Time To 1000 - 40+ Hours
Ease Of Game - 1-3/10 (games vary by difficulty)
Number Of Playthroughs Required - as this is a collection of different games, this doesn't really apply
Total Number Of People Needed To Boost Online Achievements - 1 (you can boost all the achievements by yourself with a second silver account on your console, but 2 people is recommended so you don't have to constantly keep signing profiles in and out)
First and foremost, this guide is a WORK IN PROGRESS.
This guide is going to be written for the fastest, easiest, and most importantly, CHEAPEST way to get the full 1000 out of game room. This guide is also being written based off the 360 version and not the Windows PC version, although they are identical the PC version has been reported to be VERY glitchy. So glitchy in fact I would recommended NEVER playing the PC Version, as there have many many identical reports online of the PC Version erasing ALL of your 360 Game Room save files.
Notes:
VERY IMPORTANT: if you are a completionist and do not plan on spending the money needed to 1k this game, DO NOT download it. The second you download this game and start it up you get an achievement, so it's stuck on your gamercard forever
Game Room is very similar to the Xbox Live Arcade release of EA's Family Game Night, where it's a free download for the program itself but you have to buy the actual games. You can begin by downloading the program here (this link is for the U.S. 360 version of the game, check your country's marketplace for region specific versions)
However you're not done yet, after downloading Game Room you need to download the Game Packs. These are free add-ons to the game that basically serve as an in-game store, showing you what games are available for purchase.
Download Game Pack 1 here
Download Game Pack 2 here
Download Game Pack 3 here
Download Game Pack 4 here
Download Game Pack 5 here
Download Game Pack 6 here
Download Game Pack 7
How The Heck Does Game Room Work?
Game Room is a very fun and addicting thing if you're into retro gaming. However it was released with a rather poor explanation of how it works, such as multiple price points for games, mysterious tokens, and a levelling system based off medals.
The goal of Game Room is to earn medals from the various games you buy. Every medal (Bronze, Silver, Gold) has a different point value, every 20 points you go up a Level. The only thing going up a Level does is unlock various things in your arcade (wallpapers and decorations), but you need to hit Level 20 to get all the related achievements
Medals are earned in three different ways:
Point Buster - earn a set amount of points in a single game session
Survivalist - stay alive for a set amount of time in a single game session
Time Spender - play the game for a set amount of time over multiple playthroughs
Games are available in four versions:
Demo Play - this is where you use your tokens, to "recreate" the experience of putting tokens in an arcade machine. Demo play has nothing to do with the achievements, it's just a 10 minute trial to see how the game plays
Single Play - available for 40 Microsoft Points (MSP). This also gives you a 10 minute play of a game, however this time you can earn medals off it IF you can meet the point and survival based criteria. This can be an effective way to get easy medals for cheap in some games, but if you miss the targets you're now out 40 MSP
Full Game - available for 240 MSP. This gives you the full "retail" version of the game to play as long as you want, as well as the ability to get time based medals
Play Anywhere Game - available for 400 MSP. Not only does this give you the full "retail" version on your 360 but also the ability to download it to your Windows PC and play it there. Since this is a money saving guide, we're going to be ignoring this option completely
At 240 MSP a game, Game Room will be a very expensive 1k. To reach the top Level in the game, you will need 76 medals total. As you can only earn 3 medals per game (and not all even have 3 medals available), you're looking at bare minimum of 26 games you need to buy. This works out to be 6,240 MSP (plus another 40MSP if you have to buy a Mascot), a little under $80 American. Pricey yes, but you know you paid more for Call of Duty with those stupid night vision goggles.
ACHIEVEMENT GUIDE
My First Theme - 5 points
Place a Theme in your arcade
See Fancy Arcade achievement for more information. This is a free achievement.
Theme Filler - 20 points
Place 5 unique Themes in your arcade
See Fancy Arcade achievement for more information. This is a free achievement.
Fancy Arcade - 20 points
Theme an entire arcade with unique Themes
Your arcade starts off with twelve empty rooms, each one can be decorated with a different theme from the "My Collection" menu. Game Room comes with a few themes, and Game Packs 1-5 and 7 each have a free theme as well. The rest you will unlock as you work on levelling up to Level 20
Note: the generic coloured themes do not count towards Theme achievements
My First Mascot - 5 points
Activate a Mascot in your arcade
Mascots are little moving game icons you can place in your arcade. In order to get one, you have to either buy one from the store for 40 MSP or when new Game Packs are released if you buy a game that has a mascot on the release date you get the mascot for free
My First Decoration - 5 points
Place a Decoration in your arcade
See Room Filler achievement for more information. This is a free achievement.
Proptastic - 20 points
Place 5 arcade Decorations in your arcade
See Room Filler achievement for more information. This is a free achievement.
My First Game - 5 points
Place a Game Cabinet in your arcade
You will get this upon purchasing your first game and placing it somewhere in your arcade
The Visitor - 5 points
Visit a Friend's arcade
From the Main Menu, you can select the Friends option and then Visit Arcade to see what their arcade looks like. This is a free achievement.
Show Me! - 5 points
Visit the Showcase Arcade
This is the notorious achievement you get the second you start the game for the first time. This is a free achievement.
The Player - 5 points
Play a Friend's Game Cabinet
This requires you to visit a friend's arcade and play one of their games. Demo Play will not count for the achievement, it has to be the Buy A Play Option. To get out of having to pay, you can play one of their arcade games that you already own. If none of your friends have an arcade game that you do, create a silver account on your 360 and set up an arcade then visit it with your Main Profile
Room Filler - 20 points
Fill an entire room
Fill every open slot in a room with arcade cabinets and props until the achievement pops. This is a free achievement
My First Win - 5 points
Win a Challenge
See Challenge Master achievement for more information
My First Challenge - 5 points
Send a Challenge
See Challenge Master achievement for more information
Challenge Chief - 5 points
Win 10 Challenges
See Challenge Master achievement for more information
Challenge Master - 20 points
Win 20 Challenges
From the Main Menu you can send challenges to a friend, which requires the friend to have the same game you do. You can set up the challenge to be score or survival based, whoever gets the highest score or survives the longest gets the win.
The easiest way to do this is if you don't have any friends that have the same game you do is create a silver account and send challenges to them with the easiest criteria to beat. Have the silver account score as low as possible, then beat that score on 20 different challenges for the achievement
Too Cool for my Score - 20 points
Beat your own High Score in a game
Start any game and die as fast as you can. Then start a new game and simply beat that score, the acheivement unlocking the second you do
My Blisters have Blisters! - 5 points
Play a game for 1 hour continuously
This requires you to actually play a game for an hour straight, not just start it and let it sit there. It also requires that you CANNOT lose all your lives and just start over again, it has to be an hour on a single play. If you play in Classic Mode (which doesn't count points or survival time), most games have a "Time Rewind" feature where you can rewind back to the beginning of the game with all your lives, you can use this before you are about to die and it won't count against you.
Note: Shark! Shark! is the best game to do this in, as it's very hard to die in that game and you can play it for well over an hour.
Arcade Junkie - 20 points
Spend 4 hours total playing games in your arcade
See Matchstick Eyes achievement for more information
Retro Addict - 20 points
Spend 8 hours total playing games in your arcade
See Matchstick Eyes achievement for more information
Go to Sleep - 20 points
Spend 16 hours total playing games in your arcade
See Matchstick Eyes achievement for more information
Machine not Man - 20 points
Spend 24 hours total playing games in your arcade
See Matchstick Eyes achievement for more information
Matchstick Eyes - 20 points
Spend 36 hours total playing games in your arcade
Accumulate a total of 36 hours in game time across all your games. You can check your times played in each game from the My Profile option on the Main Menu. This will come naturally as you working on getting 20 gold Time Spender medals
My First Medal - 5 points
Win your first Medal
See I Like Shiny Things achievement for more information
Medal Variety - 5 points
Win a Medal of each Type (Point Buster, Survivalist, Time Spender)
See I Like Shiny Things achievement for more information
Double Trouble - 20 points
Win 2 Medals of each type (2x Point Buster, 2x Survivalist, 2x Time Spender)
See I Like Shiny Things achievement for more information
Medal Collector - 20 points
Win 3 Medals
See I Like Shiny Things achievement for more information
80s Skilled - 20 points
Win 6 Medals
See I Like Shiny Things achievement for more information
Game Beater - 20 points
Win 9 Medals
See I Like Shiny Things achievement for more information
Arcade Hustler - 20 points
Win 12 Medals
See I Like Shiny Things achievement for more information
Retro Expert - 20 points
Win 15 Medals
See I Like Shiny Things achievement for more information
The New Old Schooler - 20 points
Win 18 Medals
See I Like Shiny Things achievement for more information
Medal Enthusiast - 20 points
Win 21 Medals
See I Like Shiny Things achievement for more information
Arcade Shark - 20 points
Win 24 Medals
See I Like Shiny Things achievement for more information
Can't Touch This! - 20 points
Win 27 Medals
See I Like Shiny Things achievement for more information
Retro Master - 20 points
Win 30 Medals
See I Like Shiny Things achievement for more information
Check My Skillz - 20 points
Win 33 Medals
See I Like Shiny Things achievement for more information
Minted - 20 points
Win 36 Medals
See I Like Shiny Things achievement for more information
Medaltastic - 20 points
Win 39 Medals
See I Like Shiny Things achievement for more information
Fly Skillz - 20 points
Win 42 Medals
See I Like Shiny Things achievement for more information
Medal Masher - 20 points
Win 45 Medals
See I Like Shiny Things achievement for more information
I Like Shiny Things - 35 points
Win 48 Medals
You will need to earn a total of 48 medals of any type (bronze, silver, or gold) and any category (Points Buster, Survival, or Time Spender) for this to unlock. This will mean a minimum of 16 games you'll have to buy, as each game has a cap of three medals
Level Up! - 20 points
Reach Level 2
See Level 20! achievement for more information
Level 5! - 20 points
Reach Level 5
See Level 20! achievement for more information
Level 8! - 20 points
Reach Level 8
See Level 20! achievement for more information
Level 11! - 20 points
Reach Level 11
See Level 20! achievement for more information
Level 14! - 20 points
Reach Level 14
See Level 20! achievement for more information
Level 17! - 20 points
Reach Level 17
See Level 20! achievement for more information
Level 20! - 50 points
Reach Level 20
Every time you earn a medal, you get a certain amount of points. Every 20 points you go up a level. The medal point values are:
Bronze medal - 2 points
Silver medal - 3 points
Gold medal - 5 points
Each game has a max of 15 points (three gold medals), so you are looking at a minimum of 26 games that you will need to buy to unlock this achievement, more if you can't get all Gold Medals in those 26 games
Medal Smasher - 20 points
Win 10 Medals of each type
See Medal Mad achievement for more information
Medal Mad - 50 points
Win 20 Medals of each type
This requires you to earn 20 medals of each type: Point Buster, Survivalist, and Time Spender. You will unlock this on the way to getting the Level 20! achievement, which will require a total of 76 medals
Point Buster - 20 points
Win 5 Point Buster Medals
See Medal Mad achievement for more information
Point Slammer - 20 points
Win 10 Point Buster Medals
See Medal Mad achievement for more information
Survivalist - 20 points
Win 5 Survivalist Medals
See Medal Mad achievement for more information
Survival of the Fittest - 20 points
Win 10 Survivalist Medals
See Medal Mad achievement for more information
Time Spender - 20 points
Win 5 Time Spender Medals
See Medal Mad achievement for more information
Time Crazy - 20 points
Win 10 Time Spender Medals
See Medal Mad achievement for more information
My First Theme - 5 points
Place a Theme in your arcade
Theme Filler - 20 points
Place 5 unique Themes in your arcade
Fancy Arcade - 20 points
Theme an entire arcade with unique Themes
My First Mascot - 5 points
Activate a Mascot in your arcade
My First Decoration - 5 points
Place a Decoration in your arcade
Proptastic - 20 points
Place 5 arcade Decorations in your arcade
My First Game - 5 points
Place a Game Cabinet in your arcade
The Visitor - 5 points
Visit a Friend's arcade
Show Me! - 5 points
Visit the Showcase Arcade
The Player - 5 points
Play a Friend's Game Cabinet
Room Filler - 20 points
Fill an entire room
My First Win - 5 points
Win a Challenge
My First Challenge - 5 points
Send a Challenge
Challenge Chief - 5 points
Win 10 Challenges
Challenge Master - 20 points
Win 20 Challenges
Too Cool for my Score - 20 points
Beat your own High Score in a game
My Blisters have Blisters! - 5 points
Play a game for 1 hour continuously
Arcade Junkie - 20 points
Spend 4 hours total playing games in your arcade
Retro Addict - 20 points
Spend 8 hours total playing games in your arcade
Go to Sleep - 20 points
Spend 16 hours total playing games in your arcade
Machine not Man - 20 points
Spend 24 hours total playing games in your arcade
Matchstick Eyes - 20 points
Spend 36 hours total playing games in your arcade
My First Medal - 5 points
Win your first Medal
Medal Variety - 5 points
Win a Medal of each Type (Point Buster, Survivalist, Time Spender)
Double Trouble - 20 points
Win 2 Medals of each type (2x Point Buster, 2x Survivalist, 2x Time Spender)
Medal Collector - 20 points
Win 3 Medals
80s Skilled - 20 points
Win 6 Medals
Game Beater - 20 points
Win 9 Medals
Arcade Hustler - 20 points
Win 12 Medals
Retro Expert - 20 points
Win 15 Medals
The New Old Schooler - 20 points
Win 18 Medals
Medal Enthusiast - 20 points
Win 21 Medals
Arcade Shark - 20 points
Win 24 Medals
Can't Touch This! - 20 points
Win 27 Medals
Retro Master - 20 points
Win 30 Medals
Check My Skillz - 20 points
Win 33 Medals
Minted - 20 points
Win 36 Medals
Medaltastic - 20 points
Win 39 Medals
Fly Skillz - 20 points
Win 42 Medals
Medal Masher - 20 points
Win 45 Medals
I Like Shiny Things - 35 points
Win 48 Medals
Level Up! - 20 points
Reach Level 2
Level 5! - 20 points
Reach Level 5
Level 8! - 20 points
Reach Level 8
Level 11! - 20 points
Reach Level 11
Level 14! - 20 points
Reach Level 14
Level 17! - 20 points
Reach Level 17
Level 20! - 50 points
Reach Level 20
Medal Smasher - 20 points
Win 10 Medals of each type
Medal Mad - 50 points
Win 20 Medals of each type
Point Buster - 20 points
Win 5 Point Buster Medals
Point Slammer - 20 points
Win 10 Point Buster Medals
Survivalist - 20 points
Win 5 Survivalist Medals
Survival of the Fittest - 20 points
Win 10 Survivalist Medals
Time Spender - 20 points
Win 5 Time Spender Medals
Time Crazy - 20 points
Win 10 Time Spender Medals