Parents' Guide to

Animal Jam - Play Wild!

By Erin Brereton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 9+

Virtual world shallowly focuses on toys, chats with others.

Animal Jam - Play Wild! Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this app.

Community Reviews

age 9+

Based on 27 parent reviews

age 18+

Evil scamming kids and horribly put together game that does not work properly and crashes continously

First of all, the customer service is TERRIBLE! I play many online games such as World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy online, and they have customer support to solve problems that arise. This is not true at all for Animal Jam. All you can expect to get is automated messages that do not even begin to address your current issue. They allow adults to make in game art of "furries" and it is so VERY inappropriate for children. They allow scamming, and they even promote this "kid's" game on social media websites where children have no business visiting in the first place. They give out items on youtube and instagram, so children like mine have no access to these giveaways because any smart parent will keep their kids off social media. All this company Wildworks cares about is their profits. They repeatedly let child information get leaked to the dark web through hacks and security breaches. Only the famous people who promote their game on social media ever have their stuff reimbursed. Regular gamers like my children do not stand a chance because the adults have overtaken these games. I do not want my children associating with pedophiles, but this game is a breeding ground for pedophile abduction. Please help me do something about this HORRIBLE game that entices 7-12 year olds to go onto social media to win prizes. The bad get rewarded and the good get punished. Kids who play this even want to commit suicide because of some scammer taking their items. My own daughter expressed that she wanted to die because she spent all these years working up to the items she has in game only to have them stolen again and again. This is unacceptable and the game needs to be shut down.
4 people found this helpful.
age 17+

Seems innocent but look at what the "children" are doing

1.) Creates unhealthy obsessions with trading items and scamming younger players from "rare" items. 2.) People use their animal user names on other sites and children can go there to communicate with strangers. 3.) My daughter actually needed therapy to break her addiction to this game. When I say addiction I mean lying to her parents, playing in the middle of the night, bribing her little brother to let him use his device to get more play time. Please don't let your children ply this game.
2 people found this helpful.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (27):
Kids say (66):

While the graphics and animations are great, the main focus on collecting toys feels limited, and the app's social interactions are a bit more iffy. Although chats in Animal Jam - Play Wild! are moderated, the site acknowledges that problematic comments could be shared, and players don't always say much -- or much of value, anyway -- when chatting; many of the comments involve requests to trade various things. Kids can also send private notes to people who accept their friend request; it's not clear if that communication is moderated.

With a number of games, challenges, and other activities, there's no doubt most kids could spend many happy hours playing in the virtual world. Parents, though, may question whether it's time well spent. In some ways, the app seems to function as a virtual version of collecting toys. Ultimately, there are better alternatives to the mini-games and social spaces it offers, and better (physical) alternatives to its collecting features. If there were a greater focus on educating kids about animals and nature -- and less of an emphasis on buying things that seem to be showcased in almost every building you enter -- the experience of Animal Jam - Play Wild! would be much richer for the target age.

App Details

  • Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire
  • Pricing structure: Free (In addition to in-app purchases involving sapphires, one of two types of virtual currency used in the app, for $1.99-$9.99, kids can pay $6.99 a month for a recurring membership. )
  • Release date: December 4, 2015
  • Category: Kids' Games
  • Topics: Magic and Fantasy, Ocean Creatures, Wild Animals
  • Publisher: Wildworks, Inc.
  • Version: 30.0.15
  • Minimum software requirements: Requires iOS 8.0 or later and Android 4.1 and up. An augmented reality feature is also available for iPhones and iPads with iOS 11 or higher.
  • Last updated: February 8, 2019

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