by Beau Blake

Created on: January 14, 2008

Rooms by Handmade Games, has a lot more going for it than meets the eye. This game takes the simple concept of the sliding squares puzzle and turns it into a stimulating and challenging brain teaser. If you enjoy games like Sudoku or Freecell, Rooms is for you.

The object of the game is to get your player out of the mansion by moving the squares or rooms around, sounds simple right? NOT, there are obstacles along the way to make getting out of each level harder and harder as the game progresses.

Take the first level for example; all you have to do is walk to the next square and out of that level. By the time you reach the 7th level you will be totally hooked. Rooms is a thinker's game, because you have to use logic and your problem solving skills in order to beat each screen. There are no weapons or enemies to defeat, there is no violence or blood; just good clean brain exercise.

As the level of play advances new challenges are added. When these challenges or obstacles arise you must fine the correct object to get you past the obstacle. When a room has a fire in it; you must turn on the fire hydrant in order to fill the room with water. You have to get out of the way before the water fills the room or you will drown and have to start the level over.

There are keys you have to pick up in order to get through locked doors and explosives you must set when there is a barricade, again you must get out of the way or will be killed by the explosion and have to start the level over. My favorite part is the rotating rooms; you have to pick up the room rotators and then rotate the room in the right directions in order to complete the level. If you rotate it in the wrong direction you will have to start the level over as you can only collect just as many rotates as are needed to finish the level.

Each level has a newspaper that you can collect and then read if you need to know what a new object does. If you click on your player it will display the object that you have collected for the level you are on, and it will allow you to activate the objects as they are needed.

The graphics and music are a little low budget, but the game itself more than makes up for what the music and backgrounds lack. If you are looking for a game that will challenge your mind instead of numbing it, Rooms is the game for you. It gets 4 out of 5 from me.

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