Soon, everyone on Roblox be asked to verify their age and will, in theory, only chat with other people in and around their age. In the future, they might only play with them, too. www.crossplay.news/p/what-to-kn...

For now, "Battle Royale" mode seems off limits for Fortnite's loot boxes. But within other "Island" experiences, you should be aware of what you can and cannot control for your children. www.crossplay.news/p/fortnite-i...

New announcements from Valve and Sony suggest a world where it's even easier to fit video games into your busy life. Is a glorious video game utopia for parents nearly here? www.crossplay.news/p/i-want-to-...

Speaking of Epic, over at @crossplayblog.bsky.social is a post about my 9yo, who's played Fortnite for all of two weeks, immediately recognizing the game's monetization is going too far. If a 9yo can clock that something's unfair, maybe it is. www.crossplay.news/p/fortnite-s...

Making it to the end of a video game, even one meant for families, is often a journey all its own. www.crossplay.news/p/lego-voyag...

Another Zelda beat 'em up spin-off, a slew of Apple Arcade highlights, and more games lead the most interesting family friendly video games arriving this month www.crossplay.news/p/video-game...

Fortnite is raising dangerous questions in the house that @patrickklepek.bsky.social is not prepare to answer, such as: "Daddy, why does Fortnite load faster on your Switch"? www.crossplay.news/p/oh-no-my-k...

In today's edition of The Rant, a father of two kids is upset about the monetization changes coming to Fortnite, a game that's otherwise been a fun and exciting space for his children. www.crossplay.news/p/welcome-to...

Sony's new mobile app for parental controls is excellent—more companies should have something like this. www.crossplay.news/p/playstatio...

One of the trickier parts of parenting is managing fear. There is a time and place to believe they can do a little more. The question, then: when is a kid old enough for a haunted house? www.crossplay.news/p/when-is-a-...

One year later, what has Roblox's "Teen Council" accomplished? It makes sense to chat with one of Roblox's biggest player groups, but it's just not clear what's actually changing. www.crossplay.news/p/roblox-tee...

Silksong is revealing my angriest self—aka the one who cannot suppress yelling FUCK when they lose to a boss for the 10th time—in front of my kids. www.crossplay.news/p/playing-si...

My daughter also developed a sudden case of interest in Fortnite over the weekend, and for the same reason. She seems fully hooked. Sometimes synergy works? (Also, I echo the call for a KPop Demon Hunters beat’em up.)

Feeling both seen and attacked by @crossplayblog.bsky.social God forbid a man have hobbies... etc etc

Well, it finally happened: @patrickklepek.bsky.social's nine-year-old is playing Fortnite because of, of course, KPop Demon Hunters www.crossplay.news/p/fortnite-k...

Just recently, Epic Games showed concern about the amount of in-game item slop that's in Roblox. Now, they're bringing in-game item sales to Fortnite. www.crossplay.news/p/fortnite-i...

A month of Marios, Pokémons, and deeply questionable licensed video games. Who's ready for an Elf on the Shelf game? Here's what video games families can expect in October: www.crossplay.news/p/video-game...

Our five-year-old was developing a bad relationship with her iPad. Was it a phase? Because of her injury? Either way, when school started, it was time for a reboot. www.crossplay.news/p/trying-to-...

The endless repetition of trying to have a baby means living life in a state of limbo between two timelines. Video games have helped Stephanie Morse through years of frustrating struggles. www.crossplay.news/p/how-video-...

While in London, our family swung by Minecraft Experience: Villager Rescue, which tries to merge game with reality—to mixed (but fun) results. www.crossplay.news/p/minecraft-...

Last week, @patrickklepek's 4th grader came home asking about "the news." He wasn't sure what to say. How do you talk to a child about an assassination? www.crossplay.news/p/talking-to...

How Nintendo made visiting a "boring" French museum incredibly special—or, the story of how @patrickklepek.bsky.social almost completely screwed it all up www.crossplay.news/p/how-ninten...

Video games helped Matt Cooper navigate a relationship with neurodivergence. Now, his neurodivergent children also love video games...but he worries about them exploiting them. www.crossplay.news/p/how-microt...

Parents shouldn't be confused over the ratings assigned to the games their kids are playing. www.crossplay.news/p/how-do-rob...

A quiet month for Nintendo as school kicks back into gear, but there's plenty of video games for you to play with—or in front of—your kids this month. www.crossplay.news/p/your-guide...

For years, @patrickklepek.bsky.social has been waiting for his school district to have a real cell phone policy. This school year, at the elementary and middle school level, they're basically banning them: www.crossplay.news/p/so-my-scho...

We have the technology to know everything our kids do online. It's only a question of whether you decide to use it. But should you? www.crossplay.news/p/how-much-p...

Video games became a way to connect for a father who struggled to express himself and a son who desperately wanted to connect. A touching story about how video games can act as a form of quiet communication across fractured relationships: www.crossplay.news/p/connecting...

I swear I'm not a helicopter parent, I tell myself, while I look at a blue dot on my phone and strap an AirTag to my daughter's wrist. www.crossplay.news/p/i-made-my-...

What do you do when your children want to play video games but actively push back at the idea of difficulty and challenge? www.crossplay.news/p/its-hard-t...

Watching my son learn how to play Pokémon highlights a fundamental disconnect at the heart of the series: the show and the games work completely differently. Instead of showing him how to play Pokémon, the show is teaching him all the wrong lessons. My latest for @crossplayblog.bsky.social

I'm back from my mental health sabbatical to promote my latest essay for @crossplayblog.bsky.social and to get back to ruining my mental health (unrelated to crossplay) open.substack.com/pub/patrickk...

Getting ready for an eight-hour flight across the ocean means filling up your video game handhelds with games you'll never end up playing

Your guide to August's family friendly video games, which includes a bunch of games where you'll manage a farm, a shop, or something in-between www.crossplay.news/p/best-new-v...

Growing up we had a contraption hooked to our TV called a "TV Guardian" that cut the audio and displayed censored subtitles when a non-Christian was spoken (Sex becomes hugs, bastard becomes jerk, etc etc). Never had a binder, but my parents would *lurk* when I was on the family computer.

To control how they played video games, this kid's Christian fundamentalist parents created a tool even the devil would be envious of. It's time to learn about The Binder. www.crossplay.news/p/how-my-rel...

It's even more frustrating when my 6yo insists on only playing as Donkey Kong and I'm finding very little to engage me as Pauline between having to yank camera controls to point out the objective she keeps running past. She's having a blast though 🤷‍♂️

Is Donkey Kong Bananza's co-op mode actually good—or just chaotic? Does it matter?

Donkey Kong Bananza's co-op might not be the "ideal" way to play the game, nor will it teach them *how* to play, but you're sure to be laughing with your kids the entire time www.crossplay.news/p/donkey-kon...

One family's desperate search for Pauline, aka a review of Donkey Kong Bananza's first hours www.crossplay.news/p/donkey-kon...

Roblox is becoming more like Discord and leveraging the kind of "age recognition" technology that's likely to be all over the internet soon. The latest details on the new safety features that Roblox is pitching: www.crossplay.news/p/new-roblox...

A world of camper vans, endless UNO, being brave at the movie theater, and more. Here's what @patrickklepek.bsky.social's family has been playing, watching, and reading lately! How about your family? www.crossplay.news/p/what-my-fa...

Recently, @patrickklepek.bsky.social spoke with a person Roblox is calling their new "head of parental advocacy." But what does that mean, and what changes might be coming to Roblox in the future? www.crossplay.news/p/roblox-hir...

My five-year-old has turned into a screen time monster lately. Is this a phase, or something more? www.crossplay.news/p/uh-oh-are-...

Your guide to July's family friendly video games is highlighted by a fantastic-looking new Donkey Kong video game for Switch 2 www.crossplay.news/p/video-game...

The kids are alright.

Anti-ICE protests have come to, of all places, Roblox www.crossplay.news/p/politics-p...

A good hint system, no punishment for having trouble reading. Lost in Play is a modern point-and-click adventure game that's perfect for kids. www.crossplay.news/p/a-great-ad...

Latest publication is live! I wrote this guest post for @patrickklepek.bsky.social 's @crossplayblog.bsky.social all about how to connect with a gaming kid if you yourself are not a gamer. www.crossplay.news/p/never-too-... #videogames #parenting #parentingtips #gamerkid #Parents

Based on the reaction of Patrick's children, it's clear Donkey Kong Bananza will be a hit because of three things: Pauline (!), co-op (!!), and being able to destroy the entire world (!!!). www.crossplay.news/p/donkey-kon...