Hey there, everyone! At long last, it’s time to continue the abruptly ended story of Fairytale Island with the new “side quest” Rumpel’s Challenge… which was once locked behind a paywall, but is now available for all who have completed the main island quest!
Video Walkthrough
For a written walkthrough with pictures, scroll down on this page.
Written Walkthrough
To begin, find Rumpelstiltskin himself waiting on Home Island. If you don’t see him here, you can also look for the magic man on Fairytale Island after you’ve earned your medallion.
You’re (naturally) startled at the sight of a known villain hanging around as though he owns this place, and immediately call for Amelia to tie him up with a rope. But Rumpel doesn’t have time for your threats. He tells you that he knows where the real Fairy Tale king is imprisoned, and gives you a riddle, all for his amusement.
Accepting the side quest will cause Rumpel to vanish in a puff of purple smoke. Now, time to find the king…
The instructions on the riddle point to Mythology Island; specifically, the Museum of Olympus with its statues of gods. Once inside the museum, you’ll find a second riddle hovering in front of Zeus’s statue; whose head has now been replaced by Rumpel’s.
Pick up the second riddle. “Vikings”… “time”… this riddle clearly references Time Tangled Island!
If you’ve already completed Time Tangled, you should have a time travel device ready and waiting in the lower-left corner of your screen once on the island. If you don’t see the device, follow the first part of our Time Tangled Island walkthrough to acquire it.
Now click on the image of the Viking at 2 o’clock on the time device. You’ll be transported back to the year 831 AD. Climb up the rocks as high as you can go, past the cave. A third and final riddle will be waiting for you beneath another horrible stone bust of Rumpel.
“Weep and cry”…who else fits this description but the disheartened Fairy Tale prince himself! Follow the riddle to Fairy Tale Island and enter the castle area, where you’ll find the prince sitting on the flight of steps, continuing to lament the loss of his real father.
He’ll perk up when you share the clue with him. He knows what “golden troves” is referring to: the castle’s treasury! And luckily, he’s got a key.
Inside the treasury, jump up onto a platform at the far right, where a gate hides a small trove. Pulling the lever on the wall beside it will raise the gate and reveal a gold mermaid with — you guessed it — Rumpel’s head in place of the original.
Moving on from this cursed image… jump down from the platform on the opposite side, and descend the stairs onto a lower level. Pull the lever set into the side of the stairs, which will raise a gate up ahead. Go through it and jump all the way down. Here, you’ll find your path blocked by another gate; pull another lever on the wall just behind you to open it.
There’s a new challenge beyond this gate: a giant, snoozing dragon, guarding its treasure. To avoid waking it and activating its fire-breathing abilities, jump over the heaps of gold until you reach the opposite side of the scene. Whew — you’ve made it pretty far!
Finally, you’ve reached what you came for. As you’ll see, there are six troves behind gates: three on a bottom floor, and three on a top floor. Each trove has a pink panel beneath it. And trapped behind the bottom middle gate is the king!
Upon seeing his father, the prince cries (at least this time it’s out of relief). His tears change the panel below him from pink to gray, and the adjacent gates surrounding the king’s cell will be lifted.
The key to freeing the king lies in the prince’s “fragile crybaby disposition,” to quote the king. In other words, you’re supposed to throw various insults at the prince to make him cry on the panels to activate the movement of the adjacent trove gates.
The key to opening the king’s cell is to get all of the gates open at once. This can be done a number of ways, although the simplest way may be this: bottom middle (done automatically), then top middle. (Thanks for the tip, Ammonite.)
Hurrah, you’ve freed the king! That’s all there is to this mystery, right?
…Right?
Aw geez.
That’s that for Rumpel’s Challenge, everyone. What did you think of this side quest? Personally, I’m finding it a bit odd how fragmented Fairytale Island is turning out to be (plus the frequent use of the term “side quest” — what is that, really?). I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see how this all wraps up in the end.
Until next time,
~💜
🏝 Poptropica Help Blog 🗺 
Here are my thoughts on “Rumpel’s Challenge”. Sorry, this review ended up being longer than I expected.
The small cross-island scavenger hunt at the beginning was pretty neat; it shows how much freedom Rumpelstiltskin truly has now. Also, I like that the prince got a bigger part to play and was key to his father’s escape (even if he was just crying at our insults). However, just like in Fairytale Island, the story ended abruptly and left us with more questions. We saved the king, but what else is Rumpelstiltskin planning in the background? It’s intriguing yet frustrating at the same time.
I’m super disappointed that we never got to see the queen in this quest. The Creators showed concept sketches of the queen back when this quest was announced, but we never get to see her save for a statue in the treasury. Come on, I wanted to meet this cat-loving conqueror! Oh well, maybe next quest…
This quest highlights how the Creators are really dragging out the Fairytale saga. It would have been more understandable if this was an episodic island, but they keep giving this island the mini-quest treatment. Plus, we haven’t heard a word regarding the other two Dream Island winners. Are the other islands being developed, or are they being ignored in favor of Fairytale Island?
Anyway, what do you guys think of this quest?
Totally. Now that you mention it, it is a bit weird to hint at a new character who didn’t end up in the quest (even if she’ll probably come in later).
It’s like they’re attempting an episodic island, but it’s disorganized and they’re sort of just figuring it out as they go. That’s the vibe I’m getting anyways.
Regardless, I am excited to see what’s next and where Fairytale ends.
I agree, Purple Paw… Why not just make it an episodic island?
I kind of miss the old way of releasing islands, with Golden Tickets, Island Trailers and that kind of stuff.
I loved old Poptropica…
For the other dream island winners, I’m pretty sure on the creator’s blog they told someone that they’ll be giving us some word on Goofball Island sometime next week, but really, who knows? Other than that I really enjoyed the side quest.
I think we’re getting an “evil queen.” And possibly she has something to do with why Rumplestilskin is attacking so often, maybe?
That’s an interesting theory!
WAIT. The prince said the queen’s a conqueror. What if the queen CONQUERED Rumple’s home and imprisoned him in her palace, making him help her conqueror other lands. What if Rumple’s attacks are a way to get back at her for destroying his home?!
Whoa! That’s really cool! You should make a Popspiracy post!
This would’ve been fun to play.
My thoughts:
First of all, it’s members only. Like why? I realize they need money but why couldn’t they make features exclusive to members and not a part of the storyline?
Second of all, they left us on a cliffhanger again. Considering how many quests we’ll probably get for Fairytale Island in the future, I don’t think the creators are even going to make Goofball and Jade Scarab.
Yeah, Great.
I’m reay hyped for Jade Scarab
*Really
Rumpel’s Challenge did live up to its name by offering a decent challenge — the riddles were a bit straightforward, but the puzzle in the treasury did take some trial and error to figure out. We’re starting to get more gameplay-with-narrative, much more like the classic Poptropica this time than the original Fairy Tale Island was, which is great.
It’s also really interesting to see the world of Poptropica so interconnected lately, first with hopping over to Survival Island in Amelia’s mini quest, and now with Rumpel’s riddles everywhere. It’s rather different from classic Poptropica where islands pretty much stood on their own with few exceptions. That’s not necessarily a good or bad thing, but something worth noting and being careful about — too much can be a crutch.
Also, those self-aware lines about bringing back the old islands and Fairy Tale being too short were a strange surprise. If only the Creators would actually do something about that, though… 🤔As others have mentioned, some questions are still left unanswered and the story is being dragged out in a seemingly haphazard fashion. A little notice about what we can expect would be nice.
Still, it’s a step in the right direction — even if just baby steps.
I agree, 100%
It’s good to know the creators are acknowledging that Fairy Tale was a disappointment to some and all we want are the old islands, but it’s kind of frustrating to know that they know what we want, but still refuse to bring it back, or at least tell us whether or not they’re working on the old islands.
maybe rumple has something to do with the islands not coming back as soon as we’d like.
Didn’t we have to island hop on Counterfeit Island?
Yup, that’s the one and only time we island-hopped in the old Poptropica, which made the moment all the more special. Other islands from the classic map were interconnected in other ways, such as villains reuniting on Super Villain Island. But mostly, islands stood on their own, each offering a distinctive storyline.
When I played the old islands for the first time in 2020, I was kind of surprised at how much islands come together. That’s what I loved about them. They’re so different, yet so similar in some ways.
I didn’t…
I wish it was for non-members too. The pop creators will probably make another side quest with the queen in it.
i agree why do non members cant access to the only members side quest but can only access to the 3 rumplestilkskin riddles and not get the scene where members answer all 3 riddles and find the king but the non members can only find the riddles and then the island completed itself it doesnt make sense and adds up.
@Sweetysally123: The entire Rumpel’s Challenge side quest is for members only — it’s not partially for non-members. However, everyone has access to Fairytale Island, the storyline that precedes this side quest.
Honestly, I really enjoyed this side quest. It was nice to finally know what happens after fairytale island, even though everything seems a bit.. messy. Like everyone else said, it may have worked out better as an episodic island, but I do like what we have nonetheless. It was fun to island-hop, whether it be Amelia’s side quest or this. It just makes the game feel so connected and special. I liked the prince, good to know more about him and his father, and I’ll admit one of my favourite parts was straight-down roasting the prince and poptropica, it was really fun and surprising. Adding this side quest makes Fairytale just a whole lot more intriguing for me, at least. And the side quest did have some pretty funny parts too, again, for me, the one who constantly makes awkward puns. I didn’t have that big of expectations on this quest after how poptropica has been lately, but this gives me more hope that their taking a step in the right direction, even if it isn’t a big step after making this whole thing just for members. It should come up for you guys eventually. Blame me for making this review too positive because I’m in a good mood, and it does seem like I copied the other comments right now, but this just brings me the tiniest bit of hope for poptropica’s future.
I’m not sure if this is a new thing(?) but you can also start this quest on Fairytale Island as well! After you finish the main story, Rumpel shows up on the main street outside of the castle with various items from other islands. The dialogue also seems to be a bit different too (nothing too notable tho) and like I said, I don’t know if this is a new thing but I thought it was kinda cool and I haven’t seen anyone else mention it yet.
That’s interesting, thanks for sharing that!
I can’t find rumplestilskin outside…do i have to put ON the medal?
Poptropicon Bags, 24 Carrot Carrots, Poseidon’s Trident, The Sultan’s Turban
He also gives hints for each riddle:
“You truly are a fool of “mythological” proportions”
“I simply don’t have “time” for this”
“You can’t make heads or “tales” of that last one!”
does anyone know of a way to restart this quest? I was doing mythology island and hadn’t gotten the first riddle but saw the second riddle in the museum and picked it up not knowing what it was. then when I was doing time tangled I saw the third riddle on the viking rock and picked it up. so basically I never got the first riddle and I dont see rumplestiltskin on the home island, the grapple pap quest is in front of adventure outfits instead. can anyone help me out? I don’t know how to get the first riddle and I want to restart it so I can.
I wasnt a member when I got the second and third riddles but now I am? and its still not showing up.
Try:
1. Refreshing
2. Winning FairyTale
3. Go to the where the 3rd scroll directs you and see if you can do it anyway
If it’s still not working, contact Pop support
The first riddle was on a museum in Mythology island. When you find the museum, look through until you see the Zeus statue, and there will be a head of Rumplestiltskin and the riddle
@LISTEN59 Rumple went to Fairytale Island. Go to Main Street, where the three little pigs are, and talk to him to get the first riddle. @PINK CRUSH💖 the SECOND riddle is from Mythology Island. (I played the quest myself).
How do you even know that existed? I didn’t because even though I completed it, I still have the Grapple-Pap side quest
I still have the 3rd quest in my inventory even though I finished it
I CAN’T FIND RUMPEL!!!!!!! ToT
i cannot find rumpel
Will I get the side quest again ? Or more of rumplin ?
No, you can only play Rumpel’s Challenge once. But who knows, Rumpel might show up again in the future — he did make a cameo in the new Jade Scarab Island!
Rumpel has shown up.. kind of, on the Baron’s Ship. Something is wrong over in the Cabin of Curiosities.
Definitely suspicious, and just covered in our latest news post! Wonder what he’s up to?
For Magic Poptropican:
How and where is the cabin of curiosities?
The Cabin of Curiosities is part of the Baron’s airship, which used to land on Home Island monthly, but it hasn’t been seen in over a year now.
I have a glitch that makes it impossible to complete Fairy tale island. No matter which order I do the quests in when I finish them and am coming down from the castle my character falls down from the bridge and tries to jump up but can’t jump onto the bridge. This ends me with a infinite loading screen and I can’t finish the island! Please help!
Sorry to hear that! Please contact Poptropica support on their website directly so they can fix this glitch.
Did anyone else notice the little Gollum cameo in the treasury? He’s in the cell thing next to the golden owl on the far left and only appears once though.
Did anyone else notice Xavier’s statue in the picture of the entire treasury?
It is on the top right corner of the dragon area
There was also a golden statue of the Red Baroness wearing a crown, it was right after the dragon room you could see it if you climbed up the little (windows?).
I am thinking of making a popspiracy theory about this.
Did anyone else’s side quest never work? Rumple never showed up on the home island, and I couldn’t find him on fairytale island.
Where did you look for him on fairytale island?
Everywhere. The woods, castle, cliff, everywhere in between. Home Island. Etc.
You could try to contact poptropica support about it, here’s the link: https://www.poptropica.com/contact/contact-players
Thanks! I reached out to them.
btw the code in the ending room is bottom middle, top middle.
i cant get past the treasurer part (not waking up the dragon)
Try standing right in front of a gold pile, then jumping over it.
Can we play twice day I restart fairlytale island or does he only pops up that one time
I believe you can only play it once.
Unless you don’t have an account then only once
On rumples third riddle, when i go to talk to the prince all he says is “Wheres my real dad” and then the conversation stops. What do i do?
Sorry but I don’t think that side quest is working anymore. It most definitely doesn’t work if you’ve already done the quest (Ive tried to do it again but it doesn’t work) But if it’s your first time it’s probably not working bc Pops moving to Cool Math Games. Anyway, sorry I don’t think I can help anymore than that 🙂
I’m a little late to this, but thought I’d share my opinion on it as well.
Fairytale Island as a whole was good in my opinion. I found it to be fun and not very difficult. I always enjoy an easy island from time to time. The plot was interesting, and I loved seeing their spin on these classic and loveable fairytales. As for the Side Quest, I found it slightly anticlimactic. It did answer some questions and tie loose ends, however. We finally got to interact with and bring the Prince into the story, as well as the actual king. I enjoyed conversing with the Prince and learning more about him. He’s such a comical and loveable character! Rumpelstiltskin as well. I found him to be a funny and interesting villain. The Side Quest wasn’t very difficult, just slightly time-consuming because of the traveling between islands, like in Amiliea’s Quest. But I did enjoy doing so. I don’t like that it was only available to members for a period of time, but I’m glad they released it for free shortly after.
Many people were upset over not being able to see the Queen, but I really wasn’t. I found the story fine without her, and don’t see a place where she would have been necessary. It would be nice to see her in a, hopefully, future Side Quest as mentioned at the end of Rumpel’s Side Quest.
I find it confusing that they made it a Side Quest instead of ‘part two’ like many other islands, but kind of understand why. It wasn’t very long or difficult, and neither was the original island. Other islands, such as Mission Atlantis 1 and 2, Survivial 1, 2, 3, and 4, and many other islands, were longer and more difficult to play. Fairytale Island wasn’t long nor challenging, so making the follow-up into a Side Quest rather than a whole other island on the main map was an understandable choice. Overall, I found this Island and its Side Quest enjoyable and entertaining. It met my, not very high, expectations in the best way possible. It followed a good plot and was comical and worth playing. I hope to see Rumpelstiltskin and Fairytale Island again in the future. Hopefully, we get to see the Queen.
This rlly helped me a lot cuz at first I was so lossed cuz they nexts riddles where not showing so watching the video rlly rlly helped me so I thank u so much for tht.