Unplugged: GamerDad Holiday Guide 2023
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Posted on December 9th, 2023 by
Happy Holidays! Boardgaming continues to make inroads to wider audiences, and there’s no better time to get (or get your friends and family) into the hobby than an extended holiday break. There are boardgames out there to meet up with almost any taste.Boardgames are timeless, just as good today as they will be years in the future, so a purchase today will still be serving you well after the lockdowns go away. As we at GamerDad have done for the past 20-odd years, it’s time for an annual rundown of recent boardgames well worth your time. Feel free to delve into some past year’s guides for 2022, 2020, or older as they’re still great candidates for your consideration. You might not find all these titles at your local mega-mart but many can be found online or in a friendly local game store. Some may argue $60+ boardgames (or more) are expensive, but compare that to video gaming (and where multiple copies are required for multiplayer play) and the economics of boardgaming shows their true value. For each game, I’ve provided the publisher (to help you find it), an approximate MSRP (you can probably find it lower), the number of players, the expected time for one game, and the manufacturer’s recommended ages. These age listings are often set for legal reasons and I would say most could easily be skewed lower for experienced younger gamers.
On with the show!
Dreamworks Trolls Remix Rescue (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on December 8th, 2023 by
With a couple of musical movies, holiday specials, and a TV series, Trolls is one of DreamWorks most successful franchises. And now there’s a new video game! An evil troll has hypnotized everyone by playing smooth jazz from his magical clarinet, and now it’s up to Poppy, Branch, and others to stop him in this 3D platformer. You can even create your own troll character to play as! The game is available on current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Excessive Trim (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on December 6th, 2023 by
Play as a mean alien as you drive around your buzzsaw equipped UFO and mow down cows in Excessive Trim. It’s available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Alive Paint (PS4, PS5, Switch)
Posted on December 4th, 2023 by
Alive Paint is a virtual coloring book program where when you finish a picture, it starts a little animation. It’s available on PlayStation consoles and Switch, but reviewed on PS4 here.
The Smurfs 2: The Prisoner of the Green Stone (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on December 1st, 2023 by
In the distant past, long before streaming services and 24-hour cartoon channels, there was a thing called Saturday Morning Cartoons. Kids back then, me included, looked forward to this time because it was one of the only times TV was made just for kids. And as a child of the 80s, one of the most popular of these cartoons I remember was The Smurfs. Originally a European comic strip, The Smurfs gained popularity in the US from the Hanna-Barbera cartoon. I was never a super big fan of it, but I watched it anyway because, one, kids will watch pretty much anything. And two, it came on right before the Pac-Man cartoon. In recent years, The Smurfs have had a bit of a resurgence with a handful of computer animated movies and specials, and a new series on Nickelodeon. And that begat a few Smurfs games, too. Like a kart racer I reviewed last year, and a 3D platformer I reviewed the year before that called The Smurfs: Mission Vileaf. The Smurfs 2: The Prisoner of the Green Stone is the sequel to that game. In this installment, Handy Smurf has invented the Smurfomix, a gun that shoots out pastries and cakes. But he’s having trouble getting it to work right so he decides to sneak into Gargamel’s Lair to use a magic green stone to help improve it. But when Handy accidentally breaks the green stone, a mysterious being named Stolas is freed and wreaks havoc and scattered green crystals everywhere. Now Handy, Brainy, Storm, and the other Smurfs must make a temporary alliance with Gargamel to stop the chaos and save the day. It’s a bit of a shock, but this game is actually kind of good, and it’s available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
