Author: Slanted Fish

Hello! I'm Slanted Fish, the editor-in-chief and creator of the Poptropica Help Blog (PHB). I'm a writer, Hong Kong native, and Christ follower. My Poptropica username is slantedfish 🐠 Don't forget to be awesome!
Guest Posts

Get Wise about Pathwise

Slanted Fish

pathwise-tm

(Hey Poptropicans! This is a guest post written by TallMelonisCool, a Poptropica player in the community. In this post he’ll be sharing some tips for the game of Pathwise. Enjoy! –🐠)

My favorite common room game on Poptropica is Pathwise. It’s the one I’m best at, and I have some tips to share, so I thought I’d make a guest post about it. Here we go!

Tip #1: Start in the middle of the playfield.

People say that starting on your end in Pathwise makes it easier to get across to the other end.

But actually, starting right in the middle makes it easier to block the other person if they start at their end of the playfield, giving you an advantage.

Tip #2: Leave gaps in between each move.

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Move in a way where you place a tile in the middle, then place your next tile not next to your first tile, but leave gaps, like you see in the picture.

Once you get all your tiles placed like this from one end to another, it is much harder for the other player to block you. Even if they block one of the two spaces that you left in the gap, there is still more space for you to form your path!

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Looking at the board above, at this point, it’s like I’ve already won!

Tip #3: When trying to block the other player, do not place your tile too close to other player’s path. Instead, build a wall.

A mistake that players make is that, when they try to block their opponent, they mostly place their tile right next to the opponent’s path. Most of the time, if the opponent is smart, they will move around that and avoid the block. But it is a lot better if you place your tile as far away as you can because you can start making a wall to block your opponent.

Well, that’s all the tips I have for being a great player at Pathwise, but do also check out the PHB’s Pathwise Guide for more tips, as well as tips in their other Game Guides. 

Now get out there and win lots of Pathwise battles! 😀

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Hope you enjoyed this guest post by TallMelonIsCool!

The PHB welcomes guest posting from anyone in our community if you have something to share, whether it be sneak peeks, My Place in Poptropica stories, or any other ideas you might have. We also encourage sharing on our subreddit and the PHC.

If you have an idea for a guest post, send it in to [email protected]! :)

My Place in Poptropica

My Place in Poptropica: Calm Star (TealWings)

Slanted Fish

This is the My Place in Poptropica story of Calm Star (TealWings), who discovered her passion for writing through browsing the Poptropica fandom. See the bottom of this post for sending in your MPIP!

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2010-2012 | Early Days

I was about four or five years old when I started to play Poptropica. We were at the library, when I saw my sister playing a game on the computer. I asked her about what she was playing and she responded, “You are a baby! That tiny brain of yours can’t do anything!” Those words stung like bees.

However, when I went home that day, I decided to start a Poptropica account. My first account was called Messy Speck. I like that name because, it was so…. me. When my sister saw me playing Poptropica, she suddenly wanted to help me. She showed me what the icons meant, how to make friends, and more. Back then, I did not know how to beat a single island! I needed help, and fast. But it wasn’t until a couple of years that I figured that out.

2013-2014 | Poptropica Help Blog and Being Too Busy

I was searching one day for a website to help me beat the islands. Then, I saw my sister looking at a walkthrough. I always studied it when she was at the computer, then I found its name, Poptropica Help Blog. I immediately looked it up and clicked on it.

It gave me so much information! I would spend days on the computer, reading its tips and tricks. I was in love! Now, I used it all the time when I wanted to do something on Poptropica.

The following year, in 2014, I was super busy, so I only played on the weekends. Besides, I figured, Poptropica will never disappear… right? I was on and off Poptropica a lot, also playing other games my friends played.

Plus, my computer had a lot of viruses. Eventually, I had lost interest in Poptropica, so I quit playing.

2015 | A New Account

In 2015, I got a new account, Cool Star. My interest in Poptropica renewed, but I did not use an account to play much. Instead, I read the PHB a lot. I could not comment on the stories and posts I saw, because I did not have an email account. (Editor’s note: You can comment on the PHB without an email address – just enter a fake one!)

So, I wrote what I wanted to say on the PHB in my own journal. Because of this, I fell in love with writing. I loved the way you could express your feelings anonymously!

Pretty soon, I had three journals full of my feelings. Writing did not just become a hobby, but a passion. I wrote fiction and nonfiction articles about anything! I became addicted to writing!

At some point, I stopped playing Poptropica again. My other friends were playing new games, so I did too. I thought I’d quit Poptropica forever. I became busy with other things, so Poptropica was the least of my worries.

But I was still writing. A lot.

2016 | A New Way

In 2016, I actually found time for Poptropica. I had gotten an email account, and so, it was commenting time on the PHB!! I actually did not comment a lot – but I kept writing in my journal.

I’m now in fifth grade. And I love playing Poptropica! My username is TealWings, and my name on Poptropica is Calm Star. But I am not calm!!! I have beaten 20 islands, but not on the same account.

Also, you might see me in the common rooms! I love how you can’t say mean things on Poptropica. Why do you have to be mean to someone?

Anyway, without Poptropica, I would not have realized my passion for writing! Ok, that was awkward. Did I come on too strong? Let us keep going. I also want to say that, thanks to the PHB’s Avatar Studio Gift, I have a lot of cool costumes. Well, that’s all for now… PEACE OUT!

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Hope you enjoyed this “My Place in Poptropica” story! Feel free to send in your own (please include a minimum of 550 words, type with good spelling and grammar, divide it into labeled sections, and include your username). Look out for more community MPIPs in the future!

~the Poptropica Help Blog

Contests, PHB Sneak Peeks

Snapping peeks at 2007 BETA, a test room, & #PoptropicaFun winners

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans!

Post update: After a long silence, Poptropica has finally posted something on Snapchat! (Perhaps you don’t even remember they had one to begin with! You can add them via the username PoptropicaSC.) It looks like Skinny Moon runs this account as well, as that’s her dog Toby and her Poptropican who’s “all cozy for fall!”

Here’s hoping we see some more behind-the-scenes of a Poptropica Creator’s life in future snaps! The PHB will let you know if anything interesting pops up. 😀

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Remember what Poptropica looked like in September 2007 when it first launched? Don’t worry, neither do most of us. But this interesting old YouTube video (uploaded by Codien, an old friend/author of the PHB) shows us a primitive version of the game way back in the day (recording software watermark aside). Here’s a screenshot from the video:

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Notice the ‘BETA’ beside the Poptropica logo at the top. Apparently, the game was still considered to be in a beta testing stage back then. Early Poptropica, which we see in the video, was the only island at the time. The Items and Map features are reduced to simple buttons with text – orange and purple respectively. Interesting.

On another interesting note, our friend idk has shared with us another behind-the-scenes look at a developer test room. You can see an unreleased, “under construction” cityscape in the video below:

Cool views! You can check out more developer rooms here.

Also, over on Poptropica’s social media channels – and as we saw earlier with the Snapchat story, Skinny Moon has updated her icon with some fall vibes, donning the colorful scarf from the new Fall Fashion 3 outfit and clutching a football. Nice.

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And winners have been contacted on Twitter and Instagram for the #PoptropicaFun Halloween Photo Booth challenge! On Twitter, the winners are unhurted083, mrmontana64, and MWare55, and on Instagram, it’s happyclonetrooper. Congratulations and enjoy your 1-month memberships!

Speaking of contests, I’m doing a little giveaway in my previous post, so be sure to enter! You have until next next Tuesday, November 15th.

Stay popping, Poptropicans!

–/🐠

Contests, Merchandise

A Poptropica Package!

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! Check out what recently came through the mail!

Somewhat recently, I won third place in the official #PoptropicaArt contest, with the prize being a 1-month membership and “a bunch of Poptropica swag.” Well, my membership is running out soon, but the swag has arrived – and I thought perhaps you might be interested in seeing what’s inside!

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As you can see, the small cardboard box that arrived contained: a Dr. Hare plush toy (see below for a little giveaway of the redeemable code!), copies of the two Poptropica graphic novels currently in print (#1: Mystery of the Map and #2: The Lost Expedition), plus Zomberry DJ decals!

The decals of Zomberry-fied DJ Saturday Nite munching away are stickers made for laptops (one made for Apple, one for other types) – as seen in this pic from Jen MacLean, a Poptropica Creator. They were nested in a page spread inside the Mystery of the Map book. Very cool.

There was another surprise waiting inside the second book, The Lost Expedition – one of the opening pages was signed! I’m assuming the signature is that of the author, Pop Creator Mitch Krpata (unless that K is for Kory Merritt, the illustrator?) (update: Poptropica clarified in a comment on this post that it’s Mitch’s signature!). Either way, pretty awesome!

And as I mentioned earlier, I’ll be giving away the redeemable code that comes with the Dr. Hare toy! Redeeming the code will give you two exclusive in-game items: the Hare Club power and Dr. Hare Plush handheld. (Learn how to redeem promo codes here.)

To enter this little giveaway, simply comment below on this post with your favorite Poptropica store item and why you like it. I’ll pick one random Poptropican from the comments to give this one-time code to! Entries will be taken up until next next Tuesday, November 15 (my birthday!).

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Of all the Poptropica toys out there, the Dr. Hare plush is honestly the one I’d have wanted the most – so it’s a great coincidence to have received one as part of this awesome Poptropica package! The other items are fantastic too, of course.

Thanks to the Poptropica Creators for the prize package, for hosting the art contest, and many other fun events besides! 😀 ❤ Be sure to enter the mini giveaway too (you never know if you’ll win!).

Stay popping, Poptropicans!

– slantedfish 🐠

Contests, Stolen Snapshots

Announcing the 8th Annual Autumnal-Halloween Winners!

Slanted Fish

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Happy Halloween, Poptropicans! 🎃

The day has come for us to announce the winners of the PHB’s 8th Annual Autumnal & Halloween Contest, so here it comes. We’ve gone through your spooky and stylin’ costumes and, what with your stupendous fashion senses, it was quite the task to narrow it all down! In fact, we’ve decided to have 6 per category instead of 5 as originally announced. Here they are…

🍂 The TOP 6 Fall Costumes! 🍂

We were totally falling for these amazing fall/autumn attires. But hold on, there’s more…

🎃 The TOP 6 Halloween Costumes! 🎃

As we announced in our contest post, each of these ten twelve winners will receive a one-month Poptropica membership, courtesy of the Poptropica Creators! (Winners, keep an eye on your email.) In addition, their spiffy suit-ups will also be immortalized on the PHB’s Costumes page.

But there were so many awesome entries that we couldn’t stop here – so we’ve selected several Honorable Mention winners as well. The prize for our HMs is simply the honor of being featured here:

👻 Honorable Mentions 👻

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There’s one last Spooktober Special to get to today… the Stolen Snapshots!

Here are the anticipated answers for where each spooky snippet is to be found:

  1. Back Lot Island (the set in Studio 1)
  2. Mission Atlantis, Episode 3 (the hole made by the Leviathan)
  3. Astro-Knights Island (the candles in the secret Mordred club)
  4. Monster Carnival Island (one of the horses on the carousel)
  5. Super Power Island (the comet)
  6. Vampire’s Curse Island (the clock on top of the cinema)
  7. Zomberry Island (this is on top of the Smoothie shop)
  8. Haunted House (bathroom)
  9. Spy Island (cat in front of the spyglass shop)
  10. Ghost Story Island (cemetery)

Although nobody got all of them right, two Poptropicans did each get three right: Tall Cactus and Muddy Kid. As for those who got two or less, they are Zany Panda, 3milyCx, Shaky Skunk, and Spooky Cereal. Congratulations!

Thanks to everyone who participated in any segment of our Autumnal/Halloween competitions! We hope you enjoyed dressing up and guessing at inverted snapshots in this sp00py month of October. Congratulations to all the winners, and to every Poptropican in the neighborhood: happy Halloween!

👻 trick or treat, trick or treat 🍬
🍭 give me something good to eat! 🎃