Category: Guest Posts

Guest posts are blog posts that are written by Poptropicans who are not staff writers on the PHB team at the time of writing. Interested in contributing? Check out our “Write for the PHB” guide under the Contact tab up top.

Guest Posts, Poptropica Worlds, Reviews

In the Eyes of a Newbie: Poptropica Original vs Worlds

Slanted Fish

This post originally appeared on The Pop Blog and is being shared on the PHB courtesy of the author, LillySparkle$. See the bottom of this post for how you, too, can write for the PHB!

newbie eyes

Hey guys, today I am here with a rather unusual yet interesting post: we’re going to see Poptropica from the eyes of a newbie who’s never played before.

Since most of us reading this have probably been with Poptropica for a while, our opinions about the new Worlds are heavily influenced by the Poptropica we’ve gotten to know. But have you ever wondered what Poptropica looks like in the eyes of a little kid playing for the first time? Which would he like better: the new or the classic?

We’re going to dive in by introducing my friend Super Bug (that’s his Poptropican name) – a seven-year-old boy who’s never played Pop – to the game of our childhoods.

To keep things even, this commentary is only about his play-throughs of one island on each: Monkey Wrench on the original, and Crisis Caverns on Worlds.

Poptropica Original

I got Super Bug started on this one first because I think it’s always better to start with the originals. I helped him pick a name and get the basic customization. Then, he went to the tutorial of Monkey Wrench Island and figured things out on his own.

He said he enjoyed the action, specifically when the Red Baroness throws the wrench at the airplane. He liked the controls of the game, like climbing and jumping: “I felt like a ninja playing it!” He thought that “the floating head is sorta creepy and sorta funny!” His favorite parts of playing were the action, solving problems, and the puzzles, such as the one with the rock and the crab.

His only complaint was that the Red Baroness was “mean and didn’t want them to win the race.” When I asked for any final word on the game, he gave the descriptive answer of “it was good.” So there you have it!

Poptropica Worlds

Design-wise, Super Bug said he liked Poptropica Worlds because they had “necks which made them less scary.” Like the original, he said he liked the mini games and challenges. He had so much fun!

He loved the geysers (water-shooting rock formations) you could jump on in Crisis Caverns. He enjoys the jumping because it was “much further than a human jump” and made you feel “like a superhero!” He loves the idea of houses as well and had lots of fun playing around with his!

He doesn’t like the difficulty of controls that was different from the first one. Overall, he said it was “good.”

The Verdict

Before I tell you which Poptropica he picked as the winner, I want to add in how Poptropica could actually be quite educational for kids. I never really noticed it before since I am older, but Super Bug had tons of fun reading the characters and giving them specific voices. He loved solving the problems and thinking of solutions. It was a really cool thing to see, and it took me by surprise!

So, when asked which one he liked better, he chose… both!?

And I am not making this up or anything. He played through both and said he couldn’t pick! He liked both for different reasons, and he thought the game was so fun! He loved every minute of playing both games! I am really excited to see him completing more and more islands.

Well that about sums up the first taste of both Poptropicas, as experienced by a seven-year-old. And because he is only seven, his answers and reviews on Poptropica aren’t the most complex or detailed, but that’s fine. What matters is that he had fun and enjoyed the game!

Hope this was an eye-opener for you guys! Let me know in the comments if you remember any first thoughts you had about Poptropica as a kid, or just your thoughts on the whole ordeal!

 Signing out,

Lills (Maroon Jumper)

Hope you enjoyed this guest post by LillySparkle$! Be sure to check out her site, The Pop Blog.

The Poptropica Help Blog welcomes interesting Poptropica insights from anyone in the Poptropica community with thoughts to share. You can find some tips and guidelines on our Write for the PHB page. We also encourage sharing blog posts on the PHC.

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

My Place in Poptropica

My Place in Poptropica: G-Hopper

Slanted Fish

This is the My Place in Poptropica story of G-Hopper, who runs his own Poptropica blog at Brainy Pop Blog. See below for details on how to send in your own MPIP story!

Hey guys! My name is G-Hopper, and I have finally decided to write an MPIP! I hope you enjoy it! If you want to add me on Poptropica, my username is Wheze4. Shall we proceed?

|2011–2012| A Small Beginning

It all started off when I was a little four- or five-year-old, watching my sister play Poptropica. I loved the game, and was impressed with what she could accomplish! I decided to try out this game myself, not really completing any islands, due to me being so young. (I also may or may not have forgotten every account’s username and password.)

However, I continued to enjoy the game, even without achieving anything whatsoever. Also, my younger individual was completely attracted to computers back then – they were the building blocks of me today. I used to play Club Penguin constantly until I found Poptropica, and then I’d play a little of the two.

But as the year went on, Poptropica disappeared from my mind, since it grew a bit dull to me as I grew up.

|2013–2014| Small Sparks

In the following years, I remembered the game a bit. Still, I didn’t play it as much since I still could not recall usernames and passwords. Plus, the difficulty of the game just got higher.

To be honest, 2014 is a year I can’t even remember. The fame completely went to Club Penguin at that time. Also, around this time, SUIs (sound-updated islands) were being introduced, and I got seriously confused when I saw color on the original, iconic Poptropica map. All thought of the virtual world went to sleep, until…

|2015| Up and Playing Again! (And the PHB!)

2015 was the year of revival for my Poptropica activity, as I was seriously losing interest in Club Penguin due to Disney’s actions to the game.

By this time I could beat so many islands on Poptropica, thanks to the PHB’s great walkthroughs. I didn’t even know about all the other things the PHB had until some months later!

Also, Escape From Pelican Rock Island was introduced at the end of the year, which really piqued my interest as a player. However, I couldn’t play the new island until 2016, since they released in later for non-members.

|2016| Entering the Community

In mid-2016, as the PHB prepared to host the Poppies 2016, their annual Poptropica community awards, I decided to make a great leap to get more involved in the wider community surrounding Poptropica, starting with creating a Discord account. I received pretty warm welcomes, and I was guided by one of my first PHC friends, Orange Shell.

From there, I managed to get a meme face scheduled, make a deviantArt account, and start my blogging experience by creating the Brainy Pop Blog, which I run along with a few others. This was the greatest year for my Poptropican.

I evolved through blogging and attended tons of PHB events. It was a whole new start for me, and it felt like it was never going to end.

|2017| The Whole New World and Beyond

The beginning of 2017 wasn’t all that eventful, but anxiety for the upcoming Poptropica Worlds continued building up. I passed the time by getting involved with the Pokemon fandom and another game called ROBLOX.

Then finally, in May, Poptropica Worlds was introduced! It caused a large revival in the activity of my blog, and Poptropica news was popping up everywhere. I’m so thrilled for what’s to come in this community!

And that’s My Place in Poptropica.

~ G-Hopper (G) (Cuddly Brain) (CB) (DJ Waffleman)
(The-guy-who-has-gone-through-too-many-nicknames!)

Hope you enjoyed this “My Place in Poptropica” story!

If you haven’t already, we invite you to send in your own. Please include your username and a minimum of 550 words, typed with good spelling and grammar, and divided into labeled sections. If you send in your story, we will continue to post new community MPIPs!

~the Poptropica Help Blog

My Place in Poptropica

My Place in Poptropica: Cassandra

Slanted Fish

This is the My Place in Poptropica story of Cassandra, who enjoys making fanart for her fandoms, including Poptropica. See below for how to send in your own MPIP!

2007 | Starting Out

I was in third or fourth grade when Poptropica came out in 2007. I was on the computer, supposed to be playing some math game on FunBrain, but instead I found Poptropica. As you can guess, I created my avatar, beat islands… and then, I found out about glitching.

I wasn’t a glitcher or anything, but I was a kid who didn’t realize there was hacking of accounts going on. When I did realize, I stopped. Soon after, I found the PHB – yes, I was reading the blog even then. That brings us to my middle school years…

2011–2012 | Middle School

Middle school began with me as my normal fifth-grade self, with a huge grin on my face because I was now in middle school. Well, I took a long leave of absence from playing Poptropica, but I still read the PHB.

At that time, I started liking the Percy Jackson books. Also, I started making art. I didn’t really create Poptropica fan art, but I learned about the Poptropica art style from the Percy Jackson fandom. I still liked Poptropica, but not enough to create fan art for it.

Then came high school…

2013–2016 | High School, part one

In the first two years of high school, I didn’t have many interests, not even Poptropica. I don’t remember much about how much I was involved with the Poptropica fandom.

However, in 2016, I started getting back into Poptropica – and this is where the interesting stuff happens! I saw that Poptropica Worlds was introduced, and to me, it was a new beginning. So, that’s why I wanted to wait until Pop Worlds came out to do my own MPIP story on the PHB.

I also wanted to build my art portfolio on DeviantArt. After a few months of thinking about it, I thought, well, why not just do it? So, at nearly 11 p.m. on a Sunday night, I decided to do it. And, that brings us into June 2017…

2017 & beyond | Decisions, Decisions…

First, now, I’m getting back into Poptropica. I was waiting until Pop Worlds came out before I actually started playing again. I wanted to see what it would be like, and I do have some theories and questions.

I also am doing Percy Jackson stuff, but that’s for a different place than the PHB. I still think Poptropica is awesome. Pop Worlds is out, so I’m slowly starting to play Poptropica more. I really liked Pop Worlds (customization is awesome!) but I wish they had more islands to play and stuff to do other than just admire Home Island. I really like the running animation. I hope to draw more fan art and do cool things in this fandom.

In the future, I’d like to be an active fanartist and fanfic writer, and also have a DeviantArt page set up so I can post my original art as well as fanart. I hope to be a professional artist one day, and even still, continue to make fanart for both Percy Jackson and Poptropica.

~Cassandra

Hope you enjoyed this “My Place in Poptropica” story!

If you haven’t already, we invite you 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). If you send in your story, we will continue to post new community MPIPs!

~the Poptropica Help Blog

My Place in Poptropica

My Place in Poptropica: Friendly Hopper

Slanted Fish

This is the My Place in Poptropica story of Friendly Hopper, a current college student who has rekindled her childhood passion for Poptropica. See below for how to send in your own MPIP!

Hello everyone~ I’m Friendly Hopper, currently a 19-year-old student attending to a university in Hawai’i. In this story, I would like to share my journey in Poptropica from beginning to now. Without further ado, let’s get started!

2008 – 2009 | A Beginner’s Step

Around the year 2008, I was attending an American school located inside of a military base in Seoul, the capital city of South Korea. During short breaks in class, my classmates and I would get to use the class’s computers to visit online game sites such as Funbrain.

I came across a classmate who was playing Poptropica. On closer examination, I saw that she was playing Time Tangled Island, specifically in the “Mount Everest” period. I watched to see of how she was using the computer’s mouse to move her character around to avoid the falling icicles and climb up the mountain. From that moment on, I became entranced by the game, and I begged her to teach me how to play it.

At home, I started my own Poptropica account and chose the name “Friendly Hopper” for my character. During that time, I convinced my sister to play the game and create a Poptropica character as well. Slowly and steadily, my fascination about Poptropica grew.

2013 – 2015 | Brief Rediscovery

In later years, I couldn’t visit Poptropica again as I became busy with moving to different schools and places. Eventually, my family and I settled in Hawai’i. It was around a certain period during the year 2013 that I rediscovered Poptropica through the Internet.

It was the summer after my freshmen year of high school that I suddenly had a strong urge, from the back of my head, to check my Poptropica account. At first, I was worried about my preexisting account being deleted because I had not used it for a long time. However, when I tried logging back into Poptropica, it worked! Thank goodness!

Next, I started to catch up and began to complete various islands such as S.O.S Island and Monster Carnival Island. It did take several weeks to finish all the quests I’d missed, but the outcome was worth it~

Also, it was around the year 2014 that I found Thinknoodles‘ channel on YouTube. I found most of his Poptropica videos entertaining, not only for the narration, but also his humorous comments and friendly attitude which created a positive vibe.

2017 – present | Looking Ahead

For the next two years, I became busy again with school and preparing for college. Furthermore, once I became a college student, I had even more homework assignments to do. I couldn’t keep in touch with Poptropica for longer periods, since earning my associate degree was a top priority in my life.

Throughout my semesters in college, I had some free time to browse the Internet to go on social media websites such as Facebook and Instagram. Eventually, I came across some interesting webpages that brought nostalgia. On DeviantArt, I typed in the keyword “poptropica” out of curiosity to see if any artwork was posted. Surprise! There was a ton of Poptropica-related art from various artists such as BlazingAngel123 and SmileyFaceOrg.

As I continued searching, I discovered the PHB as well. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t found it sooner! Nevertheless, meeting numerous users on the PHC (on Discord) provided a fun and exciting atmosphere~

Based on these events, I made a decision: that I would visit Poptropica again, once I completed my remaining assignments in college. And so, during April and early May, I focused only on finishing my schoolwork. It took some time, but I was able to make it. Next, updated the appearance of my Poptropica character and explored the newer islands.

Currently, I play Poptropica on certain days and am often on the PHC. As I reflect, I must say I am thankful that an online game such as Poptropica continues to exist and is made available to everyone. I cannot imagine how my childhood would be without Poptropica.

Thank you for reading this story about “My Place in Poptropica.” My username is life575, so feel free to add me as a friend on Poptropica~

Hope you enjoyed this “My Place in Poptropica” story!

If you haven’t already, we invite you 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). If you send in your story, we will continue to post new community MPIPs!

~the Poptropica Help Blog

Guest Posts, Pop 5

Pop 5: Adventurous Islands

LJ

(Hello, Poptropicans! This is a guest post written by Poptropica community member, TechWizard. Keep in mind that this Pop 5 list represents only the author’s opinions, and also contains minor spoilers for some Poptropica islands. With that said, enjoy!)

pop5 adventurous islands

Hey Poptropicans! It’s everyone’s favorite Pop 5-er, TechWizard!

Poptropica Islands are really awesome, so I decided: Why not tell you all my pop 5 favorite adventurous islands? How does that sound to you? Great. Sit down and be prepared for an adventurous ride!

Please notice that this list contains spoilers, so read at your own risk! Anyway, let’s just get to the countdown!

#5: Spy Island

Being one of the very first islands I played, Spy Island whips you into a mission to track down three lost agents while dealing with the villainous B.A.D organization. Are they terrorists? Do they just want to make a fashion statement? Well, who knows? Spy Island is a classic and a great play for all ages! And it’s certainly NOT “mission impossible”!

#4: Arabian Nights Island, Ep. 2

an66

I’m a sucker for infiltration games, and Episode 2 of Arabian Nights is no exception. You sneak around the 40 thieves’ lair (which I assume was not approved by the Homeowner’s Association) to find a lamp. Your gear? A highly flammable disguise that doesn’t burn you to death, and a magic bomb. Yup, pretty cool.

#3: Red Dragon Island

Lucky Joker Ninja.png

I wish I could go there! This island is one of Pop’s sponsored islands, based on a story from the popular Magic Tree House series! If you don’t know what that is, it’s about two siblings who travel in a magic treehouse to various time periods and places from history and mythology.

This island whisks you to Old Japan, where Jack and Annie are taken away for being illegals. Now you have to help some people, learn some ninja skills, and ascend to the fortress to break them out. Unexpectedly, our “friend,” the Shogun, won’t let us off the hook without an excruciatingly difficult boss fight: the dragon clash. (Of course, it’s not as hard if you use easy mode.)

#2: Virus Hunter Island

vh5

This takes me back to the summer of 2013… on a day when it was hot, I had just returned home from a picnic, and I was near exhaustion. I checked Poptropica, and Virus Hunter had been released!

Here, you get entangled in a quest (against your will) by Dr. Lange, a scientist who threatens to throw you in federal jail. Your mission: Cure someone before they die. No skin off your nonexistent nose, right? In the body, however, viruses dismantle your ship and scatter the parts everywhere, making your mission a lot harder. Have fun!

Eventually, you get your weaponry back and cure Joe Schmoe. But then a dog gets sick and you have to cure him too. What, no paycheck?

And now, for the number one island! It’s…

#1: Super Villain Island

The death of Lucky Joker

The return of the Fearsome Four! You fly to a dangerous prison to infiltrate the dreams of four of Poptropica’s most infamous villains to retrieve the source of their unyielding evil. You encounter sleeping pirates, spinning platforms, ants, crazy spiders, a woman with a penchant for vandalizing, and the god of all villains….

Zeus! He’s back, and certainly not happy about his previous defeat. He’s hatched another plot to take over Poptropica, and it’s up to you to stop him! You’ve done it before; you can do it again, right?

That’s all for now, folks! Sayonara! Adios! Bye bye! Ciao! See ya!

–TechWizard

–

Hope you enjoyed this guest post by TechWizard!

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 the PHC.

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