Common Sense Media Review
By Erin Bell
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Players help real-world charities in this Facebook sim.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
WeTopia
What's It About?
In WETOPIA, players build up a virtual city by placing structures, roads, and decorations, and harvesting crops. In return, players earn an in-game currency called \"Joy,\" which they can \"spend\" on donations that go towards real-world children's charities, which cover everything from providing nutritious meals to dental hygiene for underprivileged kids. Players aren't obligated to give real money, but by donating \"Joy\" they help decide where the revenue generated by the game (through ads and the sale of Facebook Credits) should go. Players who do want to make a monetary donation can buy Facebook Credits to spend on exclusive items and buildings. According to the game's literature, the makers of WeTopia donate 50% of the game's revenue to its charitable partners.
Is It Any Good?
WeTopia is a wonderful "gaming for good" initiative that lets players feel like they're making a positive impact in the real world instead of just playing an Internet time-waster for its own sake. Once players earn enough "Joy," they can visit Joy Central, browse through a list of charities and learn more about each one, then click the "Donate" button and watch the Joy Balloon fly away as takes the donated Joy to the real world.
On the gameplay side, WeTopia is a pretty standard building sim that eventually requires the help of other Facebook friends to complete structures and finish quests -- unless the player is willing to spend Facebook Credits to speed things up. However, in this case, players at least know that their in-game purchases are going towards a good cause.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the different charities in the game. How did you decide which charities to donate your "Joy" to?
Families can talk about other ways to do charitable work besides donations, such as volunteering or canvassing.
Families can also talk about the concept "games for good." Would you like to see more games become involved with charities?
Game Details
- Platform : Facebook
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Available online
- Release date : December 12, 2011
- Genre : Simulation
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : November 11, 2020
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