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.

My Place in Poptropica

My Place in Poptropica: Calm Flipper

Slanted Fish

This is the My Place in Poptropica story of Calm Flipper, who was introduced to Poptropica through Thinknoodles and eventually beat an “impossible” island. See below for how to send in your own MPIP!

mpip cf

2011 – 2013 | Poptropica Videos and Starting an Account

Back in 2011, I followed a really popular YouTuber who went by the name of Insiders Network. He was a gameplay commentator who would upload videos about Club Penguin, Webkinz, and Poptropica. I really loved his Poptropica videos, and they made me want to play as well.

So I created my first account, gregoryben10. I became hooked to the game, completing every island, day after night. It’s hard for me to recall the exact details, but I do remember that I had a hard time beating Skullduggery Island, so I quit for a couple of months.

In 2013, I thought of the game again and wanted to revisit it. So I grabbed my mom’s computer, and started typing in Poptropica’s web address in again. I tried to log in to my gregoryben10 account, but it didn’t work! I tried every password I could think of, but to no avail.

I looked at Poptropica’s troubleshooting page and it said that the account went poof if you left it dormant for 6+ months. (This is actually not true, but I didn’t know how to get my account back.) Anyway, I was pretty mad about that. Two years’ worth of play time on that account! I didn’t want to play Poptropica after that, but found myself doing it anyway.

2014 – 2015 | Hello, Calm Flipper!

In early 2014, I created a new account called gregoryben2, which is my current account. I looked back at Insiders Network on YouTube to find out that the same guy now went by the alias of Thinknoodles.

I soon wanted to buy Poptropica membership, and my mom let me! So I hopped on my new account, and played my first island on it, which was Ghost Story Island.

I played through most of the islands during this time, but something caught my interest. There was a fan website dedicated to Poptropica, which I thought would really help me get through some islands that I was stuck on. It was called the PHB. I scurried through the islands after that (with some left unfinished), and through browsing the PHB, I became an avid Poptropica fan (I was also a fan of Club Penguin at this time).

2016 – present | It’s Me Again!

I played through all of the new SUI islands, which I neglected back then because they were pretty laggy overall. After that I got pretty bored – that is, until I found the PHB Discord chat (the PHC), which I gladly joined, officially joining the Poptropica fan community!

I got a lot better with gaming in 2015, so I used my new skill to beat Skullduggery Island. Somehow I did it, beating the island which seemed so hard before. I beat the island which I had previously deemed impossible to beat. I looked down at my palms, (which were filled with sweat from a hard night’s worth of effort) and laughed. I laughed with glee, and joy, and all of those great emotions. I was happy.

If you guys want chat with me on Discord, my username is Gregoryk_, or Calm Flipper on the PHB. For those of you who want to add me as a friend on Poptropica, my username is gregoryben2. Thank you all, for making up this wonderful community!

So I guess that’s all! Hope you enjoyed my story!

– Calm Flipper 😊

–

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

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.

pw1

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!

pw2

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! 😀

–

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!

mpip calmstar

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!

–

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

My Place in Poptropica

My Place in Poptropica: Marci (Queen of Libraries)

Slanted Fish

This is the My Place in Poptropica story of Marci (Queen of Libraries), who discovered Poptropica while on a computer in the school library. See the bottom of this post for details on sending in your own MPIP!

mpip marci

Howdy, it’s Marci. Or as I like to also refer to myself, Queen of Libraries – like the Queen of Hearts character from Alice in Wonderland, but with libraries. Anyway, that is beside the point. Let’s get on with the MPIP, eh?

The School Library

It all started in school. The school library, to be more specific. During recess time, instead of playing with the other kids, I normally went over there to read some books, hoping for the time to go by quickly. (Hey, well, I’ve never been much of a people person.) Sometimes if I felt like it, I would hop on one of the computers to play on FunBrain.

Anyway, I decided to play on FunBrain one day, and that’s how I found Poptropica. While playing one of the minigames, I spotted one of the ads. Of course, I clicked on it. And that’s how it began. I made an account (one of which I can’t remember now), and played until I beat every island (though I can’t remember how many there were at the time).

Whoopsies, Forgot About It

However, even though I thoroughly enjoyed the game, that quickly came to an end. After I beat every island, I found that I had nothing to do on Poptropica anymore. I quit and forgot about it and found other fun things to do, like draw and write (which Poptropica previously distracted me from). I also found other games like Free Realms (which is now shut down), Wizard101, Woozworld, et cetera, and played those instead.

But let’s talk about how I re-found my love for Poptropica.

My First Sleepover

A couple years later, when I was in 5th grade, I re-discovered my love for Poptropica. At the time, I had made a friend in the same grade as me. After a month or two of being friends, she asked me if I’d like to sleep over during the weekend. So we both asked our parents if I could come over during the weekend, and they said yes.

When I got there, I saw that my friend was on the home computer. I was curious, and she must have noticed, because she gave me a funny look and said, “I’m playing Poptropica.” I couldn’t help but watch. I saw her playing islands I haven’t seen before, which wasn’t surprising since I hadn’t play the game in about two years.

Finding the PHB and Finally Getting Involved

Anyway, after sleeping over, I quickly decided to play Poptropica on my laptop. It’s no surprise I instantly fell in love with the game again, like I did before. However, I did get stuck on some islands, and looked up guides on Google. Can you guess where that brought me? The PHB, of course!

Ever since I found the PHB, I haven’t quit the game. But I haven’t been actively a part of this community, either. To change that, I decided to write this MPIP.

Once the New Poptropica comes out (I still have no clue when that might be), I look forward to creating a blog myself after years of reading the opinions, theories, and news from various Poptropicans in the community.

For now, I’ll just be hanging out on the PHB Discord server from time to time, under the name “Marci//QueenOfLibraries”. I can’t promise I’ll be on much, though. I might also try to find some time to blog, if anyone would care enough to invite me to write on one.

Anyway, this is Marci signing out. Thanks for taking the time to read this post!

–

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

Glitches, Guest Posts

Glitch Fix: The Solution to Discolored Limbs

Slanted Fish

(Hey Poptropicans! This is a guest post written by Perfect Sky, a Poptropica player who’s also quite active in the community. In this post she’ll be sharing a solution to an unfortunate glitch. Enjoy! –🐠)

Hey everyone, it’s Perfect Sky!

So, I’m sure we have all experienced one very annoying glitch over the past couple years: the discolored arms/legs glitch. After visiting a sound-updated island (SUI), you might have noticed your Poptropican’s arm color change when you returned to a non-SUI, or entered a common room.

This glitch causes the skin tone of your Poptropican’s arms and legs to change, matching the color of the pants you wore. Usually (but not exclusively), this happens when you change your outfit while on an SUI, by using the Costumizer, or putting on a wearable item from the island. So if you were to wear blue pants on an SUI, you might find your arms turning blue!

pop_discolored_arms

Now, maybe if your Poptropican’s arms happened to turn black while wearing a black jacket, this might not look so bad. But, if your arms turn bright pink and you proceed to put on a blue shirt, this could be a major fashion disaster! We wouldn’t want that to happen, now would we? But wait, we don’t have to worry any longer, because there is a very simple way to fix this unfortunate discoloration.

The solution is quite simple, but unfortunately, this does not prevent the problem from happening again. Whatever causes this issue to occur has not yet been resolved. So you may still notice this happening nearly every time you return to an island with the old format. And I must admit, it gets pretty frustrating. But hey, at least it’s easy to fix. Here’s how.

OPTION ONE: This method goes back to an old glitch that has been used for many years. All you need to do is go to a non-SUI hold down Ctrl + Shift + S on your keyboard, which causes your Poptropican’s skin tone to change randomly. Just repeat this keyboard trick until you find your original skin tone (note: there is a limited selection). It may take a few tries to get a color you like. Once you do it, you will notice that your Poptropican’s arms and legs look normal again.

OPTION TWO: As I stated before, the first method only works with default skin tones. So, what about custom skin tones? Well, the solution is still very easy. All you need to do is remix the color. But using the free Colorizer in the New You shop on Home Island will not solve the problem, since Home Island is a SUI. Instead, you will have to purchase the Colorizer gold card from the store so it can be accessed on other islands. Once you have the Colorizer item, use it on any non-SUI to remix your custom skin tone next time your Poptropican’s arms decide they don’t want to match anymore.

And that’s it! Pretty simple, right? There’s no need to worry about those discolored arms ruining fabulous outfits any longer. Well, that’s all for now. I hope this helped!

Hope you enjoyed this guest post by Perfect Sky!

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]! :)