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.
Golf Story (Switch)
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Posted on November 14th, 2017 by
Golf Story is an homage to my favorite golf game of all time, Mario Golf on my Gameboy Color. It combines standard videogame golf gameplay (choose clubs and aim given wind and course conditions, then time button presses to determine power and accuracy.) Part golf game and part RPG, Golf Story favors the casual golf videogamer, but more “serious” golf gamers should find the game worth their hard earned cash.
Beach Buggy Racing (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, Mobile, PC)
Posted on November 13th, 2017 by
Beach Buggy Racing is a kart racer where a bunch of crazy drivers and their dune buggies compete in a tropical setting. It’s available to download on nearly all current game consoles, mobile, and PC, but reviewed here on the Switch.
Super Mario: Level Up! Boardgame
Posted on November 11th, 2017 by
Combining bluffing and voting, Super Mario: Level Up! has players vie to advance their secret Mario characters to the top of a spiffy 3D board and elect one of them the champion. A successful vote ends the round and players score based on the positioning of the characters shown on their secret character card. Repeat for a total of three rounds and the player with the most points is the winner. A fairly quick game, it rewards planning but players can take some risks to boost their score.
Super Mario: Level Up! Boardgame
Publisher: USAopoly
Ages: 8+
Players: 3-6
Time: 10-30 minutes
(Review copy provided by USAopoly)
The Games of the Famicom Classic Edition
Posted on November 10th, 2017 by
As much as I like Nintendo, they have made quite a few mistakes as a game company. Some are big, like the Virtual Boy and using cartridges on the N64. And some are not quite so big. One of those ‘not quite so big’ mistakes I feel is how they released the NES Classic Edition last year. For those who don’t know, the NES Classic Edition was a smaller console that looked like the 8-bit NES and had 30 games on it. But Nintendo didn’t make enough and it’s very hard to find. Even I don’t have one! I know Nintendo recently said they would make more and release them next summer, but we’ll just have to see about that. So when I saw where I could order the Famicom Classic Edition online for nearly retail price, I decided to import that instead. The Famicom was the Japanese version of the NES. Their Classic Edition has most of the same games as the NES one, but with a few changes here and there. So in this blog, I’m going go over the Famicom Classic console, the games on it, and at the end I’ll share some good news related to this topic!
Fluxx, the edumacational versions (Boardgame)
Posted on November 9th, 2017 by
The somewhat silly, chaotic game of Fluxx comes in a huge variety of themes. Math Fluxx and Chemistry Fluxx are now options that make a fun little game that combines learning with quick (chaotic) gameplay.
Chemistry Fluxx or Math Fluxx
Publisher: Looney Labs
Ages: 8+
Players: 2-6
Time: 5-30 minutes
(Review copy provided by Looney Labs)
Soldam: Drop, Connect, Erase (Switch)
Posted on November 8th, 2017 by
Soldam is a colorful puzzle game that’s like a cross between Tetris and Othello. It’s reminiscent of puzzle games from the 90’s (because it actually was), and it’s available to download on Nintendo Switch.
Universal Classics Pinball (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
Posted on November 6th, 2017 by
Three of Universal Studios’ most popular movies: Jaws, E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial, and the Back to the Future trilogy are now available as video pinball tables from Zen Studios, makers of the Pinball FX and Zen Pinball platforms. But these three tables are the first new ones for Zen Studios’ upgraded Pinball FX3. It’s available for PS4, Xbox One, and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Pokémon Playhouse (iOS, Android)
Posted on November 3rd, 2017 by
Kids love Pokémon. And they have for more than two decades now. But surprisingly, with all the kid-focused Pokémon games out there now, there is very little for the younger crowd. Sure there have been a few games like Pokémon Channel on GameCube and the PokePark games on Wii. But not really much for the preschool set. Until now. Introducing Pokémon Playhouse, a game designed for the smallest of Pokémon fans. It’s available to download on iOS and Android devices (reviewed on iPad here). Best of all, it’s a free to play game with NO in game purchases or ads!
Codenames Duet (Boardgame)
Posted on November 2nd, 2017 by
In the cooperative game Codenames Duet, two players alternate giving one word clues to each other hoping the other player will select specific words out of a 5×5 grid. Clues must be flexible as the players have a limited number of clues available to suss out the needed 15 words, but they can’t be too general as several words on the grid result in an immediate loss when chosen. Codenames was a great party game (played between two teams with a clue giver for each) and Codenames Duet brings that fun gameplay to a cooperative, two person game.
Codenames Duet
Publisher: Czech Games Edition
Ages: 11+
Players: 2
Time: 15 minutes
(Review copy provided by Czech Games)
The Amazing World of Gumball: Wrecker’s Revenge (iOS, Android)
Posted on November 1st, 2017 by
The Amazing World of Gumball is one of Cartoon Network’s most popular shows right now. It’s about a cat named Gumball who goes to middle school and lives with his blended family of cats and rabbits and his best friend/brother goldfish. I’ve never been a big fan of the show, but I do like the mixed media art style. Now you can play as Gumball in Wrecker’s Revenge, a free-to-play downloadable game on iOS and Android (reviewed on iPad here).
