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.
Dissembler (iOS, PC)
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Posted on March 7th, 2018 by
Now THIS is a good mobile puzzle game! It’s downloadable on iOS and PC, but reviewed on iPad here. The object in the main game is to swap colored tiles so you clear all the colors at the same time with no leftovers. The game does a good job explaining the rules as you go, and it’s very easy to pick up, but tough to master the trickier puzzles. There are about 70 puzzles in all, and around six or so are added daily, so it’s pretty endless.
Atomik: RunGunJumpGun (Switch, Mobile, PC)
Posted on March 5th, 2018 by
This is one of those tough-as-nails 2-D platformers that’s becoming so popular right now, kind of like Super Meat Boy. You play as a dude in a jetpack racing in a sci-fi world with a dying sun. It’s available on mobile, PC, and now Nintendo Switch (reviewed on Switch here).
The Fighters of Dissidia Final Fantasy NT
Posted on March 2nd, 2018 by
Dissidia Final Fantasy was one of my favorite games on the PSP. It was a fighting game featuring characters from the popular RPG series, and there were two of them on Sony’s first handheld. I always thought it would be neat if there was a version of Dissidia on one of the big consoles, so I was excited when Square-Enix announced Dissidia Final Fantasy NT for the PS4. I’ve been playing it recently, so here’s a blog about the characters and stages you can find in it, as well as some brief impressions of the game as a whole.
Button Men: Beat People Up (Boardgame)
Posted on March 1st, 2018 by
Button men has players rolling to capture their opponent’s dice in a sort of alternate reality competitive Yahtzee. Players choose a Button Man that dictates their dice and any special powers and then alternate rolling dice to capture their opponents’ dice. Points are scored for captured dice and half points for one’s own dice that are kept through the end of the game. High score wins and another round is played in a best of three competition. Button Men is a fast playing, fun little game that is extremely portable.
Final Fantasy Noodles
Posted on February 28th, 2018 by
Recently I got the fighting game Dissidia Final Fantasy NT. I’ll probably write a full blog about that game soon, but when I opened the box for the game, there was an advertisement with a special promotion with Cup Noodles, an instant ramen product. They had Final Fantasy characters on the boxes and everything! I thought that was kind of weird, so I decided to check it out. Read on to see what I found!
Aperion Cyberstorm (Switch, Wii U, PC)
Posted on February 26th, 2018 by
This is a twin stick shooter game, meaning you move by using one joypad and shoot in any direction with the other. Kind of like arcade classics like Robotron or Smash TV. In fact, the game’s graphics even kind of remind me of Robotron. Pilot your spacecraft through corridors and shoot anything that moves, and that’s all you need to know! Up to five can play at the same time in this downloadable game for Switch, PC, and even the Wii U for some reason (reviewed on Switch here).
Bridge Constructor (PS4, Xbox One, PC, Mobile)
Posted on February 23rd, 2018 by
Natural disasters have plagued a group of islands and now all the bridges are wrecked! It’s up to you to build and test new bridges for cars and trucks to go across. Bridge Constructor is a physics-based puzzle building game available for PS4, Xbox One, PC, and mobile devices, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Zendo (Boardgame)
Posted on February 22nd, 2018 by
Zendo reminds me of a twist on the great game of Mastermind, where a player would guess a solution by getting minimal feedback on successive guesses. Zendo uses plastic pieces arranged according to a secret rule, and then multiple players build structures in an attempt to figure out that overarching rule. The result is a great little deduction game that I even use to teach my students inductive reasoning in class.
Masquerada: Songs and Shadows (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
Posted on February 21st, 2018 by
Masquerada is set in a Renaissance world full of political and social strife, sort of like Game of Thrones. Except here, the cause for all the conflict comes from special masks that give the wearer magic powers. These masks kind of look like those Phantom of the Opera masks, or the snooty rich people party masks, or the one Robin wears. Well, you get the idea. But when the wearer of one of these masks dies, the mask disappears forever. Now the number of these masks is dwindling, and a civil war has broken out for control of the remaining masks. You play as a detective set out in a missing person case amidst this backdrop, but soon you’ll be caught up in the mystery of the masks in this downloadable RPG for PS4, Xbox One, and PC (reviewed on PS4 here).
Nine Parchments (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, Steam)
Posted on February 20th, 2018 by
Nine Parchments is an excellent local co-op game of wizards, monsters, and friendly fire. Up to four players (local or online) take the role of an apprentice wizard out to make a name for themselves by collecting the lost Nine Parchments. Players fight through progressively harder levels to collect all nine parchments and finish the game. Multiple difficulty levels, skill trees, and unlockables (new characters, powerful staffs, and cosmetic hats) provide replay value for what would otherwise be a linear quest line. A great addition to the local multiplayer catalogue on the Switch (the version reviewed here), Nine Parchments is a must-buy for local co-op fans.
