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.
Cary’s Best Games of the Decade 2010 to 2019 Awards Show Special!
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Posted on January 31st, 2020 by
I wasn’t sure at first if I was going to do a ‘best games of the decade’ blog since I wasn’t clear if the decade ends at 2019 or 2020. But then I looked at the last time I wrote a ‘best games of the decade’ blog and it was at the beginning of 2010, and it went from 2000 to 2009, so I figured I’d do one now after all. I provided a link to my last ‘best games of the decade’ blog because I thought it was interesting to read something I wrote ten years ago. So we’re doing it again, although it’s pretty much the games that won my “Game of the Year” award for the past ten years.
Swag and Sorcery (Mobile, PC)
Posted on January 29th, 2020 by
A king needs your help to find a lost treasure, so you must recruit heroes and equip them with armor, weapons, and swag and send them out on adventures to get more stuff. All with neat 16-bit style pixel graphics and humor. Swag and Sorcery is available to download on mobile devices and PC, but reviewed on iPad here.
My Pizza Family (Mobile)
Posted on January 27th, 2020 by
Two young city dwelling siblings, Camilla and Alex, are making a video blog, or vlog. Their family is both Italian and Spanish, and they’re documenting the rise of their family’s pizza restaurant. It’s fallen on hard times, but is about to have a grand reopening. Their newfound success comes from the fact they grow some of their own ingredients, and the family encourages their neighbors to join in and make a community garden in a vacant lot. Pretty normal stuff so far, but here’s where it gets weird. The family gets advice from a group of talking pizza ingredients, like a tomato, dough ball, basil leaf, pepperoni slice, and more. My Pizza Family is an activity center for kids that focuses on family and community, as well as shape recognition and Spanish and Italian language learning, too! It’s available to download on mobile devices, but reviewed on iPad here.
PAX South 2020
Posted on January 24th, 2020 by
The Penny Arcade Expo, or PAX for short, is one of the largest video game conventions open to the public in the US. It started out in Seattle, then expanded to another show out East in Boston, and for the past few years, they’ve also had a show in San Antonio with PAX South. Since that’s only a few hours’ drive from where I live, I decided to go again this year along with my dad. Let’s check out what I saw.
Clumsy Rush (Switch)
Posted on January 22nd, 2020 by
Race as cartoony, fat, waddling hippos in Clumsy Rush, a comical two player racing game on Switch. Your goal is to make it to the end of a finish line wearing a crown. Controls couldn’t be simpler. Press the L button to move your left foot, and the R button to move your right. Press a button to bump into another player and knock the crown away from them. Sounds easy, right? But when your hippos waddle around like Jell-O, it’s harder than it seems!
Waku Waku Sweets (Switch)
Posted on January 20th, 2020 by
You are a young lady who wishes to be the town’s best pastry chef. The Pastry Fairy hears you and decides to help make your wish come true (I can’t make this stuff up folks). To do so, you must rise in the ranks of desserts and sweets making, winning cooking contests and making people happy. Waku Waku Sweets is a cooking game for all ages exclusively on Switch.
Cary’s Best Games of 2019 Awards Show!
Posted on January 17th, 2020 by
It’s that time of year again! It’s the Cary’s Best Games of 2019 Awards Show blog! Keep in mind that no outside opinions went into the making of this list. It’s just my own picks. And if a game is missing from my list, it either didn’t appeal to me as much, or I just simply haven’t played it yet. Can’t play all the games out there, you know!
Fishing Star: World Tour (Switch)
Posted on January 15th, 2020 by
I’ve reviewed many fishing video games in my 20 plus year stint doing this, and I’ve found that the less realistic ones that are more cartoony and simple, are also the most fun! And that’s definitely the case with Fishing Star: World Tour. While it’s clearly aimed at kids, anyone can enjoy this simple yet fun fishing title exclusively on Switch.
Dead End Job (Switch, Xbox One, PC, Mobile)
Posted on January 13th, 2020 by
Hector Plasam is a ghost hunter, but when his partner turns into a ghost herself, he must earn enough money to bring her back with his ‘Dead End Job.’ It’s a rogue-like twin stick shooter with randomly generated levels and art style and humor that imitates 90s cartoons like Ren and Stimpy. It’s available to download on most current consoles, PC, and mobile, but reviewed on Switch here.
Shovel Knight amiibo
Posted on January 10th, 2020 by
The last thing we’ll look at for this Shovel Knight Week is some new amiibo figures that came out recently during the release of the last two games I reviewed. There is an amiibo three pack with the characters from the Shovel Knight DLC that are included in Treasure Trove, and a special surprise, too!
