The Travels of Wigglington and Wenks Virtual World

The Travels of Wiglington and Wenks, a massive online virtual world for kids aged 7-14, has been the buzz around our home for the last month.

According to the website, WW promises:
"...an experience in which players will be able to travel to places around the world, through time and space, meet famous historical people, play dozens of fun enriching games, make new friends, buy exotic islands, build culture-inspired houses, wear clothes from different countries, explore secret locations, solve mysteries and become a legendary traveler!"

My kids have been following the plot by traveling around the world to help locate a group of historical people who have lost their memory from traveling through a time warp. Their goal is to help them regain their lost memory. Your child will meet characters like Buffalo Bill, Galileo, Albert Einstein, Beethoven, and Emperor Qin in their travels.

Warning: Your child may be exposed to evolutionary content through characters like Charles Darwin and in our case, objectionable material like the false god Neptune. Your child may also be exposed to foul language.

WW is designed to be an educational and safe site for kids where they will be learning about history, geography, landmarks, famous people, inventions, animals and more. However, this is more about fun that it is about learning. My kids spent a great deal of time interacting and "socializing" and I was a little concerned at how little they were actually learning for the amount of time invested in playing.

There is also the concern of being able to chat live with children from all over the world. WW has a strict policy on safety and children are taught to report any offending or illegal behavior - and trust me they do! But, my children have still been exposed to inappropriate behavior and language and repeated offenders are allowed back on the game even after being reported 20 times.

WW does have a set of proprietary rules and safety features:
  • No numbers (designed to filter out phone numbers and addresses)
  • No URL links (prevents the sharing of inappropriate websites)
  • No vulgarities (language is censored and repeat offenders are banned)
  • No private messaging (no unsupervised conversations)
  • Reporting feature (Players report and moderators investigate inappropriate behavior)
  • Chat logs (parents can request children's chat logs as far back as 90 days)
  • Parent/Admin panel (parents can monitor playing habits)

However, there are ways around these safety features. For example, my son exchanged emails with a"buddy." Thankfully it was another Crew kid and no harm was done, but it is easy to get around the filter by typing AT instead of @ for an email address. Kids also use chat/text talk and internet lingo/abbreviations (some that we have no idea what they mean).

I drew the line and pulled the plug on this game when my boys told me what the repeat offender was saying. They are not words that I can repeat on a site that I consider family friendly.

The Travels of Wiglington and Wenks, a product of Wiglington and Wenks Worldwide Pte Ltd, is free for a basic membership, but to gain access to all of the features, special areas and extra privileges, you will need to purchase a WW Membership.

Membership Price:
  • Monthly: $5.99
  • 3-Month Ticket: $16.99
  • 6-Month Ticket: $29.99
  • 1-Year Ticket: $59.99
You can also purchase WW virtual credits and "Rollars" to accelerate in the game. "Rollars" are used to buy all sorts of things from islands, houses, costumes/accessories, and pets.

Bottomline, I think WW is a neat concept but because of our experience, I can not recommend this game. Other crew mate's reviews will be available if you want to see what they think of Wiglington and Wenks.


I obtained one one-month membership for the purpose of this review and no further compensation was received. In exchange, I offer my honest opinion and review. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

1 comment

  1. Kids online virtual world are now becoming popular because its a great venue to learn and have fun because of exposure on educational activities integrated on fun games!

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