Hey Poptropicans, it’s Slanted Fish.
In this post, I’ll be exploring the topic of Poptropica and age. This is a continuation from two previous posts, so if you haven’t already read them, be sure to first catch up with Part 1 here and Part 2 here. Once you’ve read those, continue on below to Part 3!
Are you ever “too old”? Is it weird for anyone older than 12 to like Poptropica?
Well, this might sound like a cop-out answer, but it really depends on your perspective. Ask a community of Poptropica fans, and they’ll probably tell you no. Ask another person whose tastes do not align with yours, and they might answer differently.
Is Poptropica a kids’ game? By many accounts, yes. Is it also an all-ages game? Though the most populous group will probably continue to be the group the game was made for, you’ll find players of varying ages in this community. By that detail, it’s okay if you fall outside the typical spectrum.
This is a cliche, but: age is just a number. (Or as the memes will tell you, “False! Age is just a word.”) It’s only a recommendation guide, and you are not obligated to follow. You may find an 8-year-old who hates Poptropica, and an 18-year-old who loves it. Stereotypes can be broken. What matters is whether you find joy in it – whether it’s constructive to you and the people around you. Taking this into account, the factor of age becomes less important.
Yujo, a longtime Poptropican who is now 20, says this about his commitment to the game: “Part of what has made me return to the game is nostalgia, I suppose. Another would be the storytelling of Poptropica, continually dishing out something new every now and then. Even with Poptropica Worlds, a new platform, I still find myself enjoying playing it. One other thing that has made me stay for so long, despite my age, is the amazing community. I’ve made some fond memories playing Pop, so I’ll probably make some more before I pop on out down the line.”
There may be people who look at an older player and go, “Really? Don’t you have better things to do?” and, yes, it might strike them as odd. But that’s just the question: if you do enjoy your involvement in Poptropica, whether it’s just the game or something more – then isn’t it something worth doing, despite what critics may say?
And here is another thing critics may overlook: the Poptropican side of Ye Olde Player may be the only side they are seeing. But the truth is that every person on this earth is a complex individual, which means, for starters, that we all have lives offline. We go to school, we hang out with our family and friends, we pursue our interests, the list goes on. Some of us are just a tad farther down the age line than others.
Will most of the high school and college-aged still be playing beyond the early twenties? That remains to be seen. This group has gone past the old recommendation of “6–15 years old” for a handful of years now, and who’s to say there won’t be more years? As long as Poptropica continues to be enjoyable and keeps coming out with new and interesting content, the oldies might just stick around a little longer.
Here’s the other thing: everybody finds things and activities they enjoy, or at least, something to occupy themselves with. If your life didn’t have Poptropica in it, it would have something else: perhaps other games, books, movies, TV shows, hobbies, etc. And these things are not mutually exclusive! You can enjoy Poptropica while pursuing other interests and duties in your life, too – in fact, it would be pretty unhealthy not to.
Either way, you’ll find something to take hold of and be inspired by.
Why not let it be Poptropica?
Well, that’s my take on Poptropica and age – all three parts of it. In case you missed it, you can catch Part 1 here and Part 2 here.
Do you agree or disagree with these thoughts? What has your experience been? Share in the comments below!
Keep on popping on, Poptropicans.
~🐠
🏝 Poptropica Help Blog 🗺 
Usually you stop being playing poptropica when something happens. It could be you don’t have membership, you are busy, you are stuck on an island, you beat all the islands, or even you are waiting for an island to come out. The first time I played poptropica, I rage quit because I wanted to to play escape from pelican rock, but it wasn’t available to non members. However, I did keep thinking about poptropica, even though I didn’t play it.
People who start the game when they are older usually play for a while, because they want to catch up on islands they missed. I don’t think you can ever be to old for poptropica. No one ever quits because they are “too old.”
Yeah, that’s an interesting insight. But sometimes being “too busy” can be linked with feeling “too old” for the game, for those under the impression that the game is only for a certain age range and that having more pressing priorities in your busier life as an older person means that you should give up on this game that’s seen as for younger people.
There is some merit to that thought, but that’s not the only thing to consider. I’m of the opinion that if you have time to give to something that you enjoy (whether Poptropica or otherwise), even if you are out of the expected target audience, there’s no harm in pursuing it (given that you aren’t causing harm, of course). In fact, if it’ll bring joy to you and maybe even to others, how can people fault you for that?
You put it perfectly- pursuing what you love is important
I’m glad it resonated with you guys!
When will I be too old? Never. I will play until I die.
XD JK JK, but this game of one of those things I keep coming back to. I haven’t tried to quit, but I’m temporarily lose interest, then come back within a week. Crazy, isn’t it?
Same LW
The game I just can’t quit. In a good way.
Exactly!
Exactly.
Nah, not crazy. Just gotta keep that balance between your life and your interests. 😉
(has practically no life)
That was easy! XD
This was pretty cool to read. Thanks Fishsticks
Glad you enjoyed, Cerealbars.
I think I would be too old when I’m sitting at the front of my house holding a cane saying to the kiddies, “Get off my lawn, whippersnappers! Go on! Get! Skedaddle! Don’t make me call your folks!” while still playing Pop. xD Hypothetically speaking, of course, since a form of Poptropica may not necessarily be around by then. If you let critics control your life you’ll miss out on the things you enjoy simply to appease them. Also, thanks for taking my input for this on, Fishy 🙂 .
Haha. Good point, Yujo, and no problem – thanks for contributing your thoughts for this post! 😀
When are you too old to play Poptropica. You are too old to play Poptropica if you are 16 years old! But for Poptropica Worlds you are too old if you are if you are 100 years old. duh
That would be the technical answer. But life is more nuanced than that. 😉
I want Red Lizard to fix the discolored limbs and make all avatar parts work in the correct places on iPop.
Red Lizard doesn’t own iPop, Santorno does. Also, the PHB has a post about how to fix discolored limbs here, courtesy of Perfect Sky.
Fine, you do it.
Thanks for this interesting series of posts! ^^
Thanks for enjoying them! 😀
You should be allowed to like whatever you want, despite your age. If people don’t like that, that’s their problem, right?
I want Santorno to fix the discolored limbs and make all avatar parts work in the correct places on iPop.
I want Santorno to fix the discolored limbs and make all avatar parts work in the correct places on iPop.
Hi! In case y’all were wondering, I’m 11 and I got into Poptropica when I was about 9.
Hi!
but how old do you have to be?
I started playing when I was 8.
I am older than 11 but I still play it.