And geek week continues, with the Geek Hierarchy Chart.  Ever wonder who’s geekier than Trekkies at a convention? With this chart, you’ll know, and be able to pinpoint just how geeky you are. If you wanna know, I’m sort of in the 3rd tier, with my love of video games, sci fi fiction and lots of sci fi TV.

Rooms: The Main Building is actually a sequel to a free game released in 2006. In it, you are stuck in a mysterious town with lots of locked doors. Your only hope of escape is to play slider games, and win objects and keys. If you can find the 4 puzzle pieces hidden in the rooms, you can escape the town.

The sliding puzzles are clever. You have to get from where you are placed to the exit door in a set amount of time by sliding squares around a board. The only clue you have is in the background of the puzzle - if the background looks correct, you can get from one room to another. There are obstacles: you need to go up and down using ladders, and there are blocks on some of the pieces. But you also get a few nifty helpers, such as a teleporter and a wardrobe that switches squares.

As you solve the sliding puzzles (80 in all) you also collect items that will help you solve the other part of the game. This is the adventure mode. The street you are on has locked rooms. Once you get the keys to the rooms, you must solve a small adventure-like puzzle (use inventory object A on B, etc.) to find the puzzle piece you need to escape. Both parts of the game are a good mix - challenging and fun, but not too frustrating. The sliding puzzles go from very easy to harder as the game progresses.

One nice feature is there is an option to make your own level or to add a level from someone else.  If enough people play, this could lead to a fun extension of the game, and a chance to be creative with a level.

The production values are good on this game. The audio is very good, with a haunting soundtrack. The video is very nice, although a little dark. The game is made by a Korean company, HandMade Games, and that adds the only flaw to the game: the English translation is a little off, so there are some phrases that took me out o the game. Other than that, however, the overall look and feel of the game is great.

Overall, I liked this game, both because it is different from other games and for the nice way it is set up.  Download a free hour trial of Rooms: The Main Building or buy it for only $19.95.

The original game (called Rooms) is freeware. It is short, and the production values aren’t as good, but it is a good way to extend your sliding game fix. if you want to download it, click here.  Be prepared for a sort-of slow download.

Are you ever in the mood for low-budget murder mysteries? The Stickman Murder Mystery site may be just the place for you. Sure it’s violent, but the victims are only stick figures.

You play a homicide detective who solves crimes for the town of Stickville. You interview suspects, collect evidence, examine the body, and profile criminals. Then, when you think you’ve solved the mystery, you submit the evidence to your boss, the Chief. If he believes you, you’re a star! If not, oh boy, do you get humiliated.

It’s a combination of campy detective stories, juvenile humor, and clever stories. All done with bright colors, and stick figures. Now, the graphics aren’t the best, and neither are the sound effects. It’s almost like a trip back to those text adventure stories, with some interactive features thrown in. i happen to love nostalgic games, so I was in detective heaven.

Another caveat: sometimes you have to answer a question to get through a certain point. For example, in order to use the MRI machine on a body, you must answer a question about gambling, pharmaceuticals, or something else. I think that orginally (or maybe even now) this game was used as a way to get people to click on links and sell stuff. I just treat these questions as a way to hone my research skills and be a better detective.

With titles like Stabbing in Stickville,  Drowning in Stickville, Cadaver at Stickville Dump, Arson in Stickville, and Manslaugher in Stickville, you’re in for hours of detective fun. And best of all, it’s free!  Click here to go to begin your detective adventure.

Yes, I hate to admit it, but this video is getting funnier every day. I like to joke that I have a “swiss cheese brain”. You know, lots of holes. This song sums up that feeling perfectly… Watch it here.

Well, it’s almost Halloween. And what could be scarier than a fat cat with a craving for donuts?  Add in a spooky house, and you’ve got a cute animated adventure that’s fun for the whole family. Both Garfield’s Scary Scavenger 1 and Garfield’s Scary Scavenger 2 games are set up with the same sort of gameplay.

You have to search a spooky mansion for clues and donut boxes. Get all the donuts and solve all the puzzles and you’re free. But watch out. Garfield is sort of a scaredy cat. There are lots of scary ghosts and ghouls who jump and scream. If Garfield’s “scary meter” gets too full, he runs away in fear, and you start the game over again.

In Scary Scavenger 1, you have to figure out a way into then out of a haunted mansion. In Scary Scavenger 2, you start out in the dark basement of the mansion, and have to get out. With great music, cool animation, scary sounds, and some familiar faces, this is one game that’s funny and scary at the same time.

Go ahead and play, if you dare. I know I wasted some Halloween time on this fun game.  I even made my kid play with me - and we had fun! Truly frightening.

Want to solve a puzzle without any clues? With this Crossword game, you’re given letters, and you have to add them to the crossword correctly so that all the words match up. Sounds easy, right? Well it is, in the beginner level. The game gives you lots of “starter” letters that help you solve the puzzles quickly.

However, if you go up to expert level, the number of starter levels decreases dramatically. It’s a fun puzzle that tests your word skill.

To play, click on the empty white square, then click on a letter to fill it. All the other squares with the same letter will automatically be filled. If you make a mistake, click on the box with the letter you want to remove, then click on the space bar image.

Click here to start playing this challenging flash game.

Oh my god! icanhascheezburger.com has the funniest cat pics and captions around. Of course, I’m an English nerd, so the captions make my teeth clench, but the pictures are so funny that it’s worth it! I spent a lot of time going through the 90+ pages of pictures (what? yes, I do have a life, really….). The picture here is from page 4.

Catch the wacky cats (and an occasional mouse, ferret, bunny, and dog) here.

“I’ve Got Mail” - I love this song by The Richter Scales! It’s funny, and perfect for anyone who’s gotten junk email. They’re really good, and you can also enjoy ”I Hate A Cappella” and “Stockholm Syndrome.”  You can also buy their album, with even more songs.

Watch Nora the kitty play the piano. It’s a cute video, and if you imagine that she’s playing some stream of consciousness jazz, she’s pretty good.

Another great game from Gamedesign, Peg Solitaire is simple. Jump the pegs over one another so that the last peg is on the black circle. Easy, right? Well, at the beginning, yes, but after a few levels, you’ll be using the “reset” and “undo” buttons a lot.