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Club Penguin

Club Penguin at a Glance

• In short: A penguin-themed world for kids with several mini-games, social activities, and igloos to customize.
• URL: http://www.clubpenguin.com
• Maintained by: Disney and New Horizon Interactive since 2005.
• Price: Free for limited access, or $5.95/month (or a cheaper rate for longer term subscriptions)
• Club Penguin system requirements: Flash-supported Web browser
• Platforms supported: PC, Mac

Club Penguin Overview

Club Penguin is a Flash-based virtual environment that involves cartoon penguins interacting in a multi-user world. Participants can socialize, waddle around, play mini-games, and take part in other activities in various snow-covered places. Launched in 2005 and recently purchased by Disney, Club Penguin is a relatively new virtual world. Club Penguin is open to all ages, although it is especially geared for kids between the ages of 8 and 14. Free accounts are available, although a subscription is required for full access to all of the features in-game.

Each penguin is given an igloo. Participants can customize their igloo with virtual items purchased by in-game currency (earned by playing various mini-games). As Club Penguin is targeted for kids, the virtual environment is relatively safe due to its measures to filter and censor the chat that takes place in the world. An Open Chat mode allows participants to type in their own messages of text, but this is filtered and censored by a large team of monitors, and inappropriate behavior (e.g. profane language) can cause someone to be banned. The Ultimate Safe Chat mode allows players to select from predefined phrases from a list.

Club Penguin Screenshots

Club Penguin Resources

• Official Club Penguin website