Welcome to GamerDad: Gaming with Children. My name is Andrew S. Bub - the GamerDad - and I've been writing about videogames, movies, and children for over 15 years now. After working as a magazine journalist, I switched gears to write about how media violence affects children, educating parents about them, and working closely with magazines, newspapers, major retailers and even politicians. GamerDad is an internationally recognized expert in this field. Games, movies and media are fun, kids and families love them, they aren't going away. So join me in cutting through the hype and lets have a real conversation about the things that matter: Video Games, Violent Media, and their supposed effect on children and families.
Welcome to GamerDad: Gaming with Children. My name is Andrew S. Bub - the GamerDad - and I've been writing about videogames, movies, and children for over 15 years now. After working as a magazine journalist, I switched gears to write about how media violence affects children, educating parents about them, and working closely with magazines, newspapers, major retailers and even politicians. GamerDad is an internationally recognized expert in this field. Games, movies and media are fun, kids and families love them, they aren't going away. So join me in cutting through the hype and lets have a real conversation about the things that matter: Video Games, Violent Media, and their supposed effect on children and families.
Animal Crossing Sanrio amiibo Cards
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Posted on May 7th, 2021 by
And last on ‘amiibo week,’ here are some amiibo cards I recently got of a crossover with Animal Crossing and Sanrio. You know, the folks who make Hello Kitty. Out of all the amiibo things I’ve wrote about this week, these cards were probably the hardest things to get! So let’s take a look at them!
A Terry, A Bear-y, and a Blythe
Posted on May 5th, 2021 by
Next up on ‘amiibo week’ I got the next set of Smash Bros. amiibo. We have SNK’s Terry Bogard, Banjo-Kazooie, and Blythe from Fire Emblem. Let’s take a look at them!
Monster Hunter Rise amiibo
Posted on May 3rd, 2021 by
Recently I got a bunch of new amiibo figures and cards, so I thought I’d spend this first week of the month talking about them. I guess you could call this month “A-MAY-Bo.” Ok sorry, that was bad. Anyway, first up is some amiibo figures based on Monster Hunter Rise, the newest game in the series that was just released recently. I’ve never played a Monster Hunter game before, so this should be quick!
Cary’s Favorite Pokémon Spin-Off Games
Posted on April 30th, 2021 by
I’m really excited about the upcoming release of New Pokémon Snap. The original was a special game to me, and I’ll explain why in this blog. The mainline Pokémon games are great, but I haven’t played any of the more recent ones because I feel they are all pretty much the same game. Now, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Why fix what isn’t broken? And with every new generation of Pokémon game comes a new generation of kids to enjoy them, and while they may be the same game to me, it’s new to them. While I haven’t played a new mainline Pokémon game since Black & White, I still like the Pokémon settings and characters and do enjoy a lot of the spin-off games. So in this blog we’re going to take a look at some of my favorite Pokémon spin-off games in honor of the upcoming release of New Pokémon Snap!
Pureya (PC, Mobile)
Posted on April 28th, 2021 by
A little girl is playing with a pachinko machine in her room. Pachinko is kind of like pinball, except you shoot marbles to the top of a field full of notches, and the marbles roll down and you hope they land in spaces that give you points. Not sure why she has one in her room, but when she runs out of marbles, she reaches on a high shelf for a bowl with more marbles so she can keep playing. But when the bowl spills and the marbles roll around amongst her other toys, the girl uses her imagination (presumably), and plays mini-games related to her toys to get her marbles back. Either that or she lost her marbles both literally and figuratively. Anyway, Pureya is a mini-game collection where you play a series of ten second games to earn marbles, then you use those marbles in the pachinko machine to unlock more games and other goodies. It’s available to download on PC and mobile devices, but reviewed on iPad here.
Inked (Mobile)
Posted on April 26th, 2021 by
You are the nameless hero, a retired warrior who lives with his companion Aiko. Not sure if they are husband and wife, but they live in a world made up of hand-drawn black and white sketches. Like what you’d see in an artist’s notebook. Their world kind of has an Asian theme, with Japanese shrine gates and whatnot, but there are also futuristic Stargate looking portals at the end of each level for some reason. Anything is possible in sketches I guess. Anyway, one day the hero and Aiko discover a bird with a broken wing, and set out on a journey to find out what happened to it. Inked is a puzzle game for mobile devices, but reviewed on iPad here.
Play Pac-Man…on a Pizza Box?!?
Posted on April 23rd, 2021 by
Pac-Man is one of the most popular video games of all time, and you can play the game on pretty much anything. Nearly every game console has a version of it, and you can even play it on your smart phone. And now you can play it on the top of your pizza box?!? What a world we live in! Seems kind of ironic since Pac-Man was said to be conceived when the creator took a slice out of a pizza (although that’s not the full story). But here in the US, Pizza Hut is doing a promotion with Pac-Man where you can use your phone to play an AR game of Pac-Man on the top of your pizza box! How does that work? Well you’ll just have to read on to find out!
Bladed Fury (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC)
Posted on April 21st, 2021 by
In ancient China lives a princess named Qi, who is also very skilled with swords. One day she battles a demon in her father’s quarters, but gets tricked and ends up being accused of killing her father herself. While fleeing from her palace, Qi notices some people who shouldn’t be there, and decides that something isn’t right. Now in exile, Qi must battle warriors and demons to prove her innocence and find out what’s really going on in her kingdom. Bladed Fury is a 2-D platform hack and slash with fast action and a unique visual style. It’s available on most current consoles and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.
Sir Lovelot (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One/S, PC)
Posted on April 19th, 2021 by
Sir Lovelot is a knight who just wants to climb a tower using the hair of the captive princess inside, and fall in love. But he gets kicked out the next morning, and has to do the process over again the next day, and there are all sorts of obstacles in his way. He’s a persistent little knight! Anyway, Sir Lovelot is a super challenging 2-D platformer available for nearly all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Arby’s Kids Meals Have…Shovel Knight?!?
Posted on April 16th, 2021 by
So I’ve written about fast food chains doing kids meal toys based on video games in the past. Burger King or McDonald’s doing Mario or Pokémon toys, for instance. Heck, I’ve even wrote about Arby’s doing Sonic the Hedgehog toys in a past kids meal promo. But those aren’t much of a surprise since all those games are in the public eye forefront. So when I saw that Arby’s was now doing Shovel Knight toys in their kids meals, I was like, “WHAT?!?” I mean, Shovel Knight is a very popular indie game. But it’s still just an indie game. Didn’t think it was something kids were into. But as a Shovel Knight fan, you know I had to take a look at this, so let’s dig into Arby’s latest crazy kids meal promo!
