
It’s hard catching a little me time when you’re a father. Especially when you’re a gamer and a father. It’s great to spend time with your children, but it’s also great to take a break. When your break happens to involve a hobby your children love things can get complicated. Here are some gift suggestions to help simplify your life.

TV B Gone
This wonderful gadget makes sure you’re in control no matter who has the video game controller. Just press the button and the TV goes dark. Problem solved. $US19.99.

Nerf Vortex Praxis Blaster
Next time you see a child in-bound, eyeing the controller resting in your hand, pull out this pump-action, disc-spewing blaster. Just make sure you aim low, you don’t want to have to interrupt your session of Skyrim with a visit to the emergency room. $US24.99.

Dance Central 2
There’s only one way to settle things when stuff gets out of hand: Dance off! Fortunately, Dance Central 2 has your back with a built in two-player mode in the dancing game. Forget harsh words or quick hands, let’s see how can get down. $69.95 RRP in Australia.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Sometimes the best solution is to just hand over your console controller and beat a hasty retreat. Especially if you’re retreating to your “office” computer to do a little undisturbed “work”. And by “work” I mean playing “Skyrim“… Skyrim. This life-absorbing, dragon-battling, shout-shouting role-playing game offers plenty of places to run, explore and play. The best part, on a PC it’s easy to kick the kids out under false pretences. $US89.99 on Steam.

Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure
It doesn’t always have to be a struggle between you and your offspring when it comes to gaming. Sometimes there’s a happy medium. Take Skylanders for instance, this may look like something you’d hand off a controller over, but it’s actually a ton of fun to play, especially to play cooperatively. The toy figures actually track your character’s stats too, so you can tuck yours away in your bedside table drawer when you’re not gaming together. $US69.99.

Kinect
Here’s the ultimate solution to your grabby kid, no controllers. Kinect’s motion-detecting games let your play without the need to hold anything in your hands. Of course that means your children can just jump up and down in front of you. You’re going to have to check out another gift guide for solutions to that problem, sorry.
$199.95 RRP in Australia.
Image: Shutterstock


















Lone Wolf
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 4:20 PMThat USB is going to be unusable in under five minutes.
Simon
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 4:24 PMThis is a weird article. It’s not funny enough to be a funny article and it’s advertising stuff like Kinect and Skyrim so it’s not exactly knowledgeable :\
I AM CONFUSED!
nicky6
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 4:38 PMSeems like filler. They must get paid by quantity not quality.
Simon
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 5:00 PMThe difference in quality journalism between Kotaku US and AU is staggering.
Steve0
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 4:35 PMI also don’t understand the “ruin games” subject line.
My girls play console games, they earn time to do so. If you have a “grabby” kid that “ruins games”, I say bad parenting. Make it a reward, not an expectation.
Mammoo
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 8:40 PMWell said Steveo, spot on.
lambomann007
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 5:27 PMTV B Gone: “Just press the button and the TV goes dark.”
Or, you know, you could just use the remote?
:P
weresmurf
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 5:30 PMStop using logic at Kotaku US! You’ll make them cry!
lambomann007
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 7:16 PMMy bad.
The Cracks
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 5:51 PMFar more useful for trolling than having to swipe the remote while nobody’s looking.
Stevorooni
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 7:57 PMI wonder what the range would be on TV B Gone.
Driving around the neighborhood mashing the button could be fantastic trolling.
yrrnn
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 8:58 PMSome folk from Gizmodo did that at CES 2008. They shut off a whole wall of TVs.
McGarnical
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 10:59 PMI’m confused that a US article has the Aus price for Skyrim on Steam.
Steven Bogos
Wednesday, December 7, 2011 at 12:53 AMUnlike the US articles themselves, all articles are proof-read and and localized when they come to the AU version of the site
Kid
Wednesday, December 7, 2011 at 8:15 AMWait, but is that the Aus price in USD?