Family Tech Blog

Tag: game

  • The “Grown Up Fortnite,” PUBG, is Now FREE on iOS and Android

    The “Grown Up Fortnite,” PUBG, is Now FREE on iOS and Android

    If your kid doesn’t play Fortnite, they’ve asked if they can. It’s a battle royale game that combines the third person shooter genre with crafting and resource gathering. You parachute onto an island and battle against 99 other players to the last man. Along the way, you collect resources, weapons, and armor. You use your resources to craft walls, towers, and such to help you fight against other players. Fortnite is made with cartoon style graphics and no blood or gore. You do, however, play against or with players online from all over the world.

    Player Unknown’s Battleground started the battle royale genre hype. It follows the same model as Fortnite, minus the crafting and resource collection. The biggest difference, however, is the realism. While it still plays like a game, it is a third person shooter with plenty of violence and blood. You don’t build and craft, you just run around avoiding enemies until you have to battle it out. Then, the choice is to kill or be killed. The game wasn’t made for young kids. It is now available for free in mobile app stores so more kids can have access to it.

    CHECK OUT: Podcast – Boys and Video Game Addictions

    What Parents Should Know

    My advice is to use something like Family Share or Android FamilyLink (if available) to keep an eye on what apps your kids are downloading. I’m not one to say that kids playing violent video games will immediately lead to them committing violence themselves, but I do know that there are psychological effects on young boys who experience the intensity of simulated battle while their brains are developing. I recommend not allowing your kids to download this app. Fortnite is questionable, but to me, PUBG is a definite no.

  • App Review: Noah’s Elephant in the Room

    App Review: Noah’s Elephant in the Room

    App Review: Ride the elephant around the Ark collecting peanuts. Just try not to get caught by your sons. They’ll put the elephant back in its cage and ruin your fun. This game features fun gameplay, easy controls, awesome animation, and a great scripture memory element. Check out Noah’s Elephant in the Room here.

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    Download the game here.

  • You Can Vote For Monopoly Tokens to Reflect the Culture

    You Can Vote For Monopoly Tokens to Reflect the Culture

    Does art reflect culture or does culture reflect art? It’s a chicken or the egg level conundrum but Hasbro’s classic board game Monopoly is letting their fans decide. A new website is making it possible, and even fun, to help them choose the next series of tokens or game pieces for their game.  They have over fifty options and the run the gamut from the classic thimble and battleship to new, tech inspired tokens like a hashtag or wink emoji.

    Monopoly has been around for a long time and they always seem to be updating to encourage you to upgrade your version of the game. They’ve added credit cards in the past, they have make different versions for different age groups or interest types, now they are letting fans of the game be involved in the design process. The site is even fun to use. It’s set up like a house and you click your way through different rooms that feature different tokens. When you click on one you like you see it more close up and see the name they call it. You can chose to vote for it there on that popup or you can click an arrow to see the next on the list already in that zoomed in mode. It’s easy to use and fun to look around seeing what they’ve come up with.

    The new version of the game with the winning designs will be available this summer and for the purists like myself, (I HAVE to be the battleship!)  a “Token Madness” edition will be available that will include the classic tokens as well as the newest, fan selected, versions. You can vote until January 31 so head on over and chime in.

    When Tech Bleeds Into the Board Game

    My family loves to play board games. My wife and I even spend the majority of our date nights playing a two-player version of some tabletop game. You will often see the digital world work it’s way to the analog products we enjoy. It’s obviously a way to try and stay relevant and attract buyers. I remember seeing “Words with Friends” the board game in Target and my wife and I laughing at each other…”Isn’t that scrabble???” Maybe, as parents of digital natives, we can use this as an advantage. Use an offline version of a mobile game like “Words with Friends” to encourage a few hours of family time. Maybe some emoji tokens in Monopoly will provide a bit of delight that will cause your 16 and 12 year olds to want to sit down with you and play for a while. Try it out sometime soon. But first, go vote on the new Monopoly Tokens.

  • Apparently Pokemon Go Had Little Real Effect on Exercise

    Apparently Pokemon Go Had Little Real Effect on Exercise

    Many (including me) have said that one of the great things about Pokemon GO is that it has gotten people out and moving more than they ever did. Unfortunately a recent study by the British Medical Journal is singing a different tune. Apparently about four weeks after the release of the app people went back to their couch potato ways, only playing the game when they would have been out moving anyway.

    The study surveyed over 1100 American adults, half of them were Pokemon GO players. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the number of steps taken (automatically tracked by the phone) before and after the release of the game. There were some folks who started off walking a bit more because of the game, but the study shows that the trend tapered off to almost nothing after about six weeks.

    What Parents Should Do.

    An interesting note about this study. It didn’t include children. It is, of course, possible that kids were more active for longer because of playing Pokemon GO. There is no study to confirm it, however.

    One of the major reasons that limiting screen time is a good idea is the inactivity overuse of technology can cause. When a game like Pokemon GO is released, parents may see a way out. They can give in and let their children play this game more often because it’s getting them up and moving. Well, if the study of the adults who played the game is any indication, we won’t be seeing many kids becoming more active and less out of shape because they’re trying to catch them all. Nothing beats old fashion creativity and time outside with friends.

    If you have seen Pokemon GO players walking around you can see what all they’re missing. What good is getting up and around if you’re still just staring at your phone the whole time. Yes, parents and kids have been playing this game together and the connection of handing down the love of Pokemon to your children is a real thing. We just have to be careful when we use technology to replace something that was always meant to keep us and our children grounded in the real world.