It’s once again that special time of year when we give you a chance to do well by doing good. That’s right—it’s the 2025 edition of our annual Charity Drive!
Every year since 2007, we’ve encouraged readers to give to Penny Arcade’s Child’s Play charity, which provides toys and games to kids being treated in hospitals around the world. In recent years, we’ve added the Electronic Frontier Foundation to our charity push, aiding in their efforts to defend Internet freedom. This year, as always, we’re providing some extra incentive for those donations by offering donors a chance to win pieces of our big pile of vendor-provided swag. We can’t keep it, and we don’t want it clogging up our offices, so it’s now yours to win.
This year’s swag pile is full of high-value geek goodies. We have over a dozen prizes valued at nearly $5,000 total, including gaming hardware and collectibles, apparel, and more. In 2023, Ars readers raised nearly $40,000 for charity, contributing to a total haul of more than $542,000 since 2007. We want to raise even more this year, and we can do it if readers dig deep.
How it works
Donating is easy. Simply donate to Child’s Play using a credit card or PayPal or donate to the EFF using PayPal, credit card, or cryptocurrency. You can also support Child’s Play directly by using this Ars Technica campaign page or by picking an item from the Amazon wish list of a specific hospital on its donation page. Donate as much or as little as you feel comfortable with—every bit helps.
Once that’s done, it’s time to register your entry in our sweepstakes. Just grab a digital copy of your receipt (a forwarded email, a screenshot, or simply a copy-and-paste of the text) and send it to ArsCharityDrive@gmail.com with your name, postal address, daytime telephone number, and email address by 11:59 pm ET Friday, January 2, 2026. (One entry per person, and each person can only win up to one prize. US residents only. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. See Official Rules for more information, including how to enter without making a donation. Also, refer to the Ars Technica privacy policy (https://www.condenast.com/privacy-policy).
We’ll then contact the winners and have them choose their prize by January 31, 2026 (choosing takes place in the order the winners are drawn).
The prizes
Here are quick descriptions of some of the biggest, most desirable prizes in this year’s lineup. The complete set of available prizes is listed afterward.
ROG Flow Z13 gaming tablet/laptop
In our review of this slim gaming beast, we called it “a convertible tablet with way more gaming power than you would think” and “an impressive showcase for AMD’s leap forward in integrated power.” That impressive leap can be yours if you win our review unit in this sweepstakes.
Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold + case
We’ve been relatively impressed with Google’s Pixel Fold line of smartphones, calling the newer Pixel 10 Pro Fold “the ultimate Google phone with some useful AI features.” This Pixel 9 Pro Fold comes with accessories and a protective case to show it off in style.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Collector’s Edition (PC)
We’ve seen some interesting video game collector’s editions over the years, but this is the first one we can recall with a full-sized globe included in the package. Of course, this set also comes with a copy of the Indiana Jones and the Great Circle game, which we called “pitch-perfect archaeological adventuring” in our review.
Analogue 3D and Analogue Duo retro gaming hardware
We’ve been big fans of Analogue’s FPGA-based retro gaming hardware since the initial release of the Analogue Nt in 2016. This year’s sweepstakes includes the newer Analogue 3D, which plays N64 games, and the Analogue Duo, which is set up for TurboGrafx-16 titles.
Here’s the full list of prizes you can win by entering:
The prizes
Hardware and accessories
- Analogue 3D + 4 8bitdo controllers (used)
- Analogue Duo
- Atari GameStation Go (used)
- Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold + case (used)
- MyPlayWatch Tetris
- OpenWRT One router (used)
- ROG Flow Z13 gaming tablet/laptop (used)
Collectibles/other
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Collector’s Edition (PC)
- Killing Floor III promo pack (shooting targets, socks, stickers, first aid kit, combat knife, mug, desk mat)
- Nintendo Switch 2 prize pack (backpack, duffel bag, Moleskine notebook, pencil case, lanyard, and stickers)
- OpenAI’s “100 chats for studying career & college life” book
- Red Bull Racing fleece blanket and scarf
- Red Bull Racing Yeti Backpack
- Therabody vibrating sleep mask
Apparel
- Ford Mustang Mach-E cap
- Red Bull Racing New Era snapback cap
Euro NCAP, 5 stelle per Mercedes CLA e Mazda CX-5. 4 stelle per Renault Clio e Jeep Compass