TO emphasize that you have not just simply purchased a stuffed animal, but are adopting a new friend, your first Webkinz experience happens at the adoption office, staffed by Mrs. Birdy, a matronly penguin. (Scuttlebutt has it that Mrs. Birdy has an "understanding" with Dr. Quack, a duck with a Scots burr who is the Webkinz attending physician. LOL.) For an initial adoption, you begin by picking a username. Then you are given the opportunity to name your pet and choose its sex. Then, finally, you enter the code that comes on the Webkinz tag. A little biography of your new pet appears.
Voila, your pet now has a history.
With a pet you are also issued a medium-sized room and a certain amount of "Kinzcash." You are now responsible for keeping your pet happy, healthy, and well-fed. You can provide your pet a minimal good life by spending your Kinzcash at the "W Shop" for a basic bed and healthy foods like broccoli, corn, and carrots. However, thet W Shop also boasts multiple theme room furnishings such as sports, pirate, fantasy, country, etc., junk foods if you so choose, and even toys and games. So, as in real life, you must earn money to support your pets.
There are several simple daily events that you can do to manage this.
• The Wheel of Wow: Think the big cash wheel at the end of the Price is Right. You can win several different cash prizes, a couple of different food items, or a couple of different items, like a bed or a poster or T-shirt. Don't want a poster or T-shirt? You can sell it back to the W Shop!
• Wishing Well: A slot machine format in a wishing well? Whatever. certain combinations of fruits or animals give you money; a wildcard helps form matches. A wishing well will give you other money.
• Wacky Bingoz: Just like real Bingo, except with six blocks instead of five. Horizontal, vertical, or diagonal will get you $1000 on the 1 ball game, $500 on the 2 ball game, and $250 on the 3 ball game.
• Care Award: Click on the care award button daily and you get a free food item for your pet and a small amount of Kinzcash. If you do this for an entire week, you are placed in a drawing for an exclusive item.
• Gem Mining: The Curio Shop is owned by an old codger named Arte, a golden retriever who used to be an archaeologist who specialized in hunting treasure (a "golden retriever," get it?). Arte has various specials every hour—watch out! some can be found in the W Shop at a lower price, or sometimes he has only a minimal sale. W Shop coupons usually provide a better discount, but they don't come often. Arte also sells a rare item once a day, or items that are not sold in the W Shop. The other thing you can do in the Curio Shop, once a day, is search for Gems in one of five mines. You can sell the gem to Arte for whatever he'll give you for it, or you can save 30 different gems for a Webkinz Crown of Wonder, which your pet can wear (or which you can sell at the W Shop).
• Quizzy's: A dapper golden bear named Quizzy runs the trivia section of Webkinz. There is a daily trivia question and also a daily calendar trivia question. For extra points, you can answer more trivia questions at Quizzy's, which are divided into age groups from 5-6 to adult. But there are a finite number of Quizzy's questions, and once you're done, you'll need to wait for him to post more.
Next time: More ways to earn money!
Support Your Pet the Webkinz Way
