Magazine cover stories

• Power, AI and birds in the Nevada desert
  
• The final secret of an ageing cryptosculptor
  
• The Colorado laser labs redefining the second
  
• An archival deep-space rescue mission
  
• Geometric land battles on a Wyoming mountain
  
• Algorithmic syndicates conquering horse-betting
  
• Building the world’s tallest flagpole in Maine
  
• Elite chess in Spain in wartime
  
• Legal fights over a ‘truth machine’

• Books

• 
  
• Seven Games: A Human History (Norton)
  
• The Riddler: Puzzles from FiveThirtyEight (Norton)
  

Some other features

• Underground sound in a dying planet
• Crossword gods in Connecticut
  
• Lost and afraid in the metaverse
  
• Lunch with Hans Niemann
  
• The problem with polling
  
• Digital demigods of dice (Air Mail)
  
• How game theory changed poker (WSJ)
  
• The final triumph of Dr. Fill (Slate)
  
• The insanity of a Scrabble player (LitHub)
  
• A crossword plagiarism scandal (538)
  
• The darkest town in America (538)
  
• Playing chess with Magnus Carlsen (538)
  
• Finding God on a game show (538)