Club Penguin is an online multiplayer game that requires the player to take the form of a penguin and play mini-games and participate in online activities like sled racing, ski lodge, hydro hopper, etc. on a snowy Club Penguin island. This virtual world permits players to adopt pets called Puffles. What's more, they can discover the island and take up a job to earn virtual coins and spend them! This game gets both kids and adults completely engrossed in it. However, if you are looking for similar games as an alternative to Club Penguin, here's how you can check it out for yourself: Whyville was launched in 1999, by Numedeon. The game received awards in 2006, 2007, and 2008 from iParenting for the Best Website with safety features for kids. In 2008, the game was a NAPPA (National Parenting Publication Award) winner as well. With the creation of a virtual world along with the role-playing activities, this game aims at covering broad topics like science, geography, etc. ☻ Whyville was one of the first sites to use virtual currency, called Clams. ☻ The player gets the clam salary based on one's educational activities. With the virtual money, one can buy face-parts, bricks, furniture, and other virtual goods. ☻ In this game, one can create his own content. For example, one can sketch out a face part, pixel-by-pixel, and submit it to the site staff for a review. Like face parts, players can design and sell patterns for Scions (car models). ☻ With a premium subscription, the players can earn a unique revenue called Peals from the site. It works as a monthly allowance that helps them to buy pets, parts for their avatars, etc. Habbo is a Finnish social networking service and online community which began in the year 2000, targeting teenagers, and is owned by an entertainment company called Sulake Corporation. This game allows players to create their own characters called Hobbas. They can chat with other players, make friends, design hotel rooms, organize parties, buy pets, and play games in different hotels, etc. ☻ The first visit to the Habbo website requires a player to register for a new account. After registration, he can create his habbo avatar and explore the hotel as well as the website. Players can customize their homepage to show their habbo possessions. ☻ Players can join various clubs where they can discuss any topic. Majority of the games are played inside the main hotel. Namely: Falling Furni, Costume Change, and Carnivals, etc., build and design rooms, buying and selling Furni (furniture), chatting with other players, and engaging in role-plays. ☻ Players can send a friend request to another player's habbo and make friends. ☻ Using the Navigator in the hotel rooms, players move around the hotels and visit rooms outside the hotel as well. ☻ The currency in the form of coins can be used in trading of the furni as well as buying and selling pets, club memberships, stickers, backgrounds, etc. If necessary, these virtual coins can be bought with real money using credit cards and prepaid cards. ☻ Habbo is a game that is absolutely free of cost. However, memberships can be bought that adds additional features to the game and enhances the playing experience. These additional features include more colors, backgrounds, and clothes, a badge, a free furni, etc. Unlike other MMO games, coins are used to obtain memberships; it cannot be used as real money. Marapet was released in August 2005. This is a virtual pet site where one can create pets, feed, and clean them, care for them and take them on adventurous trips. ☻ The game has 19 different worlds, with each one having its own activities like festivals, hunts, etc. ☻ In Marapet, one can own more than one pet, name them, and for the ones that have a ravenous appetite, food can be bought with virtual coins. ☻ To earn more coins, one must complete various Marapet goals, missions, and temples, which is also another mission. To dress the pets up, one can buy various elaborate costumes, have the pet wear a battle armor, and indulge in a virtual war between other pets. ☻ Fairies are the additional features of the game and are different to the extent of being really evil than the gracious ones that people generally know. For example, a Dukka Fairy is a smuggler. ☻ Though the game is absolutely free, one can upgrade one's account by paying actual money, get more options in the variety of costumes, etc. Poptropica, owned by Pearson PLC, was released in July 2007. It was created by Jeff Kinney, the author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The game has incorporated new challenges in the form of islands for the players to complete. ☻ When the player first logs in the game, he creates his virtual avatar, which can be modified as the game proceeds. ☻ This game features a virtual planet, Poptropica, where most of the adventures take place. The planet is filled with several islands, and each one is a new challenge. A total of 40 islands were released as of September 2014. Early Poptropica is the name of the 40th one. ☻ Island medallions are awarded once a level is completed. A player earns 50 credit points when he receives one. ☻ Each island comprises a multiplayer room. This game has several characters with some villains dwelling on the island. ☻ Along with the main quests, there are Mini-Islands and Bonus Quests as well. ☻ Since 2010, Poptropica began offering premium memberships through the payment of the monthly membership fees. Members have the privilege of using items from the Poptropica store and can enjoy an early access to the newly released islands than the free user. This game was created by Michael Acton Smith and developed by a company named Mind Candy, in 2007. It was released in April 2008. The game allows a player to adopt a monster and take care of it. ☻ Players can select their monsters, customize, and play with them. Once the monster is customized, one can take it to explore the Monstro city. ☻ The players can chat with each other with the help of a Friend Tree and a pinboard. ☻ The Monstro city has many mini-games that can be played to earn virtual money called Rox. Clothes, food, furniture, etc., for the monsters can be acquired with Rox. ☻ Moshlings, which are pet creatures, are the major attraction in the monster world. They are caught and kept in the Moshling Garden by the monsters. ☻ Like other games, a monthly fee is to be paid to become a member. However, memberships can also be obtained through the special offers available in the games. The game was launched in 2010 by Smart Bomb Interactive in partnership with National Geographic Society. It uses real-world examples of plants and animals. As its source is National Geographic, the educational content of the game is very interesting. ☻ Players can choose their animal avatar, customize them, decorate their dens, and adopt pets. ☻ The virtual world in the game is Jamma, where the players travel through various ecologically diverse places. ☻ Players can interact with each other by chatting, trading, participating in multiplayer games. ☻ Players are rewarded with facts, friends, and decorations. The virtual currency is called Gem. Gems help in buying additional avatars, dens, etc. ☻ Animal Jam has various membership periods: 1 month, 2 months, etc. Being a member, the player can opt for member-only items, pets, and more. RuneScape was released in January 2001 and was designed by Andrew and Paul Gower. It was developed by Jagex Games Studio. It features a virtual medieval fantasy world for the player to complete various activities. ☻ The game is played in Gielinor, a medieval fantasy world, which has various kingdoms and regions. ☻ The prerequisite is an online registration, which is free. The players can then customize their medieval avatars and travel through Gielinor either by foot, ship, or magic spells. ☻ Participation in various quests and adventures in the game improves one's fighting, combating, and warrior skills. ☻ After acquiring all 26 skills, the player becomes a so powerful that he can take on greater challenges in the game. ☻ Interaction between players can be via chat, trade, and participation in mini-games and other activities. Trading can be done using virtual gold coins and other available trade items. ☻ The paid membership helps one acquire new skill sets, new quests. The game will be free of advertisements, which can be a distraction to players. Options for subscription to a bigger world and other quests are available to players. Wizard101 was released in September 2008, in North America and in March 2009, in Europe. The game is played in the fictional universe, Spiral, where the player takes on the role of a student of witchcraft/wizardry to save the world. ☻ After the initial online registration, a player can travel this universe. ☻ The Spiral is divided into several worlds. For example, Aquila city, Krokotopia, Mooshu, etc., one can unlock the areas by either crowns (virtual currency) or by purchasing a membership. ☻ However, once a character is created, only certain areas of the world are accessible. As the player progresses, new avenues open up to proceed further. ☻ The players have several activities to choose from namely: training pets, fishing, gardening, crafting furnishers, and spells. There are umpteen characters with villains being one of the lot. ☻ Communication is of three types, namely: Open chat, Text chat, and Private chat. Text chat: The player's write-up is visible to all in the game. Private chat: A private message is sent to the other player via this chat.Open chat: It allows players who are aged 18 years and above. Credit cards are a must. ☻ In this multiplayer game, rewards for fighting and combating get distributed amongst the players. ☻ Free access limits the player to certain areas of the Spiral. However, with crowns, one can buy certain areas, some exclusive items, and some PvP tournaments. A subscriber has access to all the payable areas. As an added benefit, it allows one to participate in all the ranked PvP matches along with purchasing castles and lands, taking on advance crafting, etc. IMVU was released in April 2004. Since then, it has become a platform for people to create avatars, meet new people, chat, and play games. Though IMVU does not stand for anything, fans believe that it is an acronym for Instant Messaging within a Virtual Universe. ☻ Players across the globe, choose and customize their avatars and the homepages to describe them. Socializing and meeting people are a part of the game. ☻ One can choose a chat room or friends or both. ☻ Unlike other chat rooms, one can use one's creativity to decorate the homepage. Dresses, furniture, etc., can be made and sold virtually. The virtual currency credit or tokens helps one buy clothes, hairstyles, pets, etc. Credits can be accumulated with real money. ☻ A membership enables the players to access more available options. Fantage was released to the public in April 2008. One can choose his cartoon avatar, customize it, and explore the virtual world. ☻ Players can register for free, which gets them to their house in the game. They can opt to let people in or vice-versa. There are 16 areas to explore in the game, namely: Downtown, Uptown, Castle, etc. The areas include a variety of games, shops, vending machines, and other features. ☻ The virtual currency, Stars, can be used to shop around for clothes, hairstyles, etc. Both mini-games and multiplayers can help one earn stars. ☻ A player can put a creature or a pet in shops to compete with others in an arena. Apart from purchasing, a pet can be obtained by hatching eggs or using pet codes. Registered users can hatch more than two eggs to get pets. ☻ A player can have up to 200 friends in the game. An instant message or group chat are options that are available for chatting. Open chatting system is yet another option to chat with any player within the same room. ☻ Fantage includes a variety of educational content. The player's knowledge in a range of subjects from math to you-name-it, is put to test in the games of chess, checkers, true-or-false trivia, etc. ☻ The fashion show is an elaborate game of three rounds with a requirement of 10 players. Judges and winners are awarded points and stars for their participation. ☻ Premium membership is granted on payment of fees. More options such as elaborate homes and decorations are made available to premium members than the ones that have free registrations. They can display their homes on the User Home Map. Along with hatching all their pet eggs, they can purchase almost any item with the stars awarded to them. Online multiplayer games are a window to the virtual worlds where players can create their own avatars, obtain pets, and explore every avenue in the virtual world. Club Penguin, one of the favorites, is a sure way to complete maximum levels in the game. However, the alternatives to one's favorite game helps one indulge in more challenges. One's imagination and creativity is tapped into when making new avatars.