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.
Pepper Grinder (Switch, PC)
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Posted on April 24th, 2024 by
Pepper is an adventurous girl who gets shipwrecked, and pirates steal her treasure! Luckily she finds a drill that she can use to bypass obstacles and defeat enemies. Anyone remember a Game Boy Advance game called Drill Dozer? It was made by GameFreak, who also made a game series you might know of called Pokémon. Anyway, Pepper Grinder kind of reminds me of that game mixed with some Dig Dug style fast action. It’s also a 2D platformer for Switch and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.
Unplugged: Monkey Business (Boardgame)
Posted on April 23rd, 2024 by
Monkey Business is a bit of a mash-up of the classic games of charades (where you pantomime something) and werewolf (where you’re trying to discover the odd person out in the mix. All but one player (or all but two, if there’s more than 6 players) are given the same activity to perform while the odd ones out, the “scammers” have to just play it by ear to cover up the fact that they don’t know what they should be doing. After a few moments of acting, players then all must accuse a player to be the “scammer” – the one who was just copying everyone else. Players who are correct keep their card, scammers win half of the remaining cards. After six rounds of play the game ends and the player with the most cards is the winner. Monkey Business is a fun little party game that gets people moving. It won’t carry an entire evening of gaming but is good for a short distraction, perhaps to loosen up a group of people who may be taking themselves too seriously.
Monkey Business
Publisher: Add-A-Game
Players: 4-12
Ages: 8+
Time: 15 min
(review copy provided by publisher)
Crypt Stalker (Switch, PC)
Posted on April 22nd, 2024 by
When I was a kid during the NES heyday, Castlevania was huge! Most of my friends either had it or rented it a lot, same with the sequels. Simon Belmont from Castlevania was even a character in the Captain N cartoon (albeit a bit silly). I was never a big fan of Castlevania myself. I wasn’t really into the horror themes and Simon Belmont controlled like he ate a big breakfast before deciding to kill Dracula. But I did get the Castlevania Collection a few years ago (mainly for Kid Dracula). So here comes a retro styled game that was definitely inspired by the Castlevania series. Crypt Stalker has you playing as a female undead slayer, who beats up baddies with her whip and gun. While Castlevania games had a more Victorian horror theme, Crypt Stalker is more Egyptian, with levels set in the desert and pyramids, and enemies like mummies, Anubis monsters, and hopping bugs. It’s available on Switch and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.
Reader Review: Warhammer 40,000: Dakka Squadron (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC)
Posted on April 19th, 2024 by
Most of my younger brothers LOVE Warhammer. It’s an RPG board game where you play with these intricate figures that you can even paint yourself. I’ve never gotten into it myself, just too complicated (and expensive) for me. But then, anything more complicated than Hungry, Hungry Hippos and my eyes glaze over! Ha ha! Anyway, one of my brothers, Jeff, loves Warhammer so much that he works at a store that specifically sells that stuff! Another one of my brothers, Ben, has a huge collection of figures that he paints (very well I might add). So I thought it would be fun to have Ben review this Warhammer game. It’s available on most current consoles and PC, but reviewed on Switch here. –Cary
Match Village (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on April 17th, 2024 by
Place houses, fields, and other structures on a hexagonal strategy board game-like grid to create your own little town in Match Village. When you set three or more of the same structure together, they’ll match up and upgrade to a better building so you can get more points. This chill and laid back puzzler is available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Master Maker 3D Ultimate (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on April 15th, 2024 by
Make your own 3D platforming levels with Master Maker 3D Ultimate. It’s available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
“The Video Game Chef” Cookbook
Posted on April 12th, 2024 by
For Christmas last year I got a video game themed cookbook. It’s hardcover and pretty nice and has some interesting recipes in it, so I thought I’d go over a few of them here. I won’t go over ALL the recipes in the book, just some notes I jotted down on the ones I found more interesting.
Orion Haste (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S)
Posted on April 10th, 2024 by
In the future, evil aliens have taken over a space base and it’s up to you to stop them. Orion Haste is a 16-bit style 2-D run and gun that plays similar to Contra. It’s available on all current consoles, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Cricket Through the Ages (Switch, PC, Mobile)
Posted on April 8th, 2024 by
There’s a really popular kids’ show that I like called Bluey. The show is made in Australia and is set there, and in one of the newer episodes, the characters play a game of Cricket. It’s a really good episode, but a lot of it went over my head because living in the US myself, Cricket just isn’t as popular of a sport. We’re all about our football over here, and not the soccer kind. So when I had the opportunity to review Cricket Through the Ages on Switch, I thought it might give me a good chance to learn more about the sport, especially since the game looked pretty whimsical, too. And it certainly is, but did I really learn anything about Cricket from this game? Well you’ll have to read on to find out!
Best of Princess Peach
Posted on April 5th, 2024 by
Princess Peach is one of the most popular Mario characters and she’s recently getting her own game on the Switch called Princess Peach Showtime! And that’s not even the first time she’s gotten her own game either! And even though she spends much of her time as a damsel in distress waiting for Mario to save her, there are plenty of other times when Nintendo lets her shine and be a hero. So in honor of her new game, I thought I’d go back and look at Princess Peach’s best moments.
