Penguin games are
all the rage among kids, and thanks is due in no small part to their feathery
protagonists. Penguins have quite a few mannerisms that work in their favour -
their cute waddle, their catchy head bob and the wacky wing-flap come together
to make them quite endearing to onlookers. Add to that their unmistakable black
and white coat and their dark yellow beaks, and you have one beautiful bird
that everyone loves to love.
Perhaps that was why Lane Merrifield and
his friends chose penguins to be the main characters in the social game they
decided to create for their kids. However, it is unlikely that they knew then
how popular their creation, Club Penguin, would become. In just two years, it
had 3.9 million users and was soon bought by Disney for a whopping 350 million
dollars. While Club Penguin may still be the biggest penguin game online, there
are many others that have also managed to hit the right note with their young
target audience. Here are a few of the best penguin games online.
“DJ3K - clubpenguin
yellow puffle” by IvanWalsh.com
is licensed under CC BY
2.0
Club Penguin – Well, this
had to top the list for obvious reasons. The game is an MMO virtual world
targeting kids in the age group of 6 to 12. Players use penguin avatars to
explore the snowy terrain and play fun games on their own or with other
players. Each player gets an igloo which they can choose to customize and
invite other players to. They also get to customize their avatars, chat with
other players, adopt pets, attend parties and take part in challenges around
the island.
Penguins of
Madagascar – Now these are popular penguins, perhaps even the most famous
of their species. Rico, Skipper, Private and Kowalski have charmed audiences in
several movies and cartoons and they now have an entire virtual world to their
name. Fans get to join these elite secret agents in a mission to take down Dr.
Octavius Brine and his evil henchmen. Interestingly, this game has an
educational element to it, with players making use of scholastic and critical
thinking skills to help the covert birds on their mission.
Penguin Diner – There are several diner
games online, where the player races to take orders, serve food to the
customers, and generally provide good service to collect big tips. However, the
huge popularity of the Penguin Diner game in particular goes to prove how the
addition of a flightless bird does good things for kids’ games. Penny the
Penguin gets lost on a trek to Antartica and works as a waitress at a local
diner to make money to return home. Players assist her in seating the customers,
taking their orders, making sure they are served on time and meeting the
targets for each day. The money that Penny saves can be used to buy upgrades
within the game. With the rising popularity of this penguin game came Penguin
Diner 2, Penguin Diner 3, Penguin Diner 4 and Penguin Diner 5. Strangely
though, Penguin Diner 4 does not feature penguins!
Flying Penguin games – Interestingly, these
games take their inspiration from the very fact that penguins cannot fly! There
are several types of flying penguin games. Learn to Fly is a popular one where
a lone penguin in Antartica, surfing the internet, is offended to see penguins
described as flightless birds. He is determined to change that, and sets out to
do research on what prevents penguins from flying and what kind of contraptions
and flight conditions would help him achieve the smoothest, highest and longest
flight. In Learn 2 Fly, the penguin has become wiser and uses a dummy to
continue his research. He has also become quite frustrated, and adds an element
of destruction to his efforts to fly.
Apart from these popular penguin games,
there are plenty of other penguin games available online. You can even find an
entire website dedicated to the penguin flash games on the internet, including
several of those mentioned above. Penguins may not be able to fly, but they
sure do know how to have fun.
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