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Howdy, pardners. Not everything can be all fun and games—but this newsletter will be. Welcome to our annual year-end Games edition, where we’ll quiz you on the year’s news and bring back some of our puzzlemaster Jack’s favorites (and don’t miss a new Turntable at the bottom).

Warning: The answers are located in the same section as the questions, so don’t scroll down until you’ve made your guesses!

Happy solving!

Holly Van Leuven, Jack Murtagh, Abby Rubenstein

FINANCE

Here’s the stock chart for a company that has outperformed the S&P 500 this year. Can you name it? (Some hints are below the chart.)

a stock chart from GoogleGoogle

Founded: 1997

Founder: Maxine Clark

Went public: 2004

HQ: St. Louis, Missouri

Sector: Retail

Market cap: $724.7 million (as of December 22)

Fun fact: Its valuation is not threatened by any real or imagined AI bubble, but it does rely on fluff.

Banner saying

Build-A-Bear Workshop

Presented By Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business

CALENDAR

An illustration of a calendar

Francis Scialabba

Check out these news stories and ask yourself, “Did it happen in 2024 or 2025?”

  1. Nvidia became the world’s most valuable company.
  2. The Campbell Soup Company changed its name to The Campbell’s Company.
  3. Lady Gaga released the song “Abracadabra.”
  4. The Jo-Ann craft stores went out of business.
  5. OpenAI rolled out ChatGPT version GPT-4o.
  6. Warner Bros. Discovery stock hit its all-time low.
  7. Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast jumped from Spotify to SiriusXM in a $125 million deal.
  8. Charlie Javice, the former CEO of startup Frank, was convicted of conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud, and securities fraud.

Image saying

  1. It’s gone on to do it several times now, but Nvidia first became the world’s most valuable company in June 2024.
  2. Out of a desire to be associated with more than soup, Campbell’s updated its name in November 2024.
  3. “Abracadabra” was Gaga’s second single from her Mayhem album, released in March 2025.
  4. Jo-Ann announced it was going out of business in February 2025, and most of the stores were closed by May 2025. RIP.
  5. GPT-4o rolled out in May 2024, but we aren’t surprised if it was on your mind this year. OpenAI released GPT-5 in August 2025, but the backlash to it was fierce enough that OpenAI gave some users the opportunity to revert to 4o.
  6. WBD hit its all-time low in June 2024. That feels like ancient history after this year’s bidding war to buy the company…
  7. Cooper struck a three-year, $125 million deal with SiriusXM in 2024.
  8. Javice was convicted in March 2025 and sentenced in September 2025 for defrauding JPMorgan.

Together With Cherry Bekaert

ENTERTAINMENT

A split ticket for the new Wicked movie

Morning Brew Design

Can the essence of some of this year’s biggest movies be conveyed in just a few cute icons? Yeah, we think so. Below, you’ll find our pictorial representation of 10 flicks of 2025. You have to figure out the titles they represent.