Club Penguin - what's it all about?

[julesrose]

DD 6 has learnt of club penguin at school and has been going on about playing it.
We looked at the websuite the other day and it seems you can do some things without joining, but if you want a pet Puffle (!) you have to join, and it seems quite pricey.
It's all a bit new to me so would welcome anyone's experience of it.

It teaches them about capitalism. Otherwise harmless.

You can have certain pet puffles without paying to join, and there are lots of games you can play without paying. DD and DS play on it but I have not let them join and they still find it fun.

Its fun, harmless and you seem to be able to do a lot for free.

DCs have not joined but played the games they could until they lost interest after about 6 months.

Thanks. How can she get a Puffle without paying? Does it involve any lessons in liberal interventionism - the do's and the don'ts?

It's only 4 pounds a month-do you consider that pricey

DD goes on the free bits of Club Penguin. I haven't bothered paying for the extras though. Seems plenty without.

My DCs soon got frustrated about being unable to do things because they weren't members. So I joined 'em. It was less then, the exchange rate must have been better than now. They enjoy it hugely, it seems money well spent as long as they use it.

We have had tears a couple of times when they have arranged to "meet" someone from school, agreed server and location with them, and then not been able to find them. I don't know why this happens. (I did wonder whether it really is as interactive as they claim; perhaps all the other penguins were fakes everyone sees to make the place look busy.)

£4 not too pricey I suppose, but I am stingy. £48 a year for a website game... And would prefer her to be drawing or playing with her toys in manner of imagined childhood circa 1950. Everytime she's been on Club Penguin she just wants all the crap. She goes into other igloos and they're all blinged up with mucho stuffo. Seems moderately hideous (if that's possible). Or am I just a tosser?
Most penguins seem to ignore her when she says hello in the speech bubble thing. Perhaps it's cos she's got no gear..! (Clothes, guitars etc. Obviously not drugs)

My dd was a member of CP for about a year, she soon left the cuddly environs of iceland for pastures new (webkinz). FWIW, it entertained her for about an hour a week and increased her computer skills. A downside was that she knew her friends passwords and names and played games that rewarded them.

You know you can also join for just a month at a time - I do this sometimes for ds as a bit of a treat. The stuff they accumulate when members disapears when the membership expires but comes back when you join again if that makes sense!

Oh dear, and I thought ds was the computer geek...