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.
LEGO Worlds (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
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Posted on May 5th, 2017 by
The popular line of LEGO toys have always been about building, creativity, and discovery. The LEGO video games, while great, have kind of evolved into games about silly takes on movies and TV shows, and don’t offer much in the way of creativity and imagination. Sure they’ve branched out more into the toy realm with games like LEGO Dimensions. And for a while, a couple of the LEGO movie games had simple and limited level editing tools. But they were rather clunky so that’s why you probably don’t see them anymore. But now there is a game focused on building and creativity with LEGO Worlds. It’s available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Dice Stars (Boardgame)
Posted on May 4th, 2017 by
In Dice Stars, players choose dice from a common pool to best fill in their scorepad. Choosing stars is important as they can double or zero out sections of your score. Players roll dice into a common pool and then choose sets of dice in the pool to score on their pad. A quick, 20 minute game provides players with interesting choices to mitigate luck and provide strategic play, while still providing some of the highs and lows of a dice-based game.
Dice Stars
Publisher: Wizkids
Ages: 10+
Players: 1-4
Time: 20 minutes
(Review copy provided by Wizkids)
The Deer God (PS4, Xbox One, Wii U, PC, iOS, Google Play)
Posted on May 3rd, 2017 by
In this game you play as a deer hunter who has been killed by wolves in a storm. A deer deity offers you a second chance at redemption and brings you back to life as a deer. Now you must learn how to survive and gain new skills in your newfound form in this 2-D platform game. It’s available for most current consoles, computers, and mobile devices, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Planescape: Torment (PC, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux)
Posted on May 2nd, 2017 by
Emphasizing story and setting over combat, the 1999 role playing game Planescape: Torment is near the top of every list of all time best RPGs. It flips the genre on its head as you start by waking up from death, without a clue of who you are or where you came from. This information is slowly gained as the story progresses and players have the opportunity to solve most problems without having to resort to combat. Lauded for its story and depth, Planescape: Torment is a must-play game for RPG fans and the new, graphically enhanced edition (playable in 4k!) is a great way to experience it.
Loot Rascals (PS4, PC)
Posted on May 1st, 2017 by
Loot Rascals is a space-themed, strategy board game that’s got a style of its own. Your job as a spaceman is to save the robot head of your pal Big Barry from an interdimensional tentacled beast. But first you must escape from an artificial moon that the beast created. The game has a look that reminds me of Katamari Damacy with a bit of British humor thrown in. In fact I think I read they had an Adventure Time animator do some of the art for this game. Anyway you can download this game on PS4 and PC, but it’s reviewed on PS4 here.
Discover the World of Super Mario in McDonald’s Happy Meals
Posted on April 29th, 2017 by
Looks like McDonald’s is doing Mario toys in their Happy Meals again. I don’t know when they started or how long this promotion lasts, so I wanted to post this as quickly as possible so it would at least be topical for a little while. Click on the link to see pictures and read more details.
The Mini-Games of 1-2-Switch
Posted on April 28th, 2017 by
One of the launch titles for the Nintendo Switch was 1-2-Switch. It’s a party mini-game collection showing off the capabilities of the new console. At first I wasn’t sure if I would get it, but after playing it at PAX South, I decided I would get it after all. And since I like to write about mini-game collections, here is a blog about all the ones found in 1-2-Switch.
Legends of Andor (Boardgame)
Posted on April 26th, 2017 by
Legends of Andor is a cooperative fantasy adventure boardgame, where the players combine efforts to achieve an overarching goal while simultaneously protecting the kingdom from attack. Players range the countryside combatting evil and growing in power. Fully cooperative, the players race against the game clock governed by a deck of cards that slowly ramps up the difficulty of the game until the players ultimately win or lose.
Chaos Code: New Sign of Catastrophe (PS4)
Posted on April 26th, 2017 by
Chaos Code: New Sign of Catastrophe is a downloadable one-on-one 2-D fighter for the PS4, featuring anime styled characters. It kind of reminds me of a fighter you’d see from the mid-2000’s, as this one isn’t quite as flashy as newer Guilty Gear or BlazBlue or Street Fighter titles. The default screen size isn’t even widescreen! But just like some of SNK’s older fighters, just because this one doesn’t look as new, it still seems fairly playable, at least as far as I can tell
After the End (iOS, Google Play)
Posted on April 24th, 2017 by
After the End is an action puzzle game downloadable on iOS devices and Google Play (reviewed on iPad here). You play as a boy and his father from an alien tribe as they travel across the desert in what I think is two different time periods. I’m not really sure, though, because this is one of those games where they tell the story with no words, and they don’t do it as well as other games. But anyway, gameplay is very similar to Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, another puzzle game on the Wii U. The minimalist desert graphics also make me think of the game Journey.
