It’s a Halloween spooktacular on Club Penguin

In the “spirit” of Halloween, Disney’s popular ClubPenguin.com has added a number of seasonal goodies for kids to discover. If your children are as crazy about this website as mine are, check out what’s new.

Many Sync readers know I’m a syndicated video game critic, so it’s no surprise I get hundreds of video games sent to me each year for consideration (no violins, please).

And you’d think my three young kids (twins, age 7; and a 5 year-old) would go nuts over them. Oh sure, they like playing console and portable games, but they’re at the age where they’d much rather play ClubPenguin.com.

In case you haven’t heard of this award-winning Canadian website — now absorbed by the Disney mothership — Club Penguin lets you create a customizable avatar and roam about a cartoon world to play mini-games, interact with other kids (if parents allow this) and spend earned coins to decorate their home, acquire new pets or unlock new outfits.

According to ComScore Media Metrix, Club Penguin gets as many as 10 million unique visitors a month. The games are free to play but an optional subscription unlocks many new features and areas. Costs are $5.95 a month, $29.95 for 6 months or $57.95 for a full year.

To keep the content fresh, Club Penguin changes things up every major holiday. Here’s what’s new for Halloween, the most popular annual theme party in the virtual world of Club Penguin, says Disney:

* Last month, the skies of Club Penguin (or “CP,” as the parents call it) began to turn orange and you were able to see a plume of grey smoke emanating out of the volcano (which nobody realized was a volcano until this happened). By last week, grey clouds filled the sky from the Dojo courtyard — where players can challenge a penguin sensei to a turn-based strategy game.

* New Halloween festivities include a new “Night of the Living Sled” movie production (the third instalment of this popular production), an igloo decorating contest (with a new feature that allows players to submit their igloo to the contest just by clicking the Enter button) and of course, a number of ghoulishly fun Halloween decorations and costumes.

* My kids’ favourite activity this week is a scavenger hunt to find candy and other Halloween items spreaqd out across the map. By following the written clues or chatting with other Club Penguin players, you can figure out what indoor or outdoor area has the goodies and where to click in order to collect it.

* Dressed-up kids can appear in the costume show in the main village square, which now sports a special stage to congregate on.

* New this year and is a members-only interactive haunted house, which as animated eyes in a picture frame that follow your avatar’s movement or items that react when you place our mouse cursor on top of it, such as blowing candles.

* Finally, the mine now include a secret entrance to the lab of “Gary the Gadget Guy,” who will be making special appearances during Halloween. The lab is the location of the Monster Maker 3000 (think Frankenstein) and special monster catalogue that lets members transform into great monsters for the event.

Be sure to catch all the fun before or on Oct.31.