Parents' Guide to Tomb of the Mask

While this relatively simple arcade game is clever and puzzling, it's also overly greedy to the point of being annoying. In Tomb of the Mask, you play an explorer of dungeons who must grab as many of the dots and stars as you can, while avoiding such pitfalls as spiked walls and rising waters. What gives this a bit of a challenge is that your character can move in only one horizontal or vertical direction at a time, and do so until it isn't possible to go any further. Which makes this like if Pac-Man went on an Indiana Jones-style adventure, but he forgot how to stop and had to wait until he bumped into a wall before changing direction.

But while this is engaging and clever, it's also somewhat undermined by an oppressive amount of greed. Not only are there on-screen ads and occasional ads between levels, but you can also watch ads to keep going when you die or to have a shield to protect you. And sure, there are a couple of ad-free versions available, but one of them -- which also comes with in-game currency and other fun stuff -- costs $7.99 each week. Still, if you can look past this greedy behavior, or if you have money to burn, you'll find Tomb of the Mask to be a fun test of both your intellect and your fingers' response time.