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.
SkateBIRD (Switch, Xbox One, PC)
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Posted on November 8th, 2021 by
Back in the late 90’s, extreme sports games like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater were huge. But I never understood the draw of them. That is until I reviewed Disney Skate Adventure, which was made by the same folks who did the Tony Hawk games. Disney Skate Adventure was actually one of the first games I reviewed at GamerDad, and I finally understood the draw of these types of games after playing it. You got to skate with familiar characters like Buzz Lightyear and cub Simba, and skate around locations like Pizza Planet and the Elephant Graveyard. It was a lot of fun, so I’m more open to try unusual skateboard games now! Which brings us to SkateBIRD, where you can play as small birds who have traded flying for skating, and you can shred around skate parks like a giant bedroom! It’s about as weird as Fight Crab, and really put the ‘hawk’ in Tony Hawk! It’s available on some consoles and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.
Centipede: Recharged (Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox X/S, Atari VCS, PC)
Posted on November 5th, 2021 by
Even though Centipede isn’t one of my top favorite classic arcade games, I have a lot of good memories associated with it because it’s a game my dad would play a lot when we’d go to arcades as a family back in the day. I also have a lot of respect for the game because it was co-designed by a lady programmer and was one of the first games to have a larger female fan base. And now you can play an updated version of this classic with Centipede: Recharged. It’s available on pretty much all current game consoles and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.
Crisis Wing (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, PC)
Posted on November 3rd, 2021 by
Crisis Wing is a 2-D vertically scrolling shooter with pixel graphics that imitate what you might’ve seen in arcades back in the late 80s and early 90s. Although I think it’s still a brand new game, not an arcade classic. But then, those kinds of games were a dime a dozen back then, so I can’t remember them all. Anyway, one or two players can shoot everything that moves, while avoiding spacecraft and projectiles. It’s available to play on most current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Poker Pretty Girls Battle: Texas Hold’em (PS4, PS5, Switch)
Posted on November 1st, 2021 by
Play Texas Hold’em poker against a group of cute anime ladies in Poker Pretty Girls Battle. It’s available on modern PlayStation systems and Switch, but reviewed on PS4 here. There are two main modes of play. In Pretty Mode, you’ll challenge one of the girls and two random characters and if you win, you’ll earn a piece of a picture puzzle. There is also a Free-Play Mode where you can just play against who you want.
Puzzle Bobble 3D: Vacation Odyssey (PS4, PS5, PSVR, Oculus)
Posted on October 29th, 2021 by
I freaking love Bubble Bobble. And its spinoff puzzle games, Puzzle Bobble, is one of my top three favorite puzzle game series of all time alongside Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo and just plain ol’ Tetris. Puzzle Bobble is also sometimes called Bust-A-Move, by the way. Anyway, I was really curious when I found out there was a 3-D version of Puzzle Bobble coming out, and even more excited that I got to review it! Puzzle Bobble 3D: Vacation Odyssey has a VR component, too, so you can play it on PSVR or Oculus. But you don’t HAVE to have VR to enjoy it either, so it’s also playable on regular current PlayStation consoles (reviewed on PS4 here).
The Lazy Dungeon Master (Tabletop RPG Book)
Posted on October 28th, 2021 by
As a big fan of the 80/20 method (80% of the results come from 20% of the effort) although I am want to abuse it and try to just do that 20% of the work and get 80% of the results. On a good day, I like to think I can even pull off a 10/90.. Well, running a role-playing campaign, especially one that isn’t just straight out of a book, is a daunting challenge. There are so many pitfalls and rabbit-holes to fall down that preparing for a session can suck up whatever time you have to spend. For several years, Michael Shea has run a blog giving advice on running an RPG campaign. Favoring the less if more approach, he’s covered topics like The Minimum Viable D&D Game or Running Combat in the Theater of the Mind. After a few years he put together a book called The Lazy Dungeon Master to package all of his advice into one book. Recently, he kickstarted a revised edition of the book as well as a companion workbook entitled Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master and The Lazy DM’s Workbook. He’s back again with a Kickstarter ending very soon, with The Lazy DM’s Companion. The new book is a mix of advice for specific types of situations (one on one games, zone based combat, creating secrets and clues, etc…) as well as a bunch of tables to help trigger new ideas and tools to help make a game more interesting while keeping things running smoothly. I thought I’d take a moment to give my thoughts on the first two books in the series.
Love Colors (Switch, PC, Mobile)
Posted on October 27th, 2021 by
Love Colors is a pixel art paint by numbers game. Choose from several categories of pictures, including food and animals, and paint them square by square. There are tons of pictures to paint, and even more you can buy through DLC. It’s available on Switch, PC, and mobile devices, but reviewed on Switch here.
Boulder Dash Deluxe (Switch, Xbox, Atari VCS, PC, Mobile)
Posted on October 25th, 2021 by
I’m such a staunch console gamer now that you might be surprised to learn that when I was a kid, I started out playing home games on computer. Our first PC was an Apple ][+, and outside of arcades, that’s where I played most of my games until I got an Atari 5200. One of the games I remember playing on that old computer was Boulder Dash. It was an action puzzle game that was kind of like Dig Dug in that you dug through the earth, collecting gems while trying not to get squished by falling boulders. And now you can revisit that classic with Boulder Dash Deluxe. It’s really just more of the same from Boulder Dash 30th Anniversary that I reviewed last year. It almost seems like an expansion pack in a way. But you get new levels, settings, and even stages taken directly from the classic game! It’s available for many of today’s current consoles, PC, and mobile devices, but reviewed on Switch here.
Knockout Home Fitness (Switch)
Posted on October 22nd, 2021 by
With candy and food holidays coming up like Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, it may be a good time to beef up your fitness routine. Maybe with a video game? This exercise game takes many cues from Nintendo’s own Fitness Boxing series and adds martial arts moves, kicks, and stances into the mix. Choose a virtual trainer and do daily routines once per day, or try exercises that are around 3 minutes in length anytime you want. You can also track your progress on the calendar.
Gloomhaven (PC, MacOS, Boardgame)
Posted on October 21st, 2021 by
Several years ago, Glooomhaven burst onto the boardgame scene to wide acclaim. Quickly selling out and then reprinted, this boardgame currently sits at number 1 on the Boardgame Geek list of all-time best boardgames. It is a beast of a game, weighing in at about 20 pounds of cardboard, cards, and plastic miniatures. While the heart of the game comes in tactical battle scenarios, playable in an hour or two, the overarching story includes role-playing aspects like character growth and branching storylines to provide gamers with upwards of 150 hours of game time. As a “legacy game” the game includes envelopes and boxes that are sealed at first and are opened up as the game is played. While it has won the hearts of many gamers, a common complaint is simply how much time it takes to set up a new scenario. Cue… a digital version. Gloomhaven is now available in digital form on Steam and GoG.
