A few days ago the kid’s MMO Club Penguin was released for Android on Google Play. When I was younger I had played it a lot back when the game was new on web browsers around 2006, I’m older now but I can still see how Club Penguin has been able to maintain a fun family friendly world for children to play in.
Unlike other MMOs, Club Penguin doesn’t involve combat to level up. In fact there is no leveling system at all. You start out by creating a penguin, by choosing a username and color for your flightless bird. Besides a small igloo (your house) players don’t begin with much. You explore the island, and play mini-games which earn you coins. The in game currency allows users to buy apparel, bigger igloos and other homes, pets, and sporting goods.
Pets in the Club Penguin universe are little puff balls called puffles. They come in many colors and even different kinds like dog and cat puffles. You adopt them, name them, and take care of them. This may all sound great for children but without true progression you would think it would lose its appeal easily. However Club Penguin manages to keep kids hooked through ever changing events and parties.
Party’s see the whole island being redone to fit different theme. Beyond typical holiday parties, different themes have been done including a prehistoric party where members could adopt dinosaur puffles. Disney has also used their other properties including Marvel, Frozen, Muppets, and Star Wars as means for events.
Club Penguin is free, but in order to be able to do most things you need a subscription. It is $7.95 monthly, but beyond that one price there are no micro transactions in the game. If you want to buy something in the game you can only use coins earned in mini games. You are not able to use a credit card to buy coins.
To see more of the game I paid for a one month membership. Many things have changed since I first played it 8 years ago, in both Club Penguin and my life growing up, but decorating my igloo for Christmas, and taking my puffles for a walk brought back a sense of nostalgia and the same smile I had as a child was back on my face.
Nostalgia can be a great thing and Club Penguin reminds me of the days when life was simpler. As a child I played Club Penguin extensively. Going back to it these years later on the new Android app, I couldn’t help but have fun.While I will be plenty busy playing new and much more complicated games over Christmas, I won’t be deleting Club Penguin from my NVIDIA Shield. It manages to be a good way for me to calm down and, no pun intended, chill.
