Archive
Gaming: every article
43 articles, newest first.
23 September 202633 pieces
- GamingBuild something in Minecraft with your kids, not near themPick one build, hand out real jobs, and let the crooked tower stay crooked. How to run a co-op world that actually gets finished.
- GamingThe five-minute test that saves you from a dead consoleBring your own disc, bring a flashlight, and never buy a machine that's already boxed up and taped shut.
- GamingRefresh rate, resolution and what you'll actually seeWhat your eyes notice on a gaming monitor, ranked honestly, plus the specs manufacturers print because they're easy to print.
- GamingYour first map should be one room and a doorThe fastest way into level design isn't a game idea. It's a gray box, a light, and somebody else walking through it.
- GamingHow to game in the family room without taking it hostageScreen placement, sound, cables and the one rule that keeps your console from becoming everybody else's problem.
- GamingThe honest way to tell if gaming has become a problemHours aren't the test. What the hours cost is the test. A straight look at the tells, and the first week of getting out from under it.
- GamingWhat the letters on a game box actually meanThe letter is the least useful part of the rating. The two lines of small print underneath it are where the real information lives.
- GamingWhat a school esports scholarship is actually worthThe money is real. It's smaller, shorter and more conditional than anybody tells you at the recruiting table, and here's how to check before you commit.
- GamingRun your first tabletop game for your kids this SaturdayForty-five minutes, three index cards, and one monster that talks. What to prep, what to skip, and what goes sideways at minute twelve.
- GamingFlight and driving sim gear that earns the desk spaceBuy the brake pedal before the wheel, skip the 15 Nm base, and don't let a desk clamp crack your laminate. What actually works in a spare bedroom.
- GamingStrategy games that reward patience instead of fast handsTurn-based games hand you every piece of information and all the time you want. What they ask for is honesty about your own bad plans.
- GamingYour console is locked down and the voice chat is still openParty chat, game chat and a phone in the same room are three different doors. Most parents only ever close one of them.
- GamingThe console game night nobody tries to skipBuy the second controller before you buy another game, and six other decisions that separate a real family game night from twenty minutes of arguing about updates.
- GamingBuilding one Minecraft world with your kids, and finishing itTurn off mob griefing, pick a build with an ending, and give every kid a job with their name on it.
- GamingBuying a gaming monitor without paying for numbers you can't see27 inches, 1440p, 144Hz covers most people. The interesting part is the handful of cases where it doesn't.
- GamingCheck the serial number before you buy that used consoleTen minutes with the machine in front of you, and a few model numbers worth memorising, is the difference between a bargain and a brick.
- GamingThe family room gaming setup nobody in the house resentsHow to keep a console in the main room without hostage-taking the TV, waking the baby, or leaving a nest of cables under the sofa.
- GamingBuild one room before you build a worldMost mods die at 20 percent finished. The fix is embarrassingly small: one room, one idea, and somebody watching you play it.
- GamingSet up parental controls on every console in twenty minutesXbox, PlayStation, Switch and Steam each hide the important switch in a different place. This is where they're and what they miss.
- GamingThe voice chat settings worth changing on your kid's consoleTen minutes in three menus gets you most of the way. The rest is knowing where the wall has a door in it.
- GamingWhat game age ratings actually tell you, and what they missThe letter on the front of the box is the least useful part. The small icons on the back are where the real information lives.
- GamingFlight and driving sim gear that fits an actual deskWhat to buy when you have a desk and not a spare room, which upgrades you'll feel, and the mounting problems nobody warns you about.
- GamingWhat to play when your reflexes are gone and your evenings are shortTurn-based games you can pause mid-move, five that teach you something, and the honest problem with Civilization's late game.
- GamingRunning a role-playing game for your own kidsForty minutes, one problem, no character sheets on the first night. What actually works at the kitchen table, and what quietly kills it.
- GamingWhat to buy when you only get forty minutes a nightResume time matters more than frame rate. A practical look at handhelds, consoles and the games that actually fit a short evening.
- GamingWhat esports scholarships actually pay, and what they costThe roster spot is real. The money is usually partial. And the most useful part of a school program is the part nobody gets recruited for.
- GamingFamily game night on the console, without the argumentsFour controllers, rounds under twenty minutes, and a handful of games that work whether the youngest is six or the oldest is seventy.
- GamingThe retro consoles worth keeping and the ones to sellFlip the Wii over before you list it. Model numbers, dying save batteries, and the honest way to price what's sitting in your closet.
- GamingHow loot boxes work on kids and how to shut them downRandomized rewards, points currencies and limited-time shops are built to beat a ten-year-old's self-control. The fixes take about twenty minutes.
- GamingSet the time you stop, not the hours you playHour budgets fall apart the moment a queue pops. A fixed stop time doesn't care what's happening on screen.
- GamingHow to learn chess properly at fortyPlay 15+10, not bullet. Do fewer puzzles, slower. And stop memorising openings you'll never reach.
- GamingThe board games that survive contact with a real familyStart with one short game, one fixed night, and a basket for the phones. Most of the work is logistics, not game selection.
- GamingThe co-op games worth buying a second controller forWhich games let a six-year-old actually contribute, which ones end in shouting, and how to tell the difference before you spend the money.
22 September 202610 pieces
- GamingHow to tell a great game from a second jobA simple test for whether a game respects your time, plus how to quit the ones that don't without losing the hobby you love.
- GamingStop supervising the game and pick up the second controllerSitting in the same room while your kid plays isn't the same as playing with them. The difference is one controller and about forty minutes.
- GamingThe gaming setup that won't wreck your back by thirtyMost back pain at a desk comes from three measurements nobody checks. Fix those, then worry about the chair.
- GamingYour first PC build, and where the money should goMost first builds fail on allocation, not assembly. Decide your resolution and refresh rate first, then let that spend the money for you.
- GamingCount sessions, not minutes, and gaming stops being a fightClock limits fail because games aren't built in minutes. Budget the way the game is actually structured and most of the arguing disappears.
- GamingBe player two instead of the refereeThe fastest way to have real influence over what your kids play is to pick up the second controller and stay in the room.
- GamingHow to set up a desk and chair that won't wreck your backMost gaming setups are built in the wrong order, and your lower back pays the bill about six years later.
- GamingThe games worth your evenings, and the ones that waste themA simple test for whether a game deserves the two hours you've got after the kids are down, and the categories that almost never pass it.
- GamingSpend your first PC build money in the right orderThe monitor decides the graphics card, the graphics card decides most of the budget, and half of what's left matters less than the forums claim.
- GamingGaming limits that survive contact with a real householdCount sessions, not minutes, and most of the fighting over screen time stops before it starts.