For the second year in a row, KingsIsle gamers have bound together to raise money for charity in the Extra Life 24-hour gaming marathon. Thousands of gamers from all over the world teamed up to make 2015 the best Extra Life yet, with over $6,300,000 raised for Children’s Miracle Network hospitals this year. As one of the largest fundraising events for the organization, Extra Life helps Children’s Miracle Network with its mission to save and improve the lives of as many children as possible.
From the CMN website:
Together we save kids’ lives. Right now there’s a Children’s Miracle Network Hospital working to save the lives of kids in your community. In fact, 62 children enter a Children’s Miracle Network Hospital for treatment every minute — that’s one child every second. Some are battling cancer. Some are suffering from a traumatic injury. Others require constant care because they were born too early, or with a genetic disease. Regardless of why the kids are there, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals always have their doors open.
This year, 321 Wizards and Pirates joined together on the KI Gamers team, to play games for 24 hours and raise money for a great cause. Saturday, November 7 was game day and players from all over the Spiral joined in on the fun. The team’s original goal was $3,000, and by the end of the day, we had tripled our goal with a grand total of $9,783 raised! We even exceeded our fundraising last year by over $300!
Players who raised $100 or more received the as-yet unreleased Polarian Explorers Bundle. If you didn’t get one for Extra Life, don’t worry! Keep an eye out for an announcement of when this bundle will be available to purchase in stores, coming soon.
Our team’s top fundraiser this year was Alyssa, with an amazing $1,402 raised for her local CMN hospital! For this amazing contribution to the event and to our team, Alyssa will receive a signed poster as thanks from everyone here at KingsIsle. In second place for the KI Gamers team, Joshua raised $1,000. For his contribution and going above and beyond for the team, Joshua will also receive a signed poster.
Thanks so much to everyone who participated! We are endlessly proud of the generous spirit shown in the fans of KingsIsle games.
The Entertainment Software Association’s 2015 Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry report revealed that 59 percent of parents with gamer children join the fun at least once a week. Do you play Wizard101 and other online games or video games with your kids? Here are four reasons you should.
- Children talk while they game
Many parents feel that as their kids get older, they know less and less about their lives. As they sit side by side playing games for kids online, parents share quality time with their children. This makes it easier to get kids to open up about everything from their interests and aspirations to problems at school and within their social circles.
Gaming is also a great bonding experience in and of itself, pointed out author and game designer Jane McGonigal.
“Every time you play a video game with someone in the same room, your breathing rates will start to sync up, your heart rates will start beating at the same pulse and your facial expressions and body language will mirror each other,” explained McGonigal, as quoted by The Wall Street Journal. “It means your brains are working in exactly the same way.”
- Parents can size up their kids’ gaming buddies and weigh in on conflict
Kids love to find online games to play with friends, and when parents are involved in this aspect of their children’s lives, they get the chance to see who their kids are interacting with. Just like in the real world, strife can erupt between peers while gaming, but blowing the whistle isn’t always as easy as it is on the playground.
“There’s conflict sometimes, but no adults,” wrote Forbes contributor Jordan Shapiro. “That means there’s no one to help the kids turn these healthy experiences of everyday conflict into positive learning experiences.”
It stands to reason that children with gamer parents will likely be more willing to bring problems to their parents’ attention—and maybe even ask for advice on how to handle issues that crop up while they play online games with friends.
- Teaching opportunities emerge for both sides
Gamer parents can help their kids navigate in-game social issues, figure out how to complete a particularly tricky level and assist in defeating a formidable boss in battle, but there are also numerous opportunities for children to take the lead.
“It’s nice for the child to be able to teach his or her parents about gaming,” said Sinem Siyahhan, an assistant research professor at the Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, as quoted by Forbes. “Our research is finding that sharing this experience cultivates family bonding, learning and well-being.”
- Gaming is fun!
Whether families play online games for free, purchase/rent video games or sign up for paid subscriptions, gaming is, quite simply, fun. According to the ESA report, 85 percent of parents game with their kids because it’s a fun pursuit for the whole family. In fact, more than half (54 percent) of parents admitted they enjoy playing video games as much as their kids do.
Do you play games with your kids? Share your family gaming stories in the comments below!
If you haven’t ventured into the Spiral yet this month, what are you waiting for? It doesn’t matter whether you’re a brand-new Wizard or you’re best buds with Jack Hallow, because even players who’ve experienced Wizard101 Halloween before are sure to find new, spooky additions to enjoy!
Dress the part
Wizard101 Halloween gear is available throughout October, which means celebrating in the Spiral has reached a whole new level. Choose between the evil Vampire and malevolent Mummy sets, and don’t worry—you can stitch any powers you want into your creepy costume. After all, there’s no reason getting into the seasonal spirit should mean you have to sacrifice your effectiveness in battle.
Go fish
Fishing took the Spiral by storm when it was first released in 2014, and this month, the ever-popular activity comes with a spooky twist. Wizard101 Halloween fish are lurking in the waters of Wizard City—and there’s no telling what they look like or where you’ll find them. Catch them if you dare!
Beat the nosferocious Nosferabbit
Hidden at the end of Triton Avenue, the Haunted Cave is known for the tower that houses the fearsome Lord Nightshade, also known as the toughest boss in Wizard City. It might just be the spookiest place in the Spiral, especially in October. At this time of year, Wizards visiting the area run the risk of coming face to face with the one and only Nosferabbit. Going toe to toe—or do we mean paw?—with Nosferabbit isn’t for the faint of heart, but players who manage to beat this beastly bunny will receive a Frankenbunny pet as a reward!
Shop till you drop
Spooky Bob is a familiar fixture in the Spiral at this time of year. Find him in the Wizard City Shopping District, where you can spend some Crowns on creepy clothes, evil equipment and mysterious masks. Bob even has a trio of Halloween-themed pets for sale: the Ghost Dragon, Nightmare and Zombie Piggle.
Say “Hallow!”
Speaking of familiar fixtures, you can’t miss Jack Hallow in the Ravenwood Commons. The great thing about Jack is that he’s always ready with a suggestion for your next big Wizard City adventure, no matter if you play for free or have access to members-only zones.
Whether this is your first Wizard101 Halloween or you’ve been around the spookily decorated block a few times, one thing’s for sure: There’s no Halloween celebration quite like the one in the Spiral.
It was great to see all our PvP’ing Pirates out to support our special third birthday event as talked about on the recent KI Live and on the Birthday Event page on the Pirate101 Website.
The results are in and we have our random winners! Crowns have already been distributed to the winners by our Community team. We were really excited to see all the pirates who participated—thank you for your support.
First place with 60K Crowns is Slick Mary Renner! Congratulations and thank you for participating in our PvP event.
The runner up winners with 10K Crowns each are as follows:
- Noble Wolf Hawkins
- Stubborn Duncan Freeman
- Quick Cody Dodger
- Crazy Jessica
- James
- Serious Scarlet Jackson
- Dreaming Emmaline Orleans
- Noble Madison Taylor
- Helpful Jack Silver
- Happy Jack Heath
We’d like to say that out of the bunch, Stubborn Duncan Freeman is probably the luckiest Witchdoctor of them all. He had also won Crowns during our last PvP event! The odds of winning again were less than half a percent. WOW!
Thank you all for your support for Pirate101. We’ll host more contests like this in the future. If you have a great idea for a Pirate101 contest or event, feel free to leave it in the comments below.
We’re sure you’ve taken advantage of the trivia challenges on FreeKIGames.com that can earn you free Crowns (and if you haven’t, you should!), but have you seen all of the options that FreeKIGames.com has to offer? With so many different possibilities to choose from, from learning games to action games and everywhere in between, you’re sure to find something you love. Learn about a few of the options you’ll find in the “Sports Games” category on FreeKIGames.com below:
Air Hockey
Get an arcade experience for FREE without having to head out to the arcade! Choose between easy, normal, and hard on each of 3 different modes as you take on computer challengers from all over the world. ‘”Versus Mode” gives you a classic game of air hockey where you are free to pick your competitor and be the first to score seven goals for the win. “World Mode” gives you a tournament style set up—be the first to score seven goals on each of ten challengers to win. “Arcade Mode” also gives you a tournament style set up, this time with seven markers on each side of the table. Hit each one of the markers that your competitor protects from the puck as you play to move on in the tournament. Defeat all 10 of your computer opponents from around the globe to earn a surprise challenger from a faraway land and the chance to be crowned King or Queen!
Mini Putt Forest
Mini Putt Forest gives you two different styles of courses to choose from–Night Forest or Silver Meadow. Click the ball and drag behind it in the direction of your shot while holding the mouse button to create as much power as you’d like. Collect gems and escape hazards while avoiding or using the teleporters to your advantage. Shoot for the fewest possible strokes over the course of nine holes! The combination of your gems collected and the number of shots you take determines your score.
Airborne
You’ve been drafted as a soldier in the war against the brightly colored balloons! Use your slingshot to aim and shoot at the different colored balloons, each with different levels of resistance to your projectiles, as they float up through the sky. Each balloon color is worth a certain number of points. As you earn points and money throughout the levels by popping as many balloons as possible, buy more powerful projectiles to take out more and more balloons with each shot. Don’t let your health level reach zero between popping balloons, or you’ll lose a health point! Lose all 3 health points and it’s game over.
Give these fun mini games a try and tell us your score in the comments below!
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