Parents' Guide to

The Travels of Wiglington & Wenks

By Carolyn Koh, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 7+

Fun, travel-oriented MMO is full of historic figures.

Game Windows 2009
The Travels of Wiglington & Wenks Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

  • The Travels of Wiglington & Wenks Game: Screenshot #1
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Community Reviews

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age 8+

Based on 14 parent reviews

BensyMom
BensyMom Parent of 0, 8 and 10-year-old
September 18, 2010
age 5+
My Alicia LOVES it! She only plays while i'm watching FOX, though.
Smockers
Smockers Adult
February 8, 2010
age 7+

Absolutely stunning.

Above all, The Travels of Wiglington & Wenks provides a safe experience for all kids. It promotes a message about treating your environment with respect. Plus, you can learn quite a lot from it. It's always comforting when I already have previous knowledge about a particular subject; I can participate in class discussion. The only concern I have is with the open chat. With practically no filter in place, kids can get around the blocked curse words by changing a letter or something. Of course, that's why there are mods to ban them.

This title has:

Too much swearing
Educational value
Great messages
See all 14 parent reviews

What’s It About?

THE TRAVELS OF WIGLINGTON & WENKS is a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) based on a series of British children's books written by John Bittleston The books chronicle the adventures of a pair of water rat friends who travel the world seeking the magical maps of their ancestor. In the online game, kids create an avatar and learn about the current world we live in by exploring and traveling, searching for missing items by clicking on them in a "hidden object" game manner and helping misplaced historical figures such as Beethoven, Mahatma Gandhi, and Albert Einstein regain their memories by searching for items that are related to them, such as a piano for Beethoven. Along the way, kids play a diverse set of games that include logic puzzles, rhythm games, billiards, and even musical note identification.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (14):
Kids say (13):

In Wiglington and Wenks, kids are regaled with facts as they travel to different locations in the world. The game will appeal to kids who love adventure and to kids who enjoy exploration and discovery games. Objects in the world can be interacted with by clicking on them and many of them are waiting to be discovered by a curious kid who is wandering in different geographic locations. These objects are then tracked in the kid's account on the website. Amusingly, kids are also mildly chided if they go around clicking everything they see.

The mini-games, which are found in every location, range from logic puzzles to memory match games, darts, and sorting games. Most are themed to be civic or environmentally conscious, but many are there just for fun. Competitive kids will like that the game hosts a top ten leader board that is shown at the end of the game. Kids earn rollers, which can then be used to buy vanity items like new outfits, pets, housing, and housing items. With historic figures constantly wandering around as characters in this virtual world, Wiglington and Wenks is solidly based on education. Kids cannot help but absorb historical, geographic, environmental, or cultural facts as they travel the world to help these misplaced historical figures.

Online interaction: Online interaction is not only in game but on the forums as well. The game has open chat but both the game and forums are highly moderated and filtered. There is also a Parents Forum where parents may interact with each other and with the developers. It is actually heartening to see how kids help each other and urge each other to behave well and to be polite to each other in-game. Parents can also request up to 90 days of their child's chat log.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the various historical figures kids encounter in game and explore the history in more depth.

  • Families can also talk about environmental issues and geographical areas that kids encounter in game.

  • Like any other online game, there is always the possibility of negative encounters and families can talk to their children about online behavior and time limits.

  • Families can also talk about Online Consumerism Do you really have to spend real money to buy that particular outfit for your character? Will a different color that you can buy with in-game currency do?

Game Details

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