U.B. Funkeys is a collectible toy online game made by Mattel and Arkadium. Unlike some games that require regular log-ins and creature maintenance or items that gave you limited access time, U.B. Funkey allows you to access an online world and minigames with each collectible toy.

A quick recap, U.B. is the USB critter that plugs into your computer, and the smaller, more colorful Funkey sits on its hollow back. Contact plates on their feet transmit the data to the base, and your online avatar changes to that particular Funkey on the fly. It was easy for a young child to set a Funkey on U.B. Strong magnets guide it into place and makes firm contact.

Funkeys activate different portals to different lands and provide access to their own “house” and minigame. It has been about a year after launch, and Mattel brings to us more Funkeys and lands, and the story has evolved. Terrapina has discovered more information about the portals, and each land brings new and interesting experiences and denizens — one being the friendly cooties who just love you! However, their love makes you a little messy, and you’ll have to get a wash every so often, or you’ll trail a cloud of dirt behind you, much like Pigpen did in Charlie Brown’s world.

A year later means that my nephew has more hand-eye coordination and is learning to read, so I provided him his own account, as long as he could spell his own name. He could, and so the little guy was running around proudly in Terrapina with an abbreviated version of his own name.

The updated world of Terrapina contains many more animated items, including the wash stations, which could be fountains, steam baths and even an icky “lick pit” in the Nightmare realm, where a huge monster tongue or maggots came to clean you up. My nephew absolutely loved that portal.

This update also provided a new chat system with Chat Funkeys, which took you to a chat station where players could use the menu chat system to talk to each other. There is absolutely no free chat, and the menu system may only be used to talk about the game itself and used for the usual social greetings. Several short phrases also can be stringed together, and it was obvious from the moment I entered that some players have been chatting for some time as the conversation flew by quickly. Although it was open chat in the chat-house, everyone wanted to be everyone’s friend. This is because a telephone can be bought by earning enough coins in game for your crib and you’ll be able to chat to friends from there, or a cell-phone also may be purchased with in-game coins and then you can chat on the fly. Hoping of course that the evil Henchman doesn’t shake you down for coins while you are distracted.

Having a long friends list also means that you can participate in multiplayer games. These are games accessed by the multiplayer Funkeys in their respective houses and lands. One is the Nightmare portal, and I had Sproket, who had a boxing game he could play as single player or challenge a friend to play. Another is Funkiki Island, and a new friend immediately challenged me to a game of Mahjong! All these games also gained you in-game coin, trophies for your crib and if you score high enough, the game for your game room in your crib.

New Web sites and blogs are popping up all the time, including one written by a 6-year-old and his mom, which provides tips and tricks to the game. It was there that I discovered that the official site will post time-limited codes that give you a unique item for your crib plus some in-game coin. How cool is that?

We had not returned to Funkeys in a while because I had deemed the children too young to play the game by themselves as the game is rated for 9+. This new update has brought us an updated U.B. with some graphics on him and new character Funkeys. The art in these new worlds are quite beautiful. The Nightmare portal with its elaborate junkyard corner, scary eyeballs and other icky creepy-crawlies was really gruesomely gorgeous, and I am now tempted to find out what the other multiplayer lands are like. The children did wave another Target flyer at me with the Funkiki Adventure set on sale with promises to be very, very good the next time I baby-sit.

Mattel also informs me that a new Funkey loudspeaker will be launched in time for the holiday gifting season as well as Funkey USB drive that’s exclusive to Target, and I would expect other specials at other retailers such as K-Mart. So ... we shall see, kids, we shall see indeed. That is, if I resist the temptation of buying new Funkeys for me rather than for them.