5 Educational Virtual World Games like Animal Jam Article

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5 Educational Virtual World Games like Animal Jam

Nov 29, 2022 | 0 Votes

by Mel - rate Your vote Arguably the most popular animal-themed children’s MMO in the gaming world, Animal Jam has been educating and entertaining millions of kids since 2010. Since then, dozens of similar games have been launched allowing kids to learn more about science and the natural world, and providing valuable real-life lessons they can apply as they grow up. This article lists five alternatives to Animal Jam that are equally as fun and educational to play. Games Educate Kids - 5 Educational Virtual World Games like Animal Jam

Games Educate Kids - 5 Educational Virtual World Games like Animal Jam

Animal Jam, now called Animal Jam Classic, is a multi award-winning massively multiplayer online (MMO) game that was developed by WildWorks in collaboration with the renowned National Geographic Society and launched in 2010. Animal Jam is now a 3D mobile app spin-off of the PC game.

Animal Jam Classic takes place in Jamaa, a dynamic virtual world featuring various different biomes and customizable animals. New players can create an animal—choose from the original Bunny, Monkey, Wolf, Tiger, Panda, and Koala or other newer additions—with a name that is composed of three simple words. From that point, players can customize and move around with it in the gameplay environment.

Players can then customize their own dens (virtual houses) with furniture, chat with other players, adopt pets, play mini-games, purchase in-game clothing and furniture with currency, trade items, attend parties, and go on various RPG-style adventures. There is a subscription-like membership feature available on the site for a fee and lets players access certain exclusive in-game features. Educational benefits imparted by Animal Jam Classic include animal conservation, natural science, and environmental awareness.

With the massive popularity of Animal Jam Classic, it wasn’t long until a wide variety of similar games were launched in its wake. And while most of these games don’t have the prestigious backing and funding of the National Geographic Society, the five games we list below have comparable gameplay, educational elements, and high-end graphics.

Fer.al

Offered by Animal Jam Classic developer WildWorks as a sequel to the wildly popular Animal Jam Classic game, Fer.al was launched in 2019 as an animal-themed MMO game based more around fantasy and myth and targeted towards the 13+ year old market (in contrast to the 12-year-old and below audience of Animal Jam Classic). With Fer.al, players can design their own unique creatures and help them thrive in Fer.al’s magical environment all while completing puzzles, building virtual homes, and trading with fellow players.

Unfortunately, as of this article’s publishing, Fer.al was permanently shut down in the first quarter of 2022.

Adventure Academy

From the creators of one of the world’s leading learning program, ABCmouse, Adventure Academy is an immersive, dynamic virtual world game that is designed to be both fun to play and also educational. Suitable for kids between the ages of 8 to 13, Adventure Academy has a dedicated science wing where your child can learn about how the world works through magnificent mechanical inventions, the natural world, or by studying about the past via fossils and bones.

Adventure Academy also has special gaming and video “kiosks” outside the main science wing which impart limited lessons for Math, Writing, Social Studies, and other subjects, such as the “Use Your Words” series where an English professor teaches a cave girl how to use words to express herself; and Bee Multiplication, a multiplication game.

The game offers 4 difficulty levels ranging from Beginner right up to Expert, and you can adjust the levels according to your child’s age and current proficiency level.

Moneyville

Unique in that it is not published by a traditional gaming company, but by Danish multinational banking and financial services corporation Danske Bank, Moneyville is an interactive, mobile app where 6 to 9-year old children can learn about money management, finance concepts, maths, and sustainability. The game is designed for use as part of a standard European maths syllabus and is supplemented by relevant teaching materials.

Aiming to impart financial education to children at a young age to prepare them for fiscal responsibility as they grow up, Moneyville’s main educational aspects include money management concepts like the ways on how to earn money; learning the difference between low-cost and expensive items without a price tag attached; how to save money; how to spend responsibly; and basic budgeting.

Moneyville also offers lessons on math, entrepreneurship, environmental awareness, and other subjects that factor significantly in fostering effective financial habits in children.

Neopets

Originally a part of the Viacom group of companies (which also owns the popular children’s media company Nickelodeon, Neopets is a virtual pet website where users can own virtual pets ("Neopets") and buy virtual items for them using one of two virtual currencies—"Neopoints” which can be earned within the site, and “Neocash” which can either be purchased with real-world money or won by chance in-game—enabling players to create and care for their digital pets in “Neopia”, a virtual world with lands that feature a different theme, such as pirates or prehistory, each with their own shops, games, and attractions.

Described as an online cross of Pokémon and Tamagotchi, Neopets has no set objective, but players are expected to feed and care for their Neopets when they grow hungry or ill or else gameplay will be significantly limited. Neopets come in a variety of species and colors and users can create or adopt their own. Users can obtain items to interact with their Neopet and can be customized with clothing items, paintbrushes, morphing potions, accessories, and a Neohome furnished with furniture, wallpaper, and flooring. Neopets can even battle against other Neopets or non-player characters in Neopia’s Battledome. Games come in many different genres, which include action, puzzles, and luck & chance.

Poptropica

Created by Jeff Kinney, the author of the popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, Poptropica is an online single and multiplayer role-playing game targeted towards children aged 6 to 15 that focuses on problem-solving through game quest scenarios, called "islands". Islands—some of which are themed after certain book series such as Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Big Nate, Timmy Failure, and Magic Tree House—all center on a problem that the player must resolve by going through multiple obstacles, collecting and using items, talking to various characters, and completing goals. All islands, upon completion, award "credits," which are non-negotiable currency that may be used to buy costumes and special effects in the Poptropica store.

Available on Nintendo DS and 3DS, iOS, and Android mobile devices as well as more recently on the Steam gaming platform, Poptropica provides endless hours of gameplay through virtual world adventures, made more exciting with loads of exciting quests and mini-games all designed to look like an actual animated television series with bright colors and unique character designs which only add to Poptropica’s highly addictive appeal.