Parents' Guide to

Rooms: The Main Building

By Harold Goldberg, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Sliding puzzles combined with a mystery for brainy fun.

Game Nintendo DS , Nintendo Wii 2010
Rooms: The Main Building Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

  • Rooms: The Main Building Game: Screenshot #1
  • Rooms: The Main Building Game: Screenshot #2
  • Rooms: The Main Building Game: Screenshot #3

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What’s It About?

Rooms: The Main Building riffs on the theme of those plastic slider puzzles that you probably played as a kid. You take on the role of the mysterious Mr. X, a cloaked character who moves dutifully through each room, ever trying to find the keys to his eventual freedom. You collect things in one room to use later in others. The other character involved is a kind of book that's almost a grimoire because it sometimes gives you cryptic hints on how move forward in the game. Because the game is light on narrative, you'll find yourself making up your own stories about Mr. X, the crazy, sometimes claustrophobic rooms, and that very strange tome.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

Rooms: The Main Building began as an award-winning Flash game in 2007. Now a DS and Wii game, the DS version shines for its portability. You don't have to stop playing if you're not near a computer. What's intriguing about the long series of rooms and their moody, dark designs is the inventiveness you need to progress from one to the other. Not only are you required to slide the pieces around to make your escape. You also collect mysterious treasures from creaky old chests you find in the rooms (which help you with the puzzles ahead). The rooms come in all shapes and sizes and sometimes extend to the subway or an antique shop. At one point, you have to wake a sleeping treasure chest by using an item you've found called the Stinky Wood Chip, an odd but hilarious name for an inventory item.

After you've finished the 100 levels, you can try again by ramping up the difficult and using a timed mode, or by restricting the number of panel movements. The replayability doesn't end there. With the level editor, you can make your own puzzles, too. It's a game full of hours of fun - in addition to the occasional frustration of being unable to solve a puzzle.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about which puzzles are the most difficult to solve?

  • What would you do if you were trapped in a mansion with many rooms?

  • What do you think of the talking book? Is it cool or creepy? Why?

  • Do you like the music? Or do you feel it's too repetitive?

Game Details

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