The Cruelty of The Zipperpatrickklepek.substack.com Every year at the carnival, my oldest daughter hopes she's a little bit taller. Navigating the height requirements, and a child's emotions alongside it, is a tough journey.
Crossplay
A newsletter at the intersection of parenting and video games by longtimes games reporter and father of two kids, Patrick Klepek. Subscribe now at https://crossplay.news
These Cute Penguin Plushies Aimed at Kids Wouldn't Mind if They Got Super Into Crypto, Toopatrickklepek.substack.com Pudgy Penguins is only the latest push to try and slowly introduce crypto and other web3-related ideas to the next generation. It feels weird!
SPAWNPOINT: Spawnpoint, Ep. 04: Direct to the Heart on Apple Podcastspodcasts.apple.com Show SPAWNPOINT, Ep Spawnpoint, Ep. 04: Direct to the Heart - 8 Jul 2024
Super Monkey Ball Wants Every Player to Have Fun, Even If They Need Extra Helppatrickklepek.substack.com How watching teenagers play the latest Super Monkey Ball game prompted its developers to add in features that helped my own kid enjoy the game.
One Year Later, Hello Kitty: Island Adventure Is Still Trying to Balance Ethics and Profitspatrickklepek.substack.com The game is now coming to Switch and other platforms, but its debut on Apple Arcade continues to have fascinating ramifications for game balance.
Astro Bot's Audience Isn't Kids or Adults—It's Bothpatrickklepek.substack.com Learn how the developers behind Sony's promising-looking platformer, Astro Bot, want to make both of its audiences happy.
One Father Started Hacking Old Video Games to Help His Daughter Enjoy Thempatrickklepek.substack.com Younger players are coming to games with different expectations, and we should expect it to eventually change video games, too.
Your Guide to June’s Family Friendly Video Gamespatrickklepek.substack.com School is coming to an end, but the pools are open and the weather is (mostly) gorgeous outside. Video games may not be the priority.
How a Couple With Two Kids Made a "Sneaky Educational" Game About Collecting Bugspatrickklepek.substack.com What started as a side project for one of their sons has, over time, transformed their lives.
Kids, Routines, And Unexpected Delightspatrickklepek.substack.com Ash "The Gamer Educator" Brandin on how to deal with surprising your child, only to find out it's not enough. It never is, and there's good reason for it.
SPAWNPOINT: The Gamer Educator on Apple Podcastspodcasts.apple.com Show SPAWNPOINT, Ep The Gamer Educator - 17 May 2024
Out of Sight, Out of (Virtual) Mindpatrickklepek.substack.com You'll never know what your kids are truly getting up to on their screens, but you can give them the tools to navigate it. These feelings brought to you by...Final Fantasy?
How Nintendo's Exercise Experiment Is Helping Autistic Children Movepatrickklepek.substack.com Ring Fit Adventure is finding new life in some unexpected spaces.
Your Guide to May’s Family Friendly Video Gamespatrickklepek.substack.com Switch 2 might be months off, but Nintendo's still releasing interesting games, with summer right around the corner.
The Rugrats Are Getting a Video Game, But It's Not for Kidspatrickklepek.substack.com Fortunately, the developers understand nostalgic millennials might want to play this game with their kids.
SPAWNPOINT: Death of the Father on Apple Podcastspodcasts.apple.com Show SPAWNPOINT, Ep Death of the Father - 26 Apr 2024
How Years of Grieving Led Abubakar Salim to Honor His Father By Making a Video Gamepatrickklepek.substack.com The death of a parent makes you do weird and unexpected things. I can relate.
SPAWNPOINT: Spawnpoint, Episode 03: The Strange Sadness of Theme Parks on Apple Podcastspodcasts.apple.com Show SPAWNPOINT, Ep Spawnpoint, Episode 03: The Strange Sadness of Theme Parks - 19 Apr 2024
The Signpatrickklepek.substack.com A few thoughts on Bluey's emotional 28-minute episode, and what it was like watching (and crying) as a family.
This Company Wants to Make Setting Parental Controls Much Easier For Youpatrickklepek.substack.com Who knows if k-ID can pull it off, but they've got their heart in the right place, and platforms could do worse than follow their lead.
Two Hourspatrickklepek.substack.com It's one video game menu, Michael, how much could it cost? Two hours of playtime?
Why Roblox and Child Labor Are Suddenly in the News Togetherpatrickklepek.substack.com Somewhere, a public relations person at Roblox has been having a bad week.
Finding New Games For Your Kids Is Weirdly Difficultpatrickklepek.substack.com A podcast interview with someone trying to help.
FTC Rejects ESRB Proposal to Usepatrickklepek.substack.com The decision falls into a larger context where the US is woefully behind in proposing ideas to try and protect children online.
Your Guide to April’s Family Friendly Video Gamespatrickklepek.substack.com What are you looking forward to playing to this month?
The Last Thing I Bought at Disneyland Was a $78 Cheat Codepatrickklepek.substack.com There was one place me, my daughter, and my wife wanted to hit up before our trip was over, and there was only one solution: more money.
Super Nintendo World Was Very Cool, But Featured a Surprising Amount of Children Crying?patrickklepek.substack.com I did not anticipate our Nintendo theme park adventure would involve failure, and it’s related to an ongoing problem with Nintendo’s own games.
Here’s My Plan to Attack Disneyland and Universal Studios With My Kidspatrickklepek.substack.com Next week is one of the biggest weeks ever for the Klepek household.