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.
Dino Galaxy Tennis (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC)
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Posted on March 7th, 2022 by
Play tennis! With dinosaurs! In space! Who thought of this game premise, a five year old? Well it doesn’t matter, because this game is actually pretty fun! But it really plays more like Pong or air hockey than tennis. Dino Galaxy Tennis is available on most current game consoles and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.
Yeah Yeah Beebiss II (Switch, PC)
Posted on March 4th, 2022 by
I’m not really a fan of most video game YouTubers. Many seem like just young punks just yelling profanities into the microphone, and spending more time talking about games rather than playing them. Plus I’m just jealous that they’re stealing all my thunder (hey at least I’m honest). But there are a few I can stand. One of them is John Riggs. He talks mostly about retro games and seems to be about the same age as me with the same experiences with video games in the past, so he’s relatable. And he made his own homebrew game and I got to review it! (Switch version reviewed here)
El Gancho (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, PC)
Posted on March 2nd, 2022 by
In El Gancho, you play as a yellow dinosaur with a bow tie who must explore randomly generated cave mazes as he rescues lost dinosaurs (called Cocos for some reason). And how do you do this? By swinging around with a grappling hook! It’s available on most current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Moto Roader MC (Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, X/S)
Posted on February 28th, 2022 by
Moto Roader was a launch title for the TurboGrafix-16, a video game console from the late 80s and early 90s. The game was a top down racer and the screen scrolled in any direction as you made laps to win (kind of like Micro Machines). Moto Roader had a couple of sequels, but I’m not sure if they left Japan. Moto Roader 2 had a futuristic feel to it, and the tracks scrolled mostly vertically up. The third game in the series, Moto Roader MC, went back to the lap tracks of the original, but ditched the scrolling, so everything was on one single screen. So it played more like Super Sprint or the Top Ride mode from Kirby Air Ride. And now you can play Moto Roader MC on most current game consoles, but reviewed on Switch here.
The Humans (PS4, Switch, Xbox One, PC)
Posted on February 25th, 2022 by
When I was a pre-teen/early teen in the late 80’s and early 90’s, one of my favorite games was Lemmings. I played the heck out of this series, and I’m sure most gamers still know about it since there were tons of ports and sequels. In these games, you guided a bunch of mindless critters to an exit by giving them tools and skills so they wouldn’t walk blindly off of cliffs and into danger. Back when this game was on store shelves in places like Babbage’s (remember those), another game that was next to it was usually The Humans. It featured cartoony art of cavemen so it always caught my eye, but I never played it back then even though it looked like another Lemmings style game to me. So that’s why I’m glad I got to review this collection now. Turns out the game is a bit more like The Lost Vikings than Lemmings (games with prehistoric themes sure were popular back then, what with titles like Joe & Mac: Caveman Ninjas and this). Anyway, The Humans is a puzzle platformer where you guide and switch between cavemen as you use tools and make human ladders to achieve goals. It’s available on most current consoles and PC, but reviewed on Switch and PS4 here.
Draw a Stickman EPIC (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC, Mobile)
Posted on February 23rd, 2022 by
Have you ever wanted to create your own video game character and have it star in a game? Well now you can with Draw a Stickman EPIC. You’ll draw a character and a friend for it to save, then you’ll explore top down doodle filled worlds and solve puzzles and avoid obstacles by moving around and drawing things. It kind of reminds me of Scribblenauts or Drawn to Life. The game has been popular enough to spawn a couple of sequels on mobile devices, and now the original game is available on most current consoles and PC, too (reviewed on Switch here).
KungFu Kickball (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC)
Posted on February 21st, 2022 by
KungFu Kickball is a multiplayer cartoony sports game that really has more in common with a 2-D version of soccer or basketball rather than kickball. Choose from one of several stereotypical martial arts characters (old dude, karate guy, ninja lady, and more to unlock), and punch and kick a ball (or other players) so that it rings a bell on the opposite side of the field, like a goal. Up to four can play (two on each team), and the game is available on most current consoles and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.
NERF Legends (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on February 18th, 2022 by
The NERF line is one of the most popular toy brands out there, earning nearly half a billion dollars annually. It includes not only foam sports balls, but also toy blasters that shoot out foam darts and other safe projectiles. And now you can play a first person shooter game based on the blaster toys. You are selected to compete in NERF challenges on a futuristic island. Go at it alone in obstacle filled challenges where you must zap robots, solve puzzles, and bypass obstacles. Or you can challenge others online in multiplayer matches. NERF Legends is available on nearly all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Flow Water: 3-D Fountain Puzzle (Mobile)
Posted on February 16th, 2022 by
One of my favorite puzzle games is Pipe Dream. In that game, you placed different shaped pipes to lead a path of water around. Flow Water: 3-D Fountain Puzzle takes that concept and adds 3-D visuals and gameplay to the mix. It’s available free-to-play on mobile devices, but reviewed on iPad here.
Cake Invaders (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on February 14th, 2022 by
There’s a kind of German cake called Baumkuchen, and you bake it by rolling batter on a spit and spinning it around. I’d like to try it, but it sounds like a pain to make! Because of how you make it, the cake looks like it has rings, like the ones you find in trees. In fact, the direct translation of Baumkuchen is ‘tree cake,’ Baum meaning tree and Kuchen meaning cake in German (my German classes in high school and college finally paying off). This kind of cake is also popular in Japan for some reason. And I learned all of this by playing Cake Invaders. Who says video games don’t teach you anything? Anyway, in Cake Invaders, you must protect slices of Baumkuchen from waves of aliens in this classic arcade styled shooter. It’s like a cross between Space Invaders and Missile Command, and it’s available on nearly all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
