Every piece MPC ships, in one feed.
Everything that ships, in one stream. The game reviews, the Guides, the roundups, the playbooks, and the notes around them — all newest-first. If it’s on MPC, it lands here.
Every piece, newest first.
Is Instagram safe for kids?
Instagram changed substantially: under-18s now default into Teen Accounts (PG-13, private for under-16) they can't opt out of, and under-16s need permission to loosen them. The feed's pull stays a conversation.
Saying No to Roblox When Everyone Else Says Yes
The hard part of keeping a kid off Roblox was never the blocking. It's the conversation, because saying no to the game is also saying no to where a chunk of their friendships currently live.
The Roblox Stories Aren't One-Offs Anymore
It's easy to file each Roblox horror story under awful but rare. Read a stack of them together and the same pattern keeps showing up, which is a lot harder to wave off.
RoundupThe best video games to introduce your kid to gaming (ages 4-7)
The first game a kid plays often decides whether they think gaming is for them. Here are the ones that hold up across the four-to-seven stretch, sorted by where a kid actually is.
GuideIntroducing your kids to Minecraft (hint: you'll play too)
Most Minecraft advice for parents jumps to settings and editions. The thing that actually matters comes earlier: this is one of the few games where you should plan to be in there with them too.
PlaybookHow to actually set up Minecraft for a young kid
Most Minecraft setup advice for parents is a long checklist. The patterns underneath the checklist matter more: which edition, which mode, when to add monsters, when to add a Realm.
Why I made an email address for each of my kids when they were born
The idea is older than it sounds and the setup takes about ten minutes. The hard part is keeping the account alive long enough for it to matter, and not overthinking what to put in it.
RoundupThe games parents on Reddit actually play with their kids
A r/gaming thread asked parents which game they like playing with their kid. Almost three hundred answers later, the same handful of games keep coming up, often with the same warnings attached.
ReviewKirby and the Forgotten Land
Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the entry-level 3D platformer for kids who can't yet handle Mario Odyssey. Two-player mode lets a parent jump in as Bandana Waddle Dee for support.
ReviewFall Guys
Fall Guys reads like a low-stakes party game and that's mostly accurate, but it shares the Epic ecosystem with Fortnite. Account setup, cosmetic pressure, and event tie-ins surprise families.
ReviewOvercooked 2
Overcooked 2 is the co-op cooking game everyone recommends as the parent-and-kid pick. Realistically, it can frustrate younger kids and parents need to know which levels actually work for mixed ability.
ReviewAmong Us
Among Us looks innocent but chat is the entire game. A kid in public lobbies will be in chat with strangers, and Innersloth's under-13 parent-permission flow is the safety surface most families never set up.
ReviewRocket League
Rocket League is cars playing soccer. Often dismissed as 'fine' because there's no shooting. Now an Epic title with cabined accounts, voice chat tiers, and Quick Chat that some lobbies abuse.
ReviewSplatoon 3
Splatoon 3 is the rare kid-facing online shooter built without in-game voice chat. The chat surface is two preset phrases. Most parents dismiss it for the wrong reason.
ReviewSnipperclips
Snipperclips is the quietly perfect co-op puzzle game. Two players cut paper characters into shapes to solve problems together. No reading required. No fail state.
ReviewSackboy: A Big Adventure
A 3D platformer with up to four-player local co-op. The one to reach for when the whole family is in the room at the same time. Cute, no violence, very forgiving when you turn the assist on.
ReviewLil Gator Game
Lil Gator Game is the open-world game without open-world problems. No combat, no fail state, just a gator with cardboard armor doing quests for friends.
ReviewAstro's Playroom
The PS5 ships with Astro's Playroom already installed. We've used it as the on-ramp for our kids, including the three-year-old. Single-player, offline, no purchases, no chat.
ReviewBluey: The Videogame
Bluey: The Videogame is a calm, character-led mini-game collection for ages 4 to 7. No chat, no online play, no purchases. The kind of first-game pick that doesn't demand anything of a parent.
ReviewStardew Valley
Stardew Valley is the cozy farming sim parents love and underestimate the reading load on. For a fluent-reader kid who likes routine, it's a long, calm hit. For younger kids, it's a wall of menus.
ReviewMario Kart 8 Deluxe
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the default Switch family game. Everyone names it. Worth a recon anyway because parents ask about online lobbies, smart-steering options, and whether five-year-olds can keep up.
ReviewAstro Bot
The full standalone follow-up to Astro's Playroom. Same studio, same gentle posture, much more content. Still single-player, still no online stuff to manage, still safe for a three-year-old with help.
ReviewIt Takes Two
It Takes Two is the two-player parent-and-kid story everyone recommends, and the divorce framing is the conversation. Rated T. Wrenching moments parents should know about before the first scene plays.
ReviewPokemon Scarlet & Violet
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is the current Pokemon generation. The single-player core is the appeal. Tera Raids and Union Circle pull kids into casual online play with strangers, which parents rarely notice.
ReviewNintendo Switch Sports
Nintendo Switch Sports is the grandparent-visit default. Motion controls let preschoolers join in without learning a controller. Multi-generational family gaming.
ReviewClash Royale
Rated E10+, App Store 9+, but the economic shape of the game in 2026 feels closer to 12+. The question isn't whether the game is appropriate, but whether the kid is ready to play a game with this monetization model.
ReviewLEGO Games (Series)
The LEGO games series is the reliable family co-op catalog. Drop-in/drop-out couch co-op, forgiving checkpoints, and a generation of kids who learned 'collect everything' here.
ReviewSuper Mario Bros. Wonder
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is the current 2D Mario. The badge system and difficulty options scale to mixed-ability play; four-player local co-op chaos is the family default.
ReviewAnimal Crossing: New Horizons
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is often called the holy grail of safe multiplayer for younger kids. You only visit islands of people you have exchanged friend codes with. That's why it earns the reputation.
ReviewMinecraft
The closest a modern, online-enabled game gets to default-safe. The risk surface is almost entirely in multiplayer, which is the part most under a parent's control.
ReviewFortnite
Fortnite in 2026 is a launcher with a battle royale, a music game, a racing mode, and a Lego survival mode all behind one icon. The age question matters less than the account-setup question.
ReviewAstroneer
Astroneer is the Minecraft-but-calmer recommendation. Cooperative sandbox on procedurally generated planets. No combat, no enemies, just exploration and base-building.
Climbing Down From a Lot of Screen Time
Most screen-time advice is written for parents preventing a problem. This is for the rest of us. The families already in it, who need a real plan for walking it back without burning the house down.
Age-Gating That Actually Works (Not Just a Checkbox)
Typing in a fake birthday isn't age verification — it's just a question. Here’s what real, working age-gating would need to look like, and what parents can do right now.