or TV show to sustain hype and lift the NFT value. Vaporware is sure to be common.

Games will need to be developed in a way that insulates players from the crypto-rich speculators. Speculators outbidding each other can artificially raise the value of in-game items, which blocks players who actually want to play the game from accessing them. Recall the speculative bubble that caused the cost of entry to Axie Infinity to inflate to over $1,000.  

"I'm personally not interested in someone who's paying $100,000 for an NFT," said Brady. "That's a certain echelon. That's not normal society. I'm only interested if this helps every person."

Of all the developers I spoke to, a recurring theme was mistrust of any games company that promises a regular income, or dangles the possibility of earning enough money to quit the rat race. "Play-to-earn is not sustainable and is going to die off," said Baltramiejunas. Instead, the goal is for Web3 games to be more engaging than the games you play today, with the benefit of some pocket money on the side.

"If the game was good I would be satisfied with a little money as long as it's not totally a time waste," said Cryptobarbarian, reflecting on how much money he'd need to earn to justify playing games again.

"If I could earn some lunch money with it, that would be nice. But I think that will take at least a few more years before it happens." 

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WhatsApp, Kik, Viber or ReTXT: Which third-party messenger is right for you?

WhatsApp, Kik, Viber or ReTXT: Which third-party messenger is right for you?

James Martin/CNET

There is no shortage of third-party messaging apps in either the iTunes App Store or the Google Play Store and it's pretty easy to see why. While every smartphone has a default messaging app, none have many extras.

Sure, you can send photos and videos, and probably emoticons, but beyond that the default chat apps are pretty bare. To its credit, Apple has made strides with iOS' Messages app with features such as being able to send your location and voice memos, while Android will let you send contacts and other business-related tasks, but there's not much fun in that.

Fortunately, third-party messaging apps are mostly free, offer fun extras, and some even have added features like encryption to keep your messages secure. All use data, so any texting limits you have with your carrier don't apply and the ones that make calls are free for people who have the app.

Feature comparison

Obviously, a text messaging app has to let you send text messages, and adding photos and videos is more or less the standard with these type of apps. But it's the extras like locations, contacts, and even doodles that set some of these apps apart. On the other hand, you may be someone who is uninterested in stickers and gifs, so this chart will let you zero in on the things you need and the things you don't.

	WhatsApp Messenger	Kik	Viber	ReTXT
Text messages	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Phone calls	Yes	No	Yes	No
Photos	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Videos	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Audio clips/voice memos	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Video calls	No	No	Yes	No
Sketching/drawing	No	Yes	Yes	No
Locations	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Share contacts	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Special Graphics/Stickers	No	Yes	Yes	No
Emoticons	default keyboard	Yes	Yes	default keyboard
Subscription	Yes ($0.99/year)	No	No	Yes ($0.99/year)
Encryption	No	No	No	Yes
Read receipts	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
In-app purchases	Yes	Yes	Yes	No

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James Martin/CNET

WhatsApp Messenger

WhatsApp has been in the third-party text messenger business for a long time, and even if you're not using it, chances are a lot of your friends are. The app has an extremely easy setup because you don't have to add buddies or invite people; WhatsApp Messenger scans your contacts for other users of the app and lets you start a conversation on your own.

WhatsApp shows your chats in little text bubbles, gives you a time stamp for messages, notifies you when a text has been viewed by your recipient and lets you include photos, audio notes and videos within your conversations. You can also change your background and send your GPS location to an interactive map. You can use premade away notes such as "I'm busy," "Available" or even "My battery is about to die," and you can block specific contacts from within the app. You also can easily send a friend's contact information to another user without leaving the app. So, while the app is not leaps and bounds ahead of other messaging apps, there are some nice extra features here.

It's important to note that WhatsApp is free for the first year of use, but then you'll need to sign up for subscription at 99 cents per year. But even though free is always better, I think a dollar a year (at the current exchange rate, that's about £0.65 or AU$1.25) is easily worth it for what you get.

Where it excels

• A lot of people already use it so you don't have to convince as many people to download it.
• Location maps look natural inline and let you tap to get more info.
• You can make free calls to others who have the app.
• You can customize the look by changing backgrounds.

Where it falls flat

• You can't make video calls.
• It has no special graphics other than emoticons.
• It doesn't have strong encryption.

Best for: People who know that their friends already use the app. Also, it's great for sending texts and making international calls to others who have the app.

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James Martin/CNET

Kik

Free; iOS, Android, Windows Phone

Kik is a messaging app that's much more about fun than it is about productivity. Yes, it has the regular messaging features and you can easily add photos and videos like most apps, but the extras here are more for a younger audience and not what you get with the other apps in this collection.

I noticed right away that Kik didn't have the ability to send your location or contacts. Instead, it's set up for having fun with things like stickers, the ability to sketch, add the latest viral videos and memes, and more. One really useful feature is the ability to perform an image search from within the app. It also has an assortment of original emoticons, but the ones you can use for free are not much different from what you get on your default keyboard.

And that's the other thing about Kik. It has its own currency called Kik Points (KP) that you use to buy sticker packs and special emoticons you can't find anywhere else. You don't buy Kik points with cash, though. You earn them by completing surveys, visiting specific websites, or signing up for services from one of Kik's partners. In other words, it's a way for Kik to make money without billing the users of the app.

Where it excels

• It has a huge number of things you can add to your messages, like stickers, icons, doodles, memes and more.
• You can perform an image search from within the app to add images to the conversation easily.
• It has its own in-app browser to find other content.

Where it falls flat

• Lack of location-adding and contact features make it less useful for working folks.
• The requirement of using Kik Points to buy features means you'll need to jump through hoops to get that unique zombie emoticon.

Best for: Students or groups of friends who like to keep the conversation going continuously with lots of fun stuff to add

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James Martin/CNET

Viber

Free; iOS, Android, Windows Phone

I recently reviewed Viber and found it to have the most useful features I've seen so far in a messaging app. It's excellent for messaging and calling your friends for free around the globe and you can even make video calls.

Sending a message is just like other apps, with balloons for each of the people chatting, and you can set up group texts for up to 100 participants. You can create an audio clip by touching the microphone, then touching and holding a big button in the bottom center to record. You also can send photos and videos, and you can send your location.

For some fun, there is a doodle feature, which lets you pick a brush size and color, then draw on the screen to send little doodles to your friends. You also get a good assortment of stickers for free, but can buy themed sticker packs if you're interested.

But what sets Viber apart from most third party messaging apps is the ability to make both audio and video calls and you can do it on a 3G connection or better. The app uses your regular phone number, and you can call anyone around the globe for free provided they also have the app. In my testing, call quality was excellent and even sounded better than regular calls on my iPhone.

You'll have to pay (through in-app purchase) if you want to call landlines or people who don't have the app, but it has a guide which shows how much it will cost you depending on the country.

Where it excels

• You can make free calls to other people who have the app (like WhatsApp) and you can make free video calls.
• Both audio and video calls are high quality even without a Wi-Fi connection.
• It has its own assortment of high-quality, original emoticons.
• It has plenty of stickers included for just about any situation, and you can buy more if you want themed sets.

Where it falls flat

• The Public Chat features let you browse subjects and enter a conversation, but you can't participate (coming in a later update).
• Not a lot of people use it.

Best for: People who want to message, or make audio or video calls internationally for free.

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James Martin/CNET

ReTXT

Free; iOS and Android

ReTXT is the newcomer to the collection having only been out for a few weeks, but in my review, I really liked the unique features you can't find in the other apps of this collection.

It does all the usual things such as letting you send photos and video, and you can add audio clips and send your location. But while it's not big on special graphics, stickers or anything like those, it has something even better to offer: the ability to correct or delete a message you already sent. Everyone has been a victim of their smartphone's autocorrect at one time or another, but with ReTXT, you can just tap the sent message and edit whatever you want. It then corrects the message for both you and your recipient.

Another unique feature is the capability to ask for clarification. When someone sends you a message that doesn't make sense, you can tap a button that sends them a question mark that appears right next to their own message balloon. This indicates that they should clarify their meaning without you having to ask questions or engage in a lengthy back-and-forth conversation.

Finally, ReTXT has strong security features which ensure you and your recipient are the only people to view your message content. It doesn't store your conversations on any server, and it has end-to-end encryption. The other apps can't boast this level of security, so if security is your number one concern, this is the app for you.

It's important to note that -- like WhatsApp -- you'll need to pay a 99 cents a year subscription (about £0.65 or AU$1.25), but if these features are important to you it's easy to part with a dollar per year.

Where it excels

• ReTXT lets you edit sent messages to fix any errors, whether it was an autocorrect mistake or maybe even something you shouldn't have said in the heat of the moment.
• You can ask for clarification by touching a button so you can avoid the back and forth texts.
• End-to-end encryption means you'll know only you and your recipient can see your messages.

Where it falls flat

• It doesn't have any customization or special graphics and emoticons besides what comes with your default keyboard.
• Almost nobody uses it because it's so new.

Best for: Those who find themselves making a lot of typos in their messages, or those who want an added level of security not found in other messaging apps.

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CNET recommends...

All of these are great chat apps, and really it comes down to a matter of your messaging style for which one you pick. But I think for most people, the fact that Viber covers so many bases puts it on top.

Not only does it have more practical features, like sending your location and contacts, it also has fun features which let you add audio clips and stickers to your conversations. And the fact that you can make both audio and video calls pushes it over the top.

There's still the problem of getting your friends to download the app, but with all these features, it shouldn't be too hard to convince them.

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