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The Adventures of Rubberkid: A short anti-bullying game for kids

The Adventures of Rubberkid is a short, sweet, and brightly-colored arcade game that has bullying prevention as its central theme. It is a free webgame that is aimed at kids and the playthrough can be done in one sitting. There are also printables, accessories, t-shirts, and office supplies that are associated with this game and its world, called Critterverse. Other games in Critterverse also take on arcade style web games and word games, where the takeaway message is positivity and learning.

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One-man team Charlie Jackson describes Adventures of Rubberkid as follows:

Gamers around the world have rescued princesses, saved the world and stopped horrible villains countless times, but how many times have they done something as simple as protect someone who is being bullied? Each level pits Rubberkid – the player – against bullies in an effort to protect the innocent child (or children) from the harsh insults hurled at them. Levels include a child hiding in a fort made of desks, a sports field with a team player or cheerleaders being bullied from the stands and boy riding the bus to school.

The Adventures of Rubberkid plays like a classic paddle ball arcade game, and is simple enough even for elementary children to play. The game also features short narratives of the children that you help in the classroom through text boxes, exploring their unique personalities and struggles with bullying. This may broaden the young gamers’ perspective that a whole range of stories can be told through the video game medium.

Visit RubberKid’s Kickstarter Campaign Page