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.
Ikki Unite (Switch, PC)
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Posted on September 18th, 2024 by
In Japan during the 80s there was an arcade game called Ikki by Sunsoft. Ikki means ‘peasant revolution’ and that’s exactly what you did in the game. You play as a poor farmer as you run around fields collecting money and throwing sickles at evil ninjas. It never came to the US, probably because American kids didn’t want to play a game about a peasant revolution, and who wants to play a game called “Icky” anyway? Ikki was also ported to the Japanese NES, or Famicom as well. There it gained notoriety as a really bad game, but since it came out during the Famicom’s big heyday, it still sold well. It was one of Sunsoft’s first Famicom games, and was probably a good stepping stone for them as they would eventually become one of Nintendo’s best developers for the 8-bit system. And now, nearly 40 years later, you can play a new Ikki game with Ikki Unite. It’s a multiplayer version of the game that adds elements from popular titles like Vampire Survivor. It’s available on Switch and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.
Unplugged: The Quest Kids (Boardgame)
Posted on September 17th, 2024 by
Do you like adventure games but your kids are a bit too young to be fighting dragons that poisons them and hinders their movement by 5 feet? The Quest Kids is a dungeon-crawling board game aimed squarely at that no-quite-yet reading level or above. Players search a dungeon, discarding the appropriate cards if they need to “scare off” a monster and collect its loot. Once the dungeon is cleared, the player with the most stars (from treasure and defeated monsters) wins the game. The Quest Kids is a pretty cool achievement for its age range, managing to bring in much of that dungeon-crawl fun without a heavy rules overhead. I happen to bring it up now as there is a Kickstarter for an expansion ending very soon.
The Quest Kids
Designer: Dustin McMillian
Publisher: Treasure Falls Games
Players: 2-4
Ages: 5+
Time: 20-45 min
(review copy provided by publisher)
SokoMage (Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on September 16th, 2024 by
Help a wizard reach a magical crystal in a forest in the puzzle game SokoMage. It’s a block pushing puzzler available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.
Thank Goodness You’re Here! (Switch, PS4, PS5, PC)
Posted on September 13th, 2024 by
Oh wow, what game did I just play? What game did I just play?!? Thank Goodness You’re Here! is one of the weirdest games I’ve played in a long time. It was published by the same folks who also published Untitled Goose Game and the PlayDate, if that gives you any indication of what this game might be like. You are a little man, only reaching knee high to everyone else in the game. Your boss tasks you to meet with the mayor of another town to sell what your business provides. But the mayor is busy for a few hours, so you pass the time by helping out the townspeople. You do this by walking around, sometimes in an overhead perspective and sometimes in a 2D platforming fashion. You can jump with one button and slap with the other button. Yes that’s how you interact with things and talk with people is by slapping them. The game is like playing an interactive cartoon and it’s so chock full of British humor that I swear my Switch was going to start oozing bangers and mash. The game is available on Switch, PlayStation consoles, and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.
The New Denpa Men (Switch)
Posted on September 11th, 2024 by
One of the things I liked about the Nintendo 3DS handheld is how much the games used the innovative features of the console. A lot of games would read WiFi signals and pings from other nearby 3DS owners (they called that StreetPass) and would do things with them. One of the games that did stuff like this was The Denpa Men. In that game, you could catch these little guys that looked like a cross between a Mii and a Pikmin, and then you’d send them off on dungeon crawling turn based RPG adventures. They made like, three of these games on the 3DS! I vaguely remember playing one, although I think I just played a demo of it and decided I didn’t like it enough to invest more time in it. But now there’s a new one on the Switch called The New Denpa Men. It’s free to play, so I decided I’d at least check it out and write a review of it.
Gravitators (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, X/S)
Posted on September 9th, 2024 by
Gravitators is a twin stick shooter where you pilot a variety of ships as you blast enemies, navigate tricky mazes, pick up objects, and solve puzzles. It’s available on current PlayStation and Xbox consoles but reviewed on PS4 here.
Minecraft Fruit Snacks and…deodorant?!?
Posted on September 6th, 2024 by
Minecraft is one of the most popular video games ever made. I don’t want to say it’s more popular than my favorite game Pac-Man, but the yellow ghost chomper never had fruit snacks or deodorant! Yeah I saw Minecraft fruit snacks and deodorant at Wal-Mart a while back, so here’s some pictures and things. I try to stay away from Minecraft myself. It looks fun, but I don’t want to get addicted to it! Even if that Pac-Man DLC is tempting!
Tiny Pixels vol. 1: Ninpo Blast (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on September 4th, 2024 by
You are a ninja riding a hoverbike shooting stars and knives at bugs and other weird critters in Ninpo Blast. It’s a super simple vertically scrolling shooter and is available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Cattie (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on September 2nd, 2024 by
Help a cat make it to the exit in this challenging 2D precision platformer. It features retro black and white graphics that remind me of the games I used to play on my Apple ][+. Catie is available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
The Pizza Pixel Podcast Episode 22: Favorite Adult Cartoons
Posted on August 30th, 2024 by
On this episode of The Pizza Pixel Podcast, my brother Jeff and I talk about our favorite cartoons with more adult humor and themes. Most of the time our podcasts are fairly family friendly, and this one is, too. But we do talk about some cartoons that younger kids may not be ready for yet, so just keep that in mind if you listen to this podcast with your kids. But it’s still mostly family friendly. Please click on the link below and give it a listen if you can. I’d really appreciate it. There’s a short little secret song at the end, too!
