Game Title: "Dream Day First Home"
Platform: PC
Studio: Oberon Games
Rated: E-for Everyone
Rating: 6/10

THE REVIEW

GAMEPLAY: I've always been interested in fixing up my home and architecture, thus my intrigue in "Dream Day First Home." My 7-year-old daughter thought it sounded like a fun game so she sat down with me to play, although I anticipated it might be too difficult for her. I will admit my exercise in reviewing games proves two things: I'm too lazy to read the product description. And my daughter has a better sense of what to expect from a game than I did.

Because I was too lazy to read the description of the game my hopes were dashed that this might be some sort of CAD home-building game. Instead, "Dream Day First Home" is a puzzle game that fits my daughter's interests better than my own. Score one for my daughter.

At the beginning, you choose one of two homes. Once you choose a home, it's your job to start working on rooms. Working on rooms is merely a timed task with a list of items you must find. I will admit this sounds a lot less exciting than it is. If I was playing alone it would be tedious and boring, but with my daughter there it was fun to watch her get excited about finding items as if the game were "Where's Waldo" but with garden gnomes and tea sets.

Some things are easier to find and I'll admit that it's a good thing you can earn hints, otherwise finding all of the items, like the room where you have to find a ton of keys, would be impossible.

I'm not sure how the bathroom, yard, kitchen, etc. ended up filled with so much junk. And it doesn't really seem to make sense what this has to do with making a dream home. It seems like the game should be called UHaul presents "Find Stuff."

There are mini-games, like when you go into the attic and must match cards or other interesting puzzles. Some were too hard for my daughter so it was important that I lend a hand.

GRAPHICS: There isn't a lot to talk about in terms of graphics. If you imagine a puzzle in a magazine with lots of cartoony items scattered around and you must find them then you know what this looks like. Some items don't always seem to be what you'd expect. One interesting item was a "baguette." I had no idea what it was, but if it just said loaf of bread we'd have been better off.

AUDIO: Cute little music is all it has to offer, but the symphonic sounds are lovely.

THE WRAP-UP

PARENT'S TAKE: "Dream Day First Home" was a lot of fun for my 7-year-old daughter. It's not too difficult. I'm not sure it's educational; however it did make her think and stay focused.

FINAL WORD: This is a family game that provides hours of fun and bridges the gap between action games that are too hard for a young girl. It's also the kind of game that my daughter wanted to play with me rather than alone like with most games which invite isolation.