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Gaming from a parenting perspective.

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A linocut diptych under a single frost-star. On the left, a craftsman's workbench: a fantasy map pinned to the wall, a sword driven into an anvil, a sealed unmarked game box, a strategy board, chisels and a treasure chest — a finished, complete game at rest. On the right, the same world fed through a storefront machine: a slot machine, a coin conveyor tended by tiny workers, stacks of coins, and a large round meter-gauge with a single sweeping needle ticking toward a red danger zone — the recurring-revenue engine.

Jun 7, 2026

Blizzard Entertainment: the studio that perfected the game, then perfected the storefront

A linocut of a friendly cartoon game mascot whose shadow on the wall behind it is a tangle of hooks, fishing lines and a slot-machine lever; deep charcoal ink on warm cream with a single crimson hook picked out in the shadow.

Jun 7, 2026

Dark patterns in kids' games: a field guide for parents

A linocut of a grinning child at play holding a fearsome-looking blocky toy sword and toy blaster, while the large shadow cast on the wall behind is gentle and harmless — an ordinary child jumping with arms wide among a kite and stars. The menacing toy and the innocent shadow deliberately do not match. Deep charcoal ink on warm cream with the toy weapons picked out in a single crimson accent.

Jun 7, 2026

Does violent content actually predict harm? What the research really says

A linocut of a balance scale — a controller resting calmly in an open palm on one pan and a hand grasping eagerly for a controller on the other; deep charcoal ink on warm cream with a single crimson pivot needle.

Jun 7, 2026

Engagement vs. addiction: where the line actually is

A linocut diptych — on one side a child seated calmly inside a single smooth flowing river-line, on the other the same child wired with jagged radiating spark-lines and a slot-machine reel; deep charcoal ink on warm cream, the spark-lines picked out in a single crimson accent.

Jun 7, 2026

Flow, not just fun: why some games leave kids calmer and others wired

A linocut split scene — on the left a child building a sprawling open structure from loose blocks under an open sky, on the right the same child on a single narrow track between two fixed rails heading toward one doorway; deep charcoal ink on warm cream with a single crimson block in the child's hand.

Jun 7, 2026

Sandbox vs. on-rails: what open-ended games do that guided ones don't

A linocut of a child seated small at the centre of a vast funnel of blank scrolling ribbons, bell-shaped notification icons and looping arrows all spiralling inward toward the screen in their hands; deep charcoal ink on warm cream with a single crimson notification bell.

Jun 7, 2026

The attention economy comes for children

A linocut of an adult and a child sitting shoulder to shoulder on a couch, a single shared controller-cord looping between them and up into a constellation of stars and play-icons above; deep charcoal ink on warm cream with a single crimson thread linking their hands.

Jun 7, 2026

The case for co-play: the most-studied parenting move in gaming

Jun 7, 2026

What 'good for kids' actually means — the science behind the benefit score

A linocut theatre stage — a lone rider before mesas and a city skyline under a film-reel sun, propped up from below by a coin-fed slot machine and a giant blank payment card with a crowd pushing toward the slot.

Jun 6, 2026

Rockstar Games: the best storytellers in the medium, and the costliest lobby on the internet

A linocut cutaway of a clockwork machine — gears, hourglasses, timed chests on a conveyor and a coin slot below; a tiny walled village and battle arena on top — the works behind a mobile game made visible.

Jun 6, 2026

Inside Supercell: the studio that turned 'five more minutes' into a science

Linocut illustration of a magnifying glass examining colorful building blocks on a small map.

May 29, 2026

How we score Roblox experiences and Fortnite Creative maps