games + gaming

I may not understand it all, but my eight year-old says the Minecraft game is awesomeness , and given how much he and his sisters play it on my iPad, I'll take his word for it. This is a evidently a huge deal among their elementary schoo…

If you're like me, if you're plunking down cash for an app, you really want it to be worth it. So an app with four games in one has my name all over it. And when all four games are educational for the kids, my heart swoons. Smash Party i…

If you've got an Angry Birds obsessed person in your household like I do (me!), then you will not believe this concept accessory that will completely blow your mind. Super Angry Birds is a USB controller in development hat matches the fe…

LEGO has gotten so sophisticated. Whether you're into female scientists or hunting swamp monsters , there's a set for that with all sorts of fascinating accessories. But here's a free online site that takes LEGO back to its roots: claimi…

Obsessed with Pinterest like we are? Here are our 5 favorite pins from this week that we think are worth sharing. Enjoy! 1. A brilliant travel gadget you Mac users should never leave home without. 2. A video gaming family's organizationa…

I am all about tools that transform math problems into games that keep you engaged and thinking. So I am digging this new math app, Go Sum, because it is just perfect for kids that may be a bit math-phobic, while still keeping it interes…

One of my favorite games as a kid was MouseTrap, with that crazy three-dimensional Rube Goldberg device. In fact, I'm psyched that my kids love playing it as much as I do. This fantastic new app [edited] being distributed by the award-wi…

You know where you should put the fastest, fanciest, lightest modern laptop ever invented? In an two-dimensional envelope that looks like it popped out of the original Donkey Kong. Just for the irony. Whether you're a fan of the perfect-…

After Liz turned me onto Tiny Wings , I too have become one of the many who have fallen in love with a whole different set of birds, none of which are angry. When I thought the game couldn't get any better, it did with its new 2.0 versio…

I am really into Words with Friends . "Into" is an understatement. And I know Liz is really into Scramble with Friends (though rumor has it no one will play her anymore; she's some kind of Scramble savant.) So when Zynga announced a new …

I got a huge giggle out of this print which shows just what ol' Mario would look like through an X-ray, after eating all those mushrooms of dubious origin, unmarked pills, and bizarre plants. The Dr. Mario print comes courtesy of illustr…

Believe it or not, summer brain drain is a real phenomenon. Bill Nye the Science Guy even said so recently on Kids Place Live (yes, the de facto radio station on in my car) and he mentioned that math and science are the first subjects to…

If you're loading up on apps to keep the kids entertained on car trips and rainy days, we've got a fun new one that's actually not new at all. In fact, I think it's a few centuries old. Besides, how could I not try the game that's huge i…

One of our favorite kids' app developers, Toca Boca , has come out with a new digital toy that we just couldn't wait to tell you about. Let's just say it puts your kids in the conductor's seat. Literally. In this fun and friendly train s…

Recently a smart reader recommended the Unblock Me app when I was looking for something new to play around with, and boy was she right. What I didn't realize however is the educational value for kids. Unblock Me is a series of outrageous…

We couldn't get May the Fourth go by without a few of our very favorite recent Star Wars picks . ("May the Fourth be with you?" Get it?) After all, we have a whole entire category just for them, and even a Star Wars Pinterest Board , con…

I know I'm not the only one who has wasted way too much time playing my hand at the uber popular Plants vs. Zombies app, so I shouldn't be surprised that they are now super cool wall decals, available on sale now at Fab.com. I can't thin…

I'm definitely an old school gamer who spent way too many hours during college with my butt on a couch and my hand firmly grasped around a controller developing sore thumbs. I love how far video games have come since then, as demonstrate…

Birds! In! Spaaaaaace! So will you like Angry Birds Space? I guess that's a "duh" sort of a question--consider the fact that Angry Birds developer Rovio is so gaming-savvy, they're now valued at more than Jet Blue. Clearly they know a li…

My kids may be too young to go to a PG-13 movie on their own, but that doesn't mean they aren't as obsessed with The Hunger Games as the rest of the world these days. And while they're already reenacting their favorite scenes from the bo…

I have no qualms about professing my love for the Instagram app , which is probably one of my favorite ways to capture images of my kids on the go. So when I heard about a new app that lets you play memory with your Instagram images, I h…

While Tim Burton has yet to get into app development, I'm pretty sure if he did it would be this one. Light Emitting Daves, Timorous Fizzles, mustachioed Brackle McSturdys, and Eggbutt Snaffles sound like things sprung from a beautifully…

How fondly I remember those giddy days (and nights!) of playing Super Mario Bros. in brilliant 8-bit color. It was a simpler time. A time when I loved nothing better than stomping turtles. And I still remember the panicky excitement of c…

This month, one super-lucky Cool Mom Tech subscriber will win a limited edition "Once Upon a Monster" XBox Kinect bundle--over a $325 value! Of course you'll also get weekly tech tips, a great monthly newsletter, and special discounts th…