As many games as there are in the Imagine series, I'm quite shocked I've never played one before. As it turns out, Imagine: Resort Owner is the first of the series that I've played and I must say it's pretty good.

On first glance, Imagine: Resort Owner is a pretty game. The graphics are relatively simple, as is normal for a DS, but everything is well detailed and pleasing to look at. Since it is important to be able to find guests when you have to return items to them, I was really happy that they all look unique enough that you can usually tell who is who without having to click on them first.

You might want to keep the sound on, if only because it will help you set the tables faster. Yes, the pieces turn green when they're where you need to put them, but sometimes you move the stylus before you let go and it's in the wrong place. You get a beep when it's in the correct place though, so the sound definitely helps there. Other than the little things like that, the sound really isn't necessary, but it's nice to have on.

In Imagine: Resort Owner, you are playing as Emma and you've just been hired by Richard Milton to run his new hotel, the Milton Paradise, on the island of Kuala. Sounds like a dream come true to me! But running a hotel isn't as easy as you might think. Luckily, you're going to have some assistance. Matt Ordomo is your main assistant and advisor. Basically, he's where you go for any information or advice that you might find you need. The guests will also give you tidbits of info, like you need to decorate more. Once the season starts, you have a certain amount of time each day to make sure that your guests are as happy as you can possibly make them. This will include cleaning their room, setting their table for dinner, and participating in the activities with them. The first season is easy to complete. Every season, you'll get new goals and more difficult guests to please. After the first season, you'll get employees to help you. You might think that you don't need them, but eventually you will for sure! You'll need these people to pick up trash and run the daily maintenance on the hotel so that you can please the guests. At the end of season two, you get a resort expansion. This will allow you to please more demanding guests, like Mr. Milton's daughter, Mary. Keep on going until you have the best resort of all!

There are three activities that you can play with your guests: volleyball, paragliding, and water skiing. Each guest will prefer to play one or more of these activities, so make sure to choose the one that the guest prefers. If you're finding a particular guest troublesome, you can throw them a party to make them happy. The parties are amusing. You choose the theme, music, and how much money to spend. The bigger the budget, the more people that get invited, thus the happier the client becomes. During the party, you give the guests food and drinks when they request them.

The games are relatively easy, but the more demanding the guest, the more they expect from you. Keep at it though. At first I found volleyball the most difficult, but with a little practice and a new strategy, I now find it the easiest! The higher a guest's expectations, the harder it is to satisfy them with sports. For a one star guest you only need 1000 points, 2 star is 2000 points, 3 star is 3000 points; you get the pattern. If you're like me, you're wondering how in the world you'll ever please Mr. Milton's daughter, Mary, with the activities when she first comes to the island. 4000 points seemed impossible (except on volleyball), but once you upgrade your activities, it's pretty easy to obtain. Just click on the activity and you'll be given the upgrade options. Once you upgrade, you get more points for each correct thing in the activity. You'll get your money back for the upgrades in bonus points from playing them pretty quickly, so it's a good investment.

While there is not a choice of how difficult you want the game to be, I would guess that it is going to be difficult for you to fail. You've got plenty of time to accomplish the goals for each season, so just take your time and take care of each client every day. The only thing that you can't do is make the game any harder. If you're finding it too easy, just keep going and wait until you get to the more difficult clients.

For the most part, the controls were really easy to get the hang of. Everything is controlled by the stylus except for pausing the game. To pause the game, press the (Start) button. The only thing I had trouble on to begin with was picking up trash and treasure. I just had problems getting the game to accept my commands. You don't have to worry about moving anything around. Anything that can be placed is automatically placed. The only thing that you do is pay for it. You can choose which decoration goes in some spots, but that's the only option that you have. You don't have to worry about saving the game as the system automatically saves for you at the end of each work day. One thing that I really liked is that you can have 3 different game saves, so more than one person in your family can play on the same cartridge (at different times, of course).

If you have a DSi, you can use it to get a discount when you upgrade your rooms. Simply use the camera to take pictures of the colors shown for your room upgrade. It's pretty easy to match the colors, but if you don't have a DSi, don't worry, you'll still be able to afford the upgrades. You just might have to play the activities a few more times.

Imagine: Resort Owner has been a fun little game to play. While it is not the most difficult game, it is strangely addictive and keeps you coming back for more. If you're a fan of The Sims or any of those type games, I recommend that you check out Imagine: Resort Owner today.