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.
Super Phantom Cat (iOS)
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Posted on February 29th, 2016 by
Super Phantom Cat is a 2-D platformer similar to classics like Super Mario Bros. Play as a blocky cat or any number of other critters as you stomp enemies, break blocks, and nab power-ups. It’s available for download on iOS devices, but reviewed on iPad here.
Project X-Zone 2: Team SEGA
Posted on February 26th, 2016 by
Project X-Zone 2 is a strategy RPG game that stars popular video game characters from game companies Bandai Namco, SEGA, and Capcom (also Nintendo)! This game and its predecessor are on the 3DS, but they are actually sequels to a game that came out only in Japan on the PS2 called Namco X Capcom. Since all three games have characters in them that I like, I decided to do a blog series about all the video game stars you can find in Project X-Zone 2. So we’ll start with the characters from SEGA!
Punch Club (iOS, PC)
Posted on February 24th, 2016 by
Punch Club is a pretty unique boxing game. Play as a boxer and eat, train, and work to become the best pugilist in town in this simulation game that feels similar to “Tycoon” titles or virtual pet games. It’s kind of like Tamagotchi meets Rocky. “Tama-Rocky” (yeah I made that up myself). Punch Club is available for iOS devices and Steam, but reviewed on iPad here.
Unplugged: Pingo Pingo (Boardgame)
Posted on February 23rd, 2016 by
Take Slapjack, add in some silliness and a dart pistol and you have the kid-friendly boardgame Pingo Pingo. Accompanied by a changing soundtrack, players take turns playing cards and watching for the right conditions to slap the pile and claim a treasure. Meanwhile, events come up forcing a player to perform one of several actions, which include shooting at targets with the supplied gun. Mistakes cost a life point, and the player with the most treasures (and not dead) wins the game. Loads of silliness packed into a cool 15 minutes, Pingo Pingo is great for a family game night.
Pingo Pingo
Publisher: IELLO
Ages: 6+
Players: 2-5
Time: 15 mins
(Review copy provided by IELLO)
Slice It! (3DS)
Posted on February 22nd, 2016 by
Slice It! is a downloadable puzzle game on the 3DS that challenges you to slice shapes into equal sizes. There are more than 200 stages in all, and in each stage you are given a shape. On the left screen you can see how many lines you can draw, and how many pieces you must slice the shape into (you hold the 3DS sideways like a book). On the right screen you use the stylus to draw lines to slice the shape. If you can slice it into the required equal number of parts, you can go onto the next stage. Slice each part into equal sizes to earn up to three stars in each stage!
LEGO Dimensions Ghostbusters Level Pack
Posted on February 19th, 2016 by
Ghostbusters is one of my all-time favorite movies. I watched the film and cartoon a lot as a kid, and drank copious amounts of Hi-C Ecto Cooler with Slimer on the juice box back then. So I was excited when LEGO Dimensions was going to feature characters and settings from Ghostbusters! LEGO Dimensions is essentially like Skylanders except the figures you get are made out of LEGOs that you must build. I even wrote a big article about LEGO Dimensions a while back that you can read if you want more information. This review is going to be about the Ghostbusters Level Pack that just came out for LEGO Dimensions.
Unplugged: Survive: Space Attack! (Boardgame)
Posted on February 18th, 2016 by
Can your people leave the collapsing station, avoid the aliens, and make it to safety? Players take a turn by moving crewmember, destroying part of the station, and then moving one of the aliens. Get caught on a destroyed piece or eaten by aliens and your crewmember is no more. Reach one of the escape routes with a crew member to score points. The game is simple to understand, but the fun part comes in using special abilities and simply picking on the other players. A quick conflict-ridden game that allows players to really stick it to their neighbors.
Survive: Space Attack!
Publisher: Stronghold Games
Ages: 8+
Players: 2-4
Time: 60 mins
(Review copy provided by Stronghold Games)
Minecraft Story Mode: Episode 4: A Block and a Hard Place (PS3, PS4, 360, Xbox One, PC, iOS, Android)
Posted on February 17th, 2016 by
Minecraft is an incredibly popular open-world building adventure game with stylishly blocky graphics. It’s become a bit of a phenomenon since its release a few years back, especially with kids. And now, point and click experts TellTale Games has crafted an adventure based on the Minecraft universe called Minecraft: Story Mode. It is split up into five episodes, like most other TellTale titles, and this is a review of the fourth episode. It’s available for nearly all current home consoles, PCs, and tablets, but reviewed on PS3 here.
Unplugged: Duplik (Boardgame)
Posted on February 16th, 2016 by
In Pictionary you draw for speed, but in Duplik you draw for elegance. Duplik is a party game where one player describes and all others draw a detailed scene. Players then judge each other’s creations on ten, previously unknown, criteria. Players score points for correct drawings while the caller scores points for any player who meets a criteria. After points are awarded, drawings are shared around and hilarity ensues. Duplik rewards thoroughness (not necessarily skill) under pressure and is a great choice for a drawing-focused party game.
Duplik
Publisher: Asmodee
Ages: 8+
Players: 3-10
Time: 45 mins
(Review copy provided by Asmodee Games)
Star Wars Pinball: The Force Awakens Pack (PS3, PS4, Vita, Xbox One, 360, PC, iOS)
Posted on February 15th, 2016 by
The newest movie in the Star Wars franchise came out recently, and it has been a big hit! And now you can play two themed pinball tables based on The Force Awakens. This new pinball pack is available for consoles that support Zen Studios’ pinball platforms (reviewed on PS3 here). Oh, and since people on the Internet are pretty sensitive about movie spoilers, especially when Star Wars is concerned, I’m just warning your right now that there may be some spoilers in this review. Sorry, but if it’s in the game, I have to talk about it!
