TOP 22 BLOG POSTS OF 2022

Before 2022 fades into 2023, we're taking a look back at the most popular posts on ageekdaddy.com based upon our blog stats during this year. Entertainment, lifestyle and travels were favorite topics that this Geek Daddy will look to continue delving into for 2023. Drum roll please! The top 22 blog posts of 2022:

22) TAD THE LOST EXPLORER & THE EMERALD TABLET

This comedic spoof of the Indiana Jones / Alan Quartermain style adventure movies of the 1980s, is a popular franchise in Spain but the family-friendly animated films are not widely known in the United States. We shared a movie night experience watching the digital release of the newest film in the TAD THE LOST EXPLORER franchise. Following publishing this post, I received a lot of tweets on our @Geekdad248 Twitter account thanking me for introducing this movie to our audience. Many had never heard of this franchise before and were thrilled to discover it. Are you following us on Twitter? A lot of people are geeked when they see through their Twitter feed we've added a new post to the blog.

21) UNCHARTED FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT

My family had to solve a treasure hunt to unlock the digital code for an UNCHARTED movie night. Another treasure hunter movie post that was popular on the blog in 2022. There are a lot of people who grew up dreaming of being adventurous explorers after watching the 1980s flicks Raiders of the Lost Ark and King Solomon's Mines. UNCHARTED also generated a lot of interest from it being a movie adaption of a popular video game series. And then there were some like my daughter who wanted to see Tom Holland and my wife wanting to see Mark Wahlberg star in the film. There was a lot of interest in this film; do you think it lived up to expectations?

20) TRICK OR TREAT SCOOBY DOO

Posts about family movie nights and home video releases of motion pictures are always hot topics when it comes to a Geek Daddy's blog posts. Scooby Dooby Doo! There are a lot of people who love Scooby Doo and were geeked about this announcement that a new animated movie featuring the scaredy cat dog and his mystery solving teenager friends was being released for Halloween.

19) METAL & MONSTERS

Our announcement that Gibson Guitars YouTube channel was producing a series focused on heavy metal music and horror movies struck a lot of cords. This free to view video series highlights artists that have made a lot of people scream. The first episode featured actor Robert Englund, who played Freddy Krueger, and the band Dokken that performed songs for the Nightmare on Elm Street movies. I've really enjoyed the METAL & MONSTERS shows on Gibson TV!

18) NEW WAVE TOYS 1943 REPLICADE

The popularity of this post shows there is a lot of nostalgia for classic arcade-style video games. I bought a playable sixth scale reproduction of one of my favorite games to play at the arcade by my house as a middle school tween. Here is my review of New Wave Toys 1943 Replicade. 

17) STAR WARS SMUGGLERS RUN

What sci-fi geek hasn't dreamed of flying the Millenium Falcon on a space adventure? We made that dream come true for this Geek Daddy with a visit to Walt Disney World to ride the Star Wars Smugglers Run attraction and share the experience in this post. Hit it Chewie! 

16) MY DAY AS A FIREFIGHTER 

In the last year I've transitioned from maintaining my own law practice to becoming a city attorney. One of the most interesting things I did on the job this year was had an opportunity to spend a day training with the fire department to get a better understanding of their operations. 

15) ADVENTURES ON THE GORGE

I've always wanted to go whitewater rafting and finally checked that off my travel bucket list by going on a Father's Day road trip with my son to West Virginia's New River Gorge. It was a wet, wild adventure on the gorge! 

14) LESSONS LEARNED BY A BEGINNER MINIATURE PAINTER

2022 was a year when I jumped into the tabletop gaming hobby and with that came learning how to start painting the game pieces to enhance the playing experiences. I shared some tips learned from trial and error from someone who lacks good hand-eye coordination and artistic abilities yet still finds painting miniatures a fun and relaxing activity.

13) DOCTOR STRANGE ADVANCE SCREENING

Marvel Studios invited me to attend an advance screening of DOCTOR STRANGE AND THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS and bring some ageekdaddy.com fans along with me. Free movie tickets have a way of increasing traffic to a blog!

12) MARVEL UNITED MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS

Marvel United a tabletop game, which is a co-production of CMON and Spinmaster Games, is a family favorite for game nights in our household. In anticipation of the theatrical release of DOCTOR STRANGE AND THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS we played a game of Marvel United themed around what we thought at the time the movie might be about. We were wrong about the movie plot; but it was still a fantastic game night! We also played a Marvel United game themed around the Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk Disney+ shows that was a popular post but just narrowly missed out on making the Top 22 list.

11) ALBUS DUMBLEDORE PROP REPLICA WAND

We must have a lot of Harry Potter fans reading the blog because this review of the Noble Collection's prop replica of the wand utilized by Jude Law in filming Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore generated lots of attention. While the movie may have been a flop plenty of people were interested in getting their hands on Albus Dumbledore's wand.

10) MAGICAL MOTHERS DAY GIFT IDEAS

Appreciate so many people were interested in my advice on gifts that special women in their lives would be geeked to get for Mothers Day. This collection of replica jewelry featured in Harry Potter movies featured some magical pieces that would be sure to delight fans of the books and films.

9) WHAT IS ROLE OF KIT HARINGTON IN ETERNALS

A discussion about Kit Harington's role in Eternals and future Marvel Cinematic Universe movies generated a lot of buzz. Always enjoy chatting about comic books and superhero themed movies on the blog, Instagram and Twitter. 

8) JURASSIC WORLD FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT

What is better than a movie studio hosting a movie night for my family to enjoy by providing us a free copy of a new home video release to watch? When they give us free movies to give away to our ageekdaddy.com audience as well. We had a lot of interest in the free digital movie codes this Geek Daddy had to give out!

7) BABY YODA GOLDFISH SNACKS

My kids love Pepperidge Farms Goldfish Snacks and the Disney+ Mandalorian television show. So, they were geeked when we discovered Star Wars: Mandalorian Goldfish Snacks! The Force was with this blog post!

6) DR SQUATCH STAR WARS SOAPS

DR SQUATCH produces soaps made with natural ingredients and excludes harsh chemicals and artificial ingredients in making its products. To help market their products they often partner with popular entertainment brands to create cool custom soaps. My review of their Star Wars themed soaps must have created a disturbance in the Force because it was in the Top 10 of most viewed ageekdaddy.com posts in 2022.

5) THE CHILD HOT TOYS LIFE SIZED FIGURE

Baby Yoda was HOT when it comes to our ageekdaddy.com audience! Grogu cracked the Top 10 of most popular blog posts in 2022 three times! Hot Toys is known for creating awesome replica creations of Star Wars characters and this review of their life-sized figure of this hit character from the Mandalorian tv show was a standout post.

4) JADA TOYS BATMOBILE

I was so geeked to review this diecast replica of the Batmobile from THE BATMAN movie! Jada Toys did an outstanding job producing this 1:18 scale replica of the car from the film. It was like there was a Bat Signal directing Caped Crusader fans to the blog to read this post.

3) MUPPETS MAYHEM

There must be a lot of pent-up demand for more Muppets shows because my announcement that Dr Teeth and the Electric Mayhem Band were getting their own Disney+ show was one of the blog's most viewed posts of the year. Rock on Electric Mayhem!

2) LOADED BOARDS 2022 SKATEBOARD LINEUP

I have to admit this was a surprise when viewing the annual stats; but our overview of the new skateboards released by LOADED BOARDS in 2022 had double the unique visitors and reader views of almost any other blog post we published this year. Wow! I really wasn't expecting that. 

Wish they had provided some product for my kids to show off for them and they would have really rocked it this year! They earned their free media on this post though because there obviously was an interest in their products! Yes, we do writeups on products that I buy with my own money or we are just sent press releases on; not everything is provided free to us or has a sponsorship fee connected to it that is published on ageekdaddy.com. This blog is all about sharing experiences and interesting news with our readers that I am geeked about and believe you will be too. 

1) DODOS RIDING DINOS

Our top blog post of 2022 is my review of DODOS RIDING DINOS. A game that I spent my own money on to buy through a Kickstarter campaign. This is a family favorite for playing on game nights! Who doesn't love board games and dinosaurs?! This is a product we promoted just from the pure joy I had from playing it with my kids and the honest review obviously captured attention. Congrats Draco Studios and Detestable Games for having our most viewed blog post of 2022!

I just bought an expansion pack that should be arriving in 2023. Do you think they may be able to repeat this feat again next year? Good luck!

THANK YOU!

Thank you to everyone who has visited ageekdaddy.com this year. I appreciate you and hope you enjoy the content we share. We'll be back in 2023 with more content focused on entertainment news, family experiences, travel features, men's lifestyle and more. Happy New Year!

GOLDFISH STAR WARS MANDALORIAN CRACKERS

We've found the perfect snack to enjoy while watching new episodes of Star Wars' The Book of Boba Fett streaming on Disney Plus → GOLDFISH from Pepperidge Farm. My kids have been snacking on these crackers since they were toddlers. So, we were geeked to discover Goldfish packaging with a Mandalorian theme featuring "Baby Yoda"! With the character's re-emergence in recent episodes of The Book of Boba Fett had to pick up some of these Star Wars themed Goldfish packages when we spotted them at the grocery store.

It is not just the packaging though with a Star Wars tie-in. In addition to the traditional goldfish shapes, these Pepperidge Farm crackers also come in the form of Baby Yoda (aka Grogu), stormtroopers, and Din Djarin (aka The Madalorian). Sweet! Now just need to pour some blue milk to go along with these crackers.

Stormtrooper Goldfish

Baby Yoda in Pram

The Mandalorian Goldfish

THE CHILD LIFE SIZE HOT TOYS COLLECTIBLE FIGURE

You may know him as "The Child," or "Grogu," or "Baby Yoda" but whatever you call this adorable creature it is obvious that this character from the Disney Plus show Star Wars: The Mandalorian has become a pop cult sensation no matter the name. Who wouldn't want to bring this child home?! Now you can with a life size figure crafted by Hot Toys. 

Inside the box you discover there is another package decorated to look like The Child's hover pram. Flip open the pram to discover the Hot Toys figure inside along with its accessories. All stored very carefully waiting for you to discover them. Also included is a nice base with a name plate on it that provides a nice way to stage your figure for displaying. The Mandalorian soundtrack is blasting in my head as I pull Grogu from the packaging! 

The hyper-realistic and articulated collectible figure is meticulously crafted based on the appearance of the Child in The Mandalorian. Standing at approximately 36cm tall, this life size replica of the television show prop features an amazing likeness. This Hot Toys reproduction of The Child includes 2 pairs of interchangeable ears, movable head and arms, an articulated jaw design, that silver knob from the Razor Crest the young alien loves to hold, a Mythosaur emblem necklace, and a variety of interchangeable hands to pose or hold the items. 

Each head sculpt is specifically hand-painted and features white fabric hair elements. His interchangeable ears provide for both a relaxed look and downward pointed nervous appearance. A moving jaw allows for highly detailed facial expressions plus its shiny eyes, wrinkles and skin texture provide additional life-like features.

The Child Life Size Collectible Figure from Hot Toys also comes with three pairs of interchangeable hands for relaxed, force using and accessory holding posing. The Razor Crest knob and one of the accessory hands are even magnetized to assist with displaying the figure in a variety of poses. The body frame is also articulated to allow the figure to have flexibility in how it is displayed.

I'm GEEKED to have been able to bring a life size scale Baby Yoda home! I bought mine from Sideshow Collectibles and it absolutely has earned a Geek Daddy nod of approval. The quality of the figure is so incredible that it makes you feel like you've become immersed within the story of The Mandalorian. This Star Wars fan is going to be having a lot of fun playing with this life size replica of Grogu created by Hot Toys.

AUGMENTED REALITY BABY YODA

As I was getting ready to call it a night on Christmas Eve, a commotion by our home's fireplace caught my attention. Could it be Santa coming down the chimney?! Nope ... it was Baby Yoda!

With the kids in bed for the night, Baby Yoda from The Mandalorian television show on Disney+ stopped by to be Santa's helper for the night in putting holiday gifts under our Christmas tree. Baby Yoda visited our house courtesy of augmented reality through the Google app. Download this free app for Apple and Android devices to have Baby Yoda stop by your place too!

Open this search engine app and look up "Baby Yoda", "Grogu", "The Child," or "The Mandalorian." Then select the "View in 3D" option that appears to see this pop culture sensation on your screen standing in your surroundings via your smart phone's camera. You can then take selfies with Grogu, videos of the lil creature exploring the landscape around you, or stage pictures of Baby Yoda doing fun things like checking out the presents under your Christmas tree. 

I was geeked to play around with Baby Yoda via the Google app. While the interactions are limited to The Child moving its head around and vocalizing some of the sounds Grogu expresses on The Mandalorian it was still fun to see a life-like version of the character that we could take pictures and video with around our house. 

OWN YOUR OWN MOGWAI

Baby Yoda from Disney+'s Star Wars television show THE MANDALORIAN has been a huge hit with my eleven year old twins. Their fascination with this little green alien has brought back my own memories of when I was eleven years old and everyone was in love with another lil cute critter from Hollywood. It was 1985 and Steven Spielberg had introduced the world to Gizmo the Mogwai in the summer blockbuster GREMLINS. Everybody wanted to bring home their very own Mogwai just like Gizmo in the movie.

Now you can! Sideshow Collectibles has an officially licensed prop replica of Gizmo that will finally let you own your very own Mogwai. If you've ever dreamed of bringing Gizmo from GREMLINS home here is your chance! Plus if you purchase one of these incredible movie accurate reproductions of Gizmo or a copy of the GREMLINS movie from one of the affiliate links in this post ageekdaddy.com receives a small commission at no extra expense to you which helps this dad blogger have some extra spending cash that can be used to purchase things to review thereby generating new content to share with you via this website. It is a win-win for everyone!



Produced by Trick or Treat Studios, designed by Russ Lukich and available to purchase from Sideshow Collectibles, this puppet was created using an original Gizmo form as reference. Every movie accurate detail of Gizmo is present in this incredible Mogwai reproduction. From his real life scale dimensions to his hair, this is as close as you'll ever come to having an actual Gizmo prop from GREMLINS.

Feeling nostalgic for the 1980s? Best Buy has a Classic '80s Rewind Triple Feature with Goonies, Gremlins and Gremlins 2 on DVD or Blu-ray. Also for the first time, GREMLINS is now available on 4K Ultra HD. Time for a spooky fun family movie night!