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 Dimensions Ghostbusters Level Pack
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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!
Amiibo Gifts
Posted on February 12th, 2016 by
Here’s another batch of new Nintendo Amiibo figures I got that I’ll share pictures of with you folks. These are actually figures that I got as Christmas presents a month or so ago!
Unplugged: Pathfinder Miniatures – Rusty Dragon Inn (RPG)
Posted on February 11th, 2016 by
Traditional RPGs are games of the mind, but it doesn’t hurt to have spiffy little plastic figures on hand to help set the tone and sort through the complexities of battle. Figures can be bought unpainted or, for a bit more cash, they come prepainted. As a busy parent, I easily fall into the latter category. While any figurines aren’t cheap, they can add a bit of fun as players can see the unruly monsters gather around their poor characters, eager for a kill.
Pathfinder Miniatures
Publisher: Wizkids
(Review samples provided by Wizkids)
Call of Duty Pizza Rolls
Posted on February 10th, 2016 by
Hey everybody! Just wanted to share with you something I found at the grocery store a while back! These are pizza rolls with Call of Duty on them. I found that pretty funny. Just goes to show you how popular that series is! They’re pretty much like any other pizza roll except they have extra flavor powder on the outside breading. It gets on your fingers so I don’t see how anyone would want to play a game while eating these, but they still taste pretty good I guess. On the back of the box is a code for a “Digital Specialist Card.” I don’t know what that is because I don’t play Call of Duty, but since the code is printed on the back of the box, I don’t know what keeps people from snagging the code without buying the box. I also think it’s funny that the box has a big M for Mature rating on it? Does that mean the pizza rolls are rated Mature? Ha ha! Just joking. Anyway, click here to see a bigger picture of the front of the box below.
Super Bowl 50 Ads: Cary’s Best That Ever Was
Posted on February 9th, 2016 by
Well, Super Bowl 50 has come and gone, and like most years, I didn’t really care about either team. But I’ve always liked Super Bowl commercials, and I just like commercials in general. Sometimes they’re even better than the show they’re advertising. I know, I’m weird like that. And it’s always been a tradition of mine to write a blog about my favorites, so here is this year’s.
Dash Quest (iOS, Android)
Posted on February 8th, 2016 by
Dash Quest is a continuous runner with a 16-bit RPG theme to it. It’s available free-to-play to download on iOS and Android devices, but reviewed on iPad here. In the game, you view your hero from a top-down perspective as he runs straight forward, battling enemies and using magic spells along the way.
