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.
CyberBlocker: Complete Edition (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
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Posted on May 18th, 2026 by
It may sound like an Internet security program, but CyberBlocker: Complete Edition is actually a game that combines paddle and ball block breaking action like BreakOut or Arkanoid, mixed with 2D shooters with a power-up system similar to Gradius. And it’s also really fun and one of the best Arkanoid clones I’ve played in decades! It’s available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Capcom amiibo
Posted on May 15th, 2026 by
I got some more amiibo figures recently. This time they are from new Capcom games. We’ve got three from Monster Hunter Stories 3, and one from Pragmata. So let’s take a look at them!
GluMe (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on May 13th, 2026 by
I don’t know if “GluMe” is pronounced “Gloom” or “Glue Me (Gloomy)” but either way it’s a clever title. Anyway, this is a block pushing puzzle game but also is like a cross between these “Sokoban” style games and Puyo Puyo, the puzzle game where blobs stick to each other. In the game you play as a blob, and your job is to collect all the jewels in each stage. If you pass by another sleeping blob, it’ll stick to you either vertically or horizontally, depending on how you passed it. Then you’ll control two of them together, and so on. This can be handy, as you can then push two blocks at once or pass over pits you’d normally fall into. But it also restricts your movement and you can’t fit into narrow passages. So you must think about that as you play. Anyway, the game is available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Pokémon Champions (Switch 1 & 2, Mobile)
Posted on May 11th, 2026 by
There’s a new Pokémon game out that is probably this generation’s iteration of Pokémon Stadium or Colisseum. Although seeing your Pokémon battle in 3D isn’t as big of a deal anymore, and neither is the ability to battle online. So I guess this one just consolidates everything and lets you battle the Pokémon you’ve trained from all sorts of different games. At any rate, it’s free-to-play so let’s take a look at it. It’s available on Switch 1 & 2, and later mobile devices, but reviewed on Switch 2 here.
Unplugged: Faraway
Posted on May 9th, 2026 by
Releasing in 2023, the drafting card game Faraway has been gathering up award nominations and winning many of those awards. In some respects, it is a pretty simple game. The theme of the game is that players are taking a journey across a foreign land, with cards played representing places they visit and the number on the card representing how long they chose to stay. In a turn, players choose a card from their hand to play, all played cards are simultaneously revealed, and then players take turns drafting a new card to add to their hand. The lowest played card gets to pick first. Cards often display one or more symbols and/or are a specific color. Each card also presents a way to score points at the end of the game. After playing a set number of cards, the game ends. Scoring is somewhat unique. Players go through their cards and score them from last to first, so the last card they play is scored first – all by itself. The first card that was played in a player’s tableau will look at every card played after that to calculate its score. It’s a fast, fun game that is simply a deck (well, technically two decks) of cards. While scoring things can be a little tricky, it’s still simple enough to cement down after playing a single game.
Faraway (and expansion Faraway: Under Starry Skies)
Designer: Johannes Goupy, Corentin Lebrat
Publisher: Pandasaurus Games
Players: 2-6
Ages: 10+
Time: 15-30 min
(expansion review copy furnished by publisher)
Fallout Jones Sodas
Posted on May 8th, 2026 by
I don’t know much about the Fallout game series as it’s not my cup of tea. But my brothers love those games and I’ve watched them play the games in the past, so I know a little bit about them. I know they have a brand of soda in the game called “Nuka Cola” that has a bit of radiation in it, and I know they use bottle caps as currency in the games. Plus I think there’s a Fallout TV show now? Anyway, now you can try some of the sodas in the game (without the radiation I hope) thanks to Jones Sodas.
Unplugged: Unstoppable – Boardgame
Posted on May 7th, 2026 by
A recent entry in the excellent Solo Hero series by Renegade Game Studios, Unstoppable is a unique combat-focused card-crafting game set in a dystopian future. It is a combat deck-builder where the focus of the game is to damage enemies or purchase upgraded cards to defeat more enemies in the future. The “hook” here lies in how the cards are used. Cards are “created” in sleeves – each sleeve is filled with a player-side card and an enemy side-side card. When a new player card is bought, it is placed in a sleeve with an enemy back, creating a unique double-sided card. During the game, up to two upgrade cards can also be added between the two sides to make the card more powerful to use (and to fight.) Few cards are drawn. Instead, players must defeat the back side of a card to draw its front side into their hand. With four heroes (with slightly different starting hands) and three unique bosses to fight, there is a considerable amount of boardgame space to explore in a relatively small box. If this particular dystopian future isn’t your jam, there is a crowdfunding effort to bring about a sequel featuring Dungeon Crawler Carl, the protagonist (along with his cat) of a series of books set in a planet-wide survival dungeon televised for galactic viewers. There’s obviously a following for it as the campaign for the new card game, along with a new RPG in the setting, is currently pushing $10 million raised.
The Day I Became a Bird (Switch, PS4, PS5, PC)
Posted on May 6th, 2026 by
The Day I Became a Bird is a children’s picture book published about a decade ago. Then a few years ago, it was made into an indie film that won some international awards. I’d love to be able to watch that, but I can’t figure out where I can. Anyway, now you can play a game based on the book and film, too. You play as a boy who falls for the new girl in your class, but she’s obsessed with birds. She watches them out the window, draws pictures of them, and even wears bird barrettes in her hair. So the boy decides to dress as a bird to get her attention, ignoring the ridicule of his classmates. It’s a cute story, and now you can play an interactive version of it on Switch, PlayStation consoles, and PC (reviewed on Switch here).
May the 4th be with you!
Posted on May 4th, 2026 by
Happy Star Wars Day! It being a great time to celebrate one of the most popular science fiction settings around, I thought it would be a appropriate to give a shout out to some of my favorite Star Wars branded boardgames. Two recent titles (and thus should be easy to find) are Star Wars Super Teams (what if CandyLand had actual decisions, strategy AND you could move other people) and Star Wars: Battle of Hoth (an introductory wargame, based around the invasion of the ice planet.) Super Teams would be great for younger folks, maybe 7+, while the latter is deep enough for adults to enjoy but is also playable by a gamer 10 year old.
Hello, Yoshi! (Switch 1 & 2, Mobile)
Posted on May 4th, 2026 by
A couple of months ago, Nintendo started a new line in the US called My Mario. It’s a bunch of toys and games geared towards babies and toddlers and their parents. Some of the items include Mario themed wooden toy blocks, which are cool because they also act as amiibo. I wish I could get them, but right now they’re just exclusive to the Nintendo stores in New York and San Fransico, and I won’t be going to those places any time soon. There’s also other toys like Fischer Price Little People playsets (which still look cool), apparel, plush toys, and videos. Another item in the line was a little app called Hello, Mario! It let you play with Mario’s face and stretch it around, kind of like the title screen from Super Mario 64. And now you can do that with Yoshi! Hello, Yoshi! is also available on Switch 1 & 2 as well as mobile devices, but reviewed on Switch 2 here.
