Gifts For Fathers With Kids Who Ruin Games

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

Discuss

(15 Comments)
  • [–]

    Lone Wolf

    Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 4:20 PM

    That USB is going to be unusable in under five minutes.

  • [–]

    Simon

    Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 4:24 PM

    This 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 PM

      Seems like filler. They must get paid by quantity not quality.

      • [–]

        Simon

        Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 5:00 PM

        The difference in quality journalism between Kotaku US and AU is staggering.

  • [–]

    Steve0

    Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 4:35 PM

    I 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 PM

      Well said Steveo, spot on.

  • [–]

    lambomann007

    Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 5:27 PM

    TV 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 PM

      Stop using logic at Kotaku US! You’ll make them cry!

      • [–]

        lambomann007

        Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 7:16 PM

        My bad.

    • [–]

      The Cracks

      Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 5:51 PM

      Far more useful for trolling than having to swipe the remote while nobody’s looking.

  • [–]

    Stevorooni

    Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 7:57 PM

    I 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 PM

      Some folk from Gizmodo did that at CES 2008. They shut off a whole wall of TVs.

  • [–]

    McGarnical

    Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 10:59 PM

    I’m confused that a US article has the Aus price for Skyrim on Steam.

    • [–]

      Steven Bogos

      Wednesday, December 7, 2011 at 12:53 AM

      Unlike 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 AM

      Wait, but is that the Aus price in USD?

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