Our poor kids didn’t really stand a chance when it comes to video games. Their father and I are were gamers since Pong. As it stands, we still own 6+ game systems in varying degrees of working order. There have been times in the past when we’ve spent many a hour pillaging the virtual seas of a favorite online game. So when my son got a premium subscription to an online adventure called Wiglington & Wenks I knew where this would go.
Wiglinton & Wenks is an online virtual world for kids ages 7 – 14. In this virtual world players travel through time meeting famous historical people, playing games, buying things, solving puzzles and making friends with other kids who play the game as well. Originally a story book series, Wiglington & Wenks, the virtual world allows players to travel the globe searching for famous people and items belonging to them. As the player interacts with these characters, s/he learns all about them and their role in history. The player goes on a search through space and time collecting the objects belonging to each famous person and receive rewards once they’re collected.
While my son played using his subscription membership, my daughter and I got ourselves free memberships. Like most online gaming worlds, Wiglington & Wenks has a standard free membership as well as premium features. These subscription accounts often help keep a free version of the game available for everyone.
Some of the premium features are:
- exclusive pets, islands, houses, clothes, etc.
- can invite up to 20 friends to parties/your house
- maximum traveler ranking
- mega store purchases
- member badge
- monthly bonus awards of ‘rollars’ & virtual credits
- special balloon warz! privileges
- access to special locations
- 30% discount on micro transactions
All of these features are explained in detail here.
We really like Wiglington & Wenks here at the O’shea house. It’s a pretty fun game for the kids and they might actually learn something while having all that fun. My main concern is the issue of real-time chat. Players can be reported for bad behavior and language but that doesn’t change the fact that it must happen first before it is stopped. It would be best to have a system that filters out bad language before it reaches the chatbox. I hope Wiglington & Wenks will soon implement this and other safety features.
The Subscriptions
A monthly subscription ranges from $4.99 – $5.99 a month. For an online subscription that’s not a bad price. You can also purchase credits & currency that is used in the game. While these aren’t necessary, they can make the game easier to enjoy. And the premium features also make the game more enjoyable.
If you think your kiddo would be interested in this type of game, I recommend registering them a free account. After a while of play, you’ll know if a subscription is right for you.
And if you do, be sure and say hi to knittygirl when you see her about the Wiglington World. : )
-Sara O’
Hello SaraJane,
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this review. My name is Aldric – the Deputy CEO and Chief Executive Producer of the Travels of Wiglington and Wenks Virtual World.
Indeed, the concern for the chat feature is something we have been working on.
You would be pleased to hear that we will soon release 3 levels of chat that can be selected during registration –
No Chat – The No Chat option is for parents who want their children to focus solely on the virtual world quests and not interact with other players. Using this option, your child will not be allowed to engage in any form of chat, nor see any chat. You can toggle this feature off later in the Parents Control Panel and switch this to Safe Chat mode.
Safe Chat – The Safe Chat mode is for parents who want to limit their children's interaction on the virtual world. Using this option, players will only be able to chat and view chat using chatlines from a safe pre-constructed list.
Moderated Free Chat –
The Moderated Free Chat mode is for parents who want their children to learn about different cultures and gain social skills through interacting with children from other countries and through engaging in team activities. Using this option, players are able to chat freely using a chat system which is moderated for abusive language. However, no chat moderation system is 100% foolproof and occasionally abusive language presented in different forms may still surface. It is up to parents to guide and educate their children on reacting appropriately to such unwanted chat.
In fact, we have already developed the safe chat system and it is currently in Beta testing phase – http://blog.wiglingtonandwenks.com/ww-news/wiglington-and-wenks-launches-beta-testing-of-safe-chat
You have our assurance that child safety is of utmost importance to us and we will keep working hard to make it as close to perfection as possible.
Once again, thank you so much for your time.
Kind regards,
Aldric
That's great news! Thanks for letting us know!
Sara O'
I read on another review that this was difficult to navigate. Have you found that to be the case or maybe just if you are not a "gamer"? I think it looks great but do not want my "gamer" boys to try it until the chat issue is fixed.
I don't think it's difficult at all to navigate. Maybe at first when you're just getting used to where everything is, but I think that's common for everything. Your boys probably wouldn't have any trouble at all.
We personally didn't have any issues at all with the chatting. My kids chat with each other when they play but rarely pay attention to what the others are saying. For us too though, our kids know that other people use language that we don't use and they understand why we don't (and why others do). We have family members that would fit in this category so even when they see or hear it, it's too big a deal. We've firmly emphasized that just because stuff like that is okay for others, even in films, doesn't mean it's good for us. : )
Anyhoo, just another thought. I'd highly recommend trying out the free memberships. It's a fun game my kids play all the time. : )