New Dad Gaming

About New Dad Gaming

New Dad Gaming | The Podcast for Gaming Dads Since 2015 Just because you became a dad doesn't mean it's game over. New Dad Gaming is the longest-running podcast for dads who game. Hosted by Trevor Alexander and Jeff Smalley since 2015, NDG is where gaming meets fatherhood — real talk about finding game time, playing with your kids, navigating screen time, and keeping your favorite hobby alive through the chaos of raising a family. Every week we cover the games worth your limited time, co-op picks for playing with kids, hardware that fits a dad budget, and the hilarious reality of gaming while parenting. Whether you're sneaking in 30 minutes after bedtime or building a Minecraft world with your 8-year-old, this show is for you. 380+ episodes. Two dads. One rule: Game Over is not an option.

Publisher

Trevor Alexander & Jeff Smalley

Category

kids & family · leisure · news

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

1 Dec 2015

Latest episode

9 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

385 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   9 Oct 2026

   Ep 403 - NBA 2K25 is Stealing Your Game & Life Without Screen Time

   What happens when you actually pull the plug on your kids' gaming privileges? This week, Jeff shares the surprising results of a digital detox, and Trevor braces for a similar battle with his youngest. We dive into why modern "endless" games like Roblox and Fortnite make it harder for kids to disconnect compared to the narrative games we grew up with. Plus, we tackle the growing controversy around NBA 2K25. 2K Games is shutting down servers, which is permanently disabling the single-player MyCareer mode—meaning a chunk of the game you paid for is disappearing forever. We rant about the ruthless monetization of modern sports titles and why the industry needs to change. Finally, we debate the pros and cons of migrating the console out of the dark gaming dungeon and into the bright, social space of the family living room. In this episode: The unexpected social benefits of taking away the kids' digital playground. Why live-service games make setting boundaries harder. NBA 2K25 server shutdowns killing single-player progress. Gaming in the living room vs. the home office dungeon. Shoutout to the indie hockey game, Tape to Tape. Have you recalibrated your gaming setup or dealt with the sports game treadmill? Let us know at newdadgaming.com. Remember, just because you became a dad does not mean it's game over! Subscribe to the Podcast! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-dad-gaming/id1107330772 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/434cj9ksKBnX6aY2aBZ6Uw Others on Our Website: https://newdadgaming.com/

2. 

   2 Oct 2026

   Ep. 402: My Kid Lost the Computer, Roblox Is the New Hangout & the State of VR for Dads

   Good old-fashioned discipline, gaming dads. Two weeks into grade 8, Jeff checked Google Classroom against his 13-year-old's version of events and the two didn't match: homework not done, projects not done, a story and a half about where it all was. The kid had been "doing homework" on the laptop with a little Roblox sprinkled in, a side quest that was really the main quest, then asked the teacher for an extension because he'd been sick (a week earlier). So the computer is gone for gaming, the laptop lives in the family room for schoolwork only, no phone, and YouTube is on the chopping block too. Trevor's take from the other side of the house: taking the console away is a punishment against yourself. Those two quiet hours were when the deck boards got replaced and supper got cooked. You hold the line anyway, because it's by far the most effective punishment there is. His own precedent: when his oldest flubbed a test he had every ability to pass, all games went away for three weeks until the next test came back with the mark expected. "You got an extra day of games. It cost you three weeks." Now the reminder does the work on its own. Then the complication. Trevor's house is trying weekday gaming after years of weekends-only, with a deal laid out flat: a project due Friday or a test on Tuesday that goes badly and the newfound freedom disappears ("We lose it, Papa." "That's Sir Papa to you."). But five or six buddies are logged on after school (Fortnite in Trevor's house, Roblox and Minecraft in Jeff's), and that isn't pew-pew game time anymore. It's where the inside jokes happen, so taking them away isn't the same as taking away a game. The dads compare notes on screen time when all the friends are online, Jeff's 16-year-old aging out of the online hangout and into the mall ("we don't see him until suppertime"), his 13-year-old still deep in it, Trevor's hypothesis that the online hangout is a 10-to-12 thing and real life wins once they get some freedom, two kids who will be polar opposites, and the same lesson applied to buying loot: you saved for months and now your character has a red suit instead of blue. Finally, the state of VR for gaming dads. Trevor still loves his Quest 3 (Star Wars: Squadrons, movies on a 100-foot screen) but worries whether the medium survives. Jeff's kids are in VR with Roblox, he pops into Skyrim VR now and then, and he's wondering if dads missed the sweet window when headsets were $300. The price climb says yes: PSVR was $400, PSVR2 was $600 to $800, the new Steam Frame is $1,200 to $1,400 on top of a beefy PC, and the new Quest is a $1,200 media device you should probably skip for the Quest 4. VR studios are closing and the storefronts are full of Gorilla Tag clones. The bright spot is the mod community: Titanfall 2 as a full VR game with your hands on the mech controls, plus Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, Alien: Isolation, Valheim and Subnautica, all playable in VR on a Quest 3 (still the sweet spot at $500 or less) and a capable PC. Jeff is waiting for the PSVR2 to hit $400. Trevor's last call for anyone who wants the calm side of VR: Puzzling Places, 3D jigsaw puzzles in pass-through, hundreds of them, often on sale for about nine bucks. Finish three puzzles before you're allowed back into Roblox. Send strength and well wishes to Jeff's household. Subscribe to the Podcast! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-dad-gaming/id1107330772 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/434cj9ksKBnX6aY2aBZ6Uw Others on Our Website: https://newdadgaming.com/

3. 

   25 Sept 2026

   Ep. 401: Game Pass Down, PS Plus Up & Dad's 7-Game Backlog Challenge

   Trevor's youngest saved up half a PS5, dad covered the other half, and the household is now a PS5 household one year before the PS6. That kicked off a subscription rethink. The PS Plus games Trevor collected for years vanished the moment he stopped subscribing, Game Pass Ultimate's streaming never fit his dad flow, and he isn't using the day-one perks. So he's levelling his stats: Xbox spend down, PlayStation spend up, a year of PS Plus at 30% off, one kid on the Xbox and the other on the PlayStation. Jeff's caveat: claim the monthly games or lose them. And the escape hatch they both see coming: if all the kids touch is Fortnite, Rocket League and Fall Guys, maybe the answer is no subscriptions at all. Plus, used PS5 discs are the cheapest used market going right now (Bloodborne for 14 or 15 bucks), but with everyone waiting for GTA 6 and disc production winding down, Trevor thinks it's a tiny window. Jeff, on a digital console, hates hearing it. Then, one year after No New Games 2025: how much did the dads actually buy? Jeff can't name a new game; he's been in his backlog with Sekiro, a modded Stardew Valley, Minecraft with the kids and comfort games "like flavours of ice cream" (he even passed on Wolverine). Trevor picked up Space Marine 2, Assassin's Creed Black Flag on the Switch and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth on sale, and now sets himself a challenge: finish, or give an honest go to, seven games before April, before he buys the third Final Fantasy VII. Space Marine 2, GTA 5, Rebirth (Jeff: 93 hours), Black Flag, No Man's Sky (finally playable now that the grind has dials: "I'm in space, let me have fun in space"), Elden Ring and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. That last one is the game that nearly broke their no-new-games year, and neither of them can get into it: Jeff bounced off after a dozen hours, and Trevor hasn't installed it because it needs 45-minute chunks and "the courage to try it." A listener in the chat nails why an older story game loses its pull when an old TV series doesn't. Finally, a board game for kids who bounce off orcs, goblins and ancient-Egypt grain economies: Downforce, a car-racing game where every card moves other cars too, choke points let you block the lane, and betting means a losing car can still win. Trevor's boys had a blast. Jeff: "This is Mario Party. This is gonna totally enrage me." Sign-off: Google says New Dad Gaming is the oldest gaming dad podcast in the world; Jeff says it's also the one with the biggest backlog. **Subscribe to the Podcast!** Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-dad-gaming/id1107330772 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/434cj9ksKBnX6aY2aBZ6Uw Others on Our Website: https://newdadgaming.com/

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

9,755

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

20 ratings

Spotify

4.9 / 5

39 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 70 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

78

Social presence

0

YouTube

68

Engagement

85

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Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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