Virtual worlds may be in general decline, but every once in a while an interesting concept for one rolls around. Today the world is Woozworld, and believe it or not, it’s a tween-oriented title that advertises not only its ability to build social skills but basic economics and finance skills that younger audiences will need later on in life.

In actual play, Woozworld includes all the basic concepts of other virtual worlds, along with a more interesting approach in its primary currency mechanics. Giving young audiences a chance to work on their own, and be creative in their own right, the concept is sound. However, with a tremendous number of things one can do, the game hardly does a quality job of explaining “how” to do it.

After creating a free account directly through Facebook Connect, players jump into Woozworld right away with the creation of a “Woozen” avatar. Randomly placed somewhere in the world, players must learn to swim by being kicked in the river, for the game gives no direction whatsoever. For the record, yes, there is a help menu with dozens of topics that explains what everything is, but without a context to put it all in, this help blurs into a game of trial and error.

Thankfully, the game is not terribly complicated — not that most virtual worlds are — and players are typically able to speak with any of the Woozens walking about where they started off. Starting up a conversation is the most prudent step for two reasons: First, it’s probably the best way to figure out what’s going on (if not, the only other option is to follow some vague, goal-oriented achievements), and second, popularity is rather useful.

One of the major goals for users in Woozworld is to create both the best looking Woozen and “Unitz” (a personal virtual space). Every day, users can vote on the avatars and virtual spaces that they like best. At the end of the week, these are tallied and the winner receives a respectable chunk of game currency. Of course, this is more of a personal accomplishment than a reliable means of income.

Fact of the matter is, that in order to win such votes a good stream of revenue is needed to buy all the virtual items necessary. There are a couple of game-like ways to earn money in Woozworld, that are pretty basic, dubbed “Jobz” and “Infestations!”, which involve random objects popping up throughout the world that are removed with a click to get a bit of the in-game currency, “Beex.” Jobz pop up a single object, while an Infestation is when multitudes of them appear in any given area.

It’s also worth noting that the occasional job may require a very basic mini-game, such as clicking a frog repeatedly in order to burp it. More coin can be earned through finishing achievements and voting. But these methods aside, the real earner is being the salesman.

This is where finances come into play, as users can set up shops called Shop Podz in their virtual spaces. These can be stocked with virtual items from décor to clothing (there are even mannequins one can buy and use), with the idea being to search the world for items others might want — buy low, sell high. Sometimes users will be able to find exclusive or rare items, find specials, order from catalogs, and so on. The process is actually pretty simple; it’s the finding of products that’s a challenge but also part of the fun.

Oh yes, advertisement is necessary too. After all, how can one make sales if no one knows the store exists? Advertisements come in the form of a neat little feature called “Events.” Once a user has a Unitz, they can create events that range from group games, to parties, to sales, and any other user can search for them. These become venues for earning votes and popularity, boosting revenue, or just meeting new people. Granted, events are user generated, so not all will be good, but it’s a pretty cool option that enables younger audiences to be both creative and entrepreneurial. Believe it or not, there’s a decent number of these events going on at any given time.

In the end, these are only the major highlights of Woozworld, and there are dozens of other features within the virtual world. Most are fairly minor, like the “Spellz” that cast special effects on other users, or can even turn players into a temporary vendor, but all add their own little bonuses to game play. At its core, Woozworld is like any other virtual world in the sense that it gives the players some toys and says “go,” and that’s part of the problem.

There is no real direction to Woozworld, and the game often leaves the user wondering what they should do next. The game does do a decent job of promoting the need for social interaction,and turns the play into something that teaches basic life-skills. Free-to-play (though users can subscribe for added benefits), and with the ability to log in with just Facebook, Woozworld feels like a safe, interesting, and somewhat educational title for tween audiences.