The iOS and web game Rooms is a delightful nod to the personalized spaces of the early internet, like GeoCities or Myspace. At first glance, the game shares similarities with Minecraft—both feature a blocky aesthetic and the goal of creating your own personal retreat. But to call Rooms a simplified Minecraft for older audiences doesn’t quite capture its charm. It’s more akin to the creative, hands-on building experiences of Lego, The Sims, or Animal Crossing, offering a cozy, creativity-driven experience that’s limited only by how much time you’re willing to spend arranging virtual objects.
Currently free (with no “concrete monetization plans,” according to creator Jason Toff), Rooms is as straightforward as it sounds: you start with an empty space and fill it with furniture and decor. Your room is displayed like a diorama—two walls and a floor open to the viewer. You can customize everything from the wallpaper to the flooring, and fill the space with a variety of objects from a built-in library. Want to keep it simple? You can arrange pre-designed items however you like, or make your creation public to share with others.
But Rooms isn’t just about decorating. For those who want to dive deeper, the possibilities are nearly endless. Some players discard walls altogether or create interactive mini-games, like a maze where you guide a ball by tilting the virtual board. With a bit of coding know-how, you can even add actions to objects, like tapping on a patient in a dentist’s room to be transported inside their mouth to extract a tooth.
Even without getting into complex features, Rooms is accessible and fun. On day one, I quickly put together a small coffee shop; by day two, I had a cozy reading nook to go with it.
A big part of the game’s appeal is exploring what others have created. The iOS app offers a TikTok-style feed where you can scroll through other users’ rooms, and a recent 2.0 update introduced a honeycomb view, letting you browse multiple rooms at once and jump into whichever catches your eye.
This social aspect gives Rooms an early internet vibe, reminiscent of platforms like GeoCities or Myspace. The central question is the same: if you could design your own little digital space, what would it look like?
As it turns out, the answers are often similar. Many players use their rooms to express fandoms or tell stories, but in one way or another, they’re all personal. These spaces reveal what people love or where they’d like to escape to. It’s surprisingly intimate and undeniably charming.
For someone like me, Rooms is also dangerously addictive. I played Animal Crossing long after my friends abandoned their islands, endlessly redesigning my house. Crafting a Barnes & Noble-themed top floor, complete with a café, was oddly therapeutic. Maybe I’m just searching for a quiet retreat from the chaos of modern life—and for that, Rooms is the perfect escape.
