Cary’s Best Games of 2024 Awards Show!
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Posted on January 17th, 2025 by
It’s time for my “Best Video Games of 2024 Awards Show!” Keep in mind that this is my list only and no other outside opinions contributed. And if a game isn’t on this list, it either just didn’t appeal to me as much or I haven’t had a chance to play it yet. Ok with that out of the way, let’s begin!
Zero to Dance Hero (Switch)
Posted on December 30th, 2024 by
Learn Hip Hop style dance moves step by step in Zero to Dance Hero. It’s a motion controlled dance game on Switch, and you can even pick instructors from the Fitness Boxing games (I think they’re made by the same folks).
Minecraft Gingerbread House
Posted on December 24th, 2024 by
When I went to the Five and Below store a while back, I saw a Minecraft Gingerbread House kit for only 4 bucks or so. I picked up a couple of them. One for my nephew and twin nieces to do, since my nephew loves Minecraft (what kid doesn’t?). And I picked up another one to do with my other brother’s stepson when we would do Christmas at my mom’s house. So I thought I’d share that with you and show you what it looked like.
Holiday Heroscape in Action
Posted on December 19th, 2024 by
Our local high school has the occasional evening of open boardgaming in the cafeteria. Students and teachers (and select <ahem> boardgamers, such as myself) are free to drop in and play some games on hand or bring their own. There were two gaming events in November and December. The first was just a night of fun while the second was pitched as a “decompression” time just before finals hit in earnest. Attendance was pretty good on both nights and one of the main attractions was the Heroscape setup I brought along. Heroscape is an excellent miniatures combat game that is great for family play. While the name “miniatures combat game” would normally imply a rules-heavy game of thick rulebooks, slow moving, somewhat tedious combat. (A miniatures wargame player would want to defend the genre by pointing out the huge strategic depth available within a game.) In contrast, Heroscape provides a game where a wide diversity of miniatures clash together across colorful hexagonal landscape. The bad news is that the game has been out of print for years, but the great news is that Renegade Games has just rereleased a whole new line of Heroscape content so it is a great time for new gamers to jump in.
Mario Kart 8 Toys in McDonald’s Happy Meals
Posted on December 13th, 2024 by
In November McDonald’s had Mario Kart 8 toys in their Happy Meals. So I thought I’d show you what they had and which ones I got. So Let’s-A-Go!
Unplugged: GamerDad Holiday Guide 2024
Posted on December 7th, 2024 by
Happy Holidays! Boardgaming continues to make inroads to wider audiences, and there’s no better time to get (or get your friends and family) into the hobby than an extended holiday break. There are boardgames out there to meet up with almost any taste.Boardgames are timeless, just as good today as they will be years in the future, so a purchase today will still be serving you well after the lockdowns go away. As we at GamerDad have done for the past 20-odd years, it’s time for an annual rundown of recent boardgames well worth your time. Feel free to delve into some past year’s guides for 2023, 2022, or older as they’re still great candidates for your consideration. You might not find all these titles at your local mega-mart but many can be found online or in a friendly local game store. Some may argue $60+ boardgames (or more) are expensive, but compare that to video gaming (and where multiple copies are required for multiplayer play) and the economics of boardgaming shows their true value. For each game, I’ve provided the publisher (to help you find it), an approximate MSRP (you can probably find it lower), the number of players, the expected time for one game, and the manufacturer’s recommended ages. These age listings are often set for legal reasons and I would say most could easily be skewed lower for experienced younger gamers. (Buy through this link and GamerDad gets a small kickback…)
On with the show!
Alarmo: Nintendo’s…Alarm Clock?!?
Posted on December 6th, 2024 by
Nintendo recently released something weird! It’s a fancy alarm clock called the Alarmo! But you can’t get it just anywhere. It’s only available either at the Nintendo store in New York City, or if you have a My Nintendo account and order it on that website. But one thing they won’t tell you in the ads for it is how much it costs. And the price is 100 bucks! That’s insane! But you know what? I caved in and bought one anyway. Why? Well one, I was in the market for a new alarm clock. Yeah I’m old fashioned and still use one of those instead of my phone. And two, lots of other people spend big money on those fancy Apple watches, so I figured I’d splurge and give this one a try. So is the Alarmo worth 100 bucks? You’ll just have to read on to find out!
Hallmark 2024 Video Game Christmas Ornaments
Posted on November 29th, 2024 by
Hallmark always has a wide variety of Christmas ornaments every year, and in the past few years they’ve even had lots of video game themed ones! I got a bunch of them this year as well, as I always do, so let’s take a look at them!
Pikmin Sprouts Up at Kura Sushi
Posted on November 22nd, 2024 by
There’s a chain of conveyor belt sushi restaurants called Kura Sushi. When you go there, if you eat enough sushi plates, you can win little prizes! A couple of years ago, I went there for my birthday because they had Pac-Man prizes! I wrote a big article about it here, so I recommend checking it out. In October of this year, they had Pikmin prizes and promotions, so I decided to go back so here’s another little article about that.
The Pizza Pixel Podcast Episode 23: Top Favorite Video Game Villains
Posted on October 25th, 2024 by
Halloween is coming up and thoughts turn to spooky things like evil bad guys, so on this episode of The Pizza Pixel Podcast, my brother Jeff and I talk about our favorite video game villains! So please click on the link and give it a listen and make sure to stay at the end for a secret clip!
