Pop drop alert: Jade Scarab Island is here and available to all players! Head to the map to start digging in on this excavation vacation, which is the third and final of the Dream Island winners.
Looking for a helping hand in this adventure? Our Jade Scarab Island Guide is now up! Plus, you can ask for help and share your thoughts in the comments and on the PHC.
Word on the web is — this quest gives OG classic island vibes! We won’t spoil too much here, but feel free to share below, and stay tuned for the PHB’s review coming up!
A curse has befallen those looking for the Jade Scarab, can you get to the bottom of it?
Meanwhile, if you’re looking for a fresh fit for this Egyptian experience, Adventure Outfitters has a refreshed rotation of returning styles, including a Skull Mask and Sunny Sport! See more on the Creators’ Blog »
Now that all three fan-imagined Dream Islands have been released, which is your favorite — Fairytale, Goofball, or Jade Scarab? What did you think of the latest one? We’d love to hear your thoughts! 🪲💫
We’ve got a good hunch on this one, although the Creators’ Blog hints that this could “be applied to two other islands.” Besides the seemingly obvious, we might venture a guess for PoptropiCon, with its hench-bots serving the robo-suited Omegon, or Game Show, where we’ve got to reverse a robot domination.
However, the Mega Fighting Bots reference (“Mega Bot-ched”) points us right in the direction of Mocktropica, once again an AS3 island.
…wait. Mocktropica?
How A Bot That: Nobody told these guys about Asimov’s three laws of robotics.
While a cult classic, Mocktropica has become notorious for its unintentional prediction of what Pop was soon to become. Many aspects of the story take a jab at the obsession with surface-level gaming gimmicks like costumes and pets, as well as removing any challenging elements.
Adding on references to former Pop Creatorswho had been let go by management, this island may be an odd (albeit welcome) addition to the pack. At least we can enjoy the pretty musical theme in-game again!
“Max McPatrick” was based on then-Pop Creator Mitch Krpata.Strap In: Concussion prevention starts with sensible headgear.
What do you think about the current Pop reviving this past island? Do you have ideas for other islands that could fit this riddle? Let us know, while I sulk in the corner about the Astro-Knights neglect!
Just a few more clues to go as we guess the upcoming 13 Steam islands! (Keep up with past hints here: 1,2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.)
The ninth hint has descended upon us like night: “Hidden behind the thrilling fun is a fowl affair. Step right up, if you dare.”
Only a few more clues remain! This fan favorite island will be returning to Steam… with a secret twist. Can you fuess the island AND predict the surprising turn of events? 🔮 pic.twitter.com/CeftoxeDsx
If you know your stuff, this one should be straightforward: our bets are on Monster Carnival! The island (which follows the AS3 theory) introduces you to the carnival (“thrilling fun”), with booths including a weight-guesser who implores you to “Step right up.” But as we soon learn, something’s not quite right: “hidden behind” the monstrosities is the bird-like Ringmaster Raven (“fowl affair”). 🎡🐦
pic: Thinknoodles
But note the caption of the hint post: there’s going to be a “secret twist” with this return! And based on past fandom chatter, we have an inkling of what that could entail.
Ringmaster Raven’s portrayal has been critiqued for playing into ugly stereotypes (including anti-Semitism and slavery), and he is given disproportionately unfair treatment when he is turned into a chicken to be a laughingstock by the townsfolk (who bullied him as a child and never repented). Here’s a fan video that covers the discourse:
Back in 2020, the PHB hosted a Q&A with Poptropica’s CEO Abhi Arya, where we asked how Poptropica might address the Monster Carnival critiques. In response, he shared:
I totally get it. This is definitely one of those instances where you know the intent doesn’t align with the issue and you have to ask, “How was this affected by implicit bias?” We’re actually auditing all the islands for this reason and have already revised Monster Carnival for its conversion to Haxe. I appreciate that players bring this to our attention. It’s the only way we can all collectively move forward in the right direction.
It’s been a while since that Q&A and we haven’t seen Monster Carnival return to Haxe, but it looks like we’ll be seeing it soon on Steam. Perhaps this time around, we’ll be getting a new look, character arc, and/or better ending for Raven, and maybe the townsfolk as well. We’ll see! 🤞
Poptropica’s pressing on, and we’re guessing on with clues for the upcoming Steam islands. (Keep up with past hints here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.)
The eighth hint appears to be the most enigmatic one yet: “Restore the puzzle to its natural state or face the consequences of a dire fate.”
This latest riddle is surprisingly vague after a week of fairly guessable clues, but let’s give it a try. While this could apply to lots of islands, the Pop Creators suggest focusing on the hint’s last words: “dire fate.” ⚠️
If we’re following the AS3 islands theory, outside of islands guessed from previous hints, there are still quite a few candidates. Perhaps it’s Virus Hunter, where you must restore Patient Zero to homeostasis before a virus spreads; or Monster Carnival, where you have to save the town from Ringmaster Raven’s hypnotic spell. Or could it even be Mocktropica — a dire fate not for human life, but a computer game?
MocktropicaVirus HunterMonster Carnival
Still others have speculated Time Tangled (fixing the timeline of history), which fits the clue well, but already exists in-game. It wouldn’t exactly be a “returning” island if it came to Steam, but it’s an AS3/SUI.
However, the vague clue leaves options open for older AS2 islands as well. Among the best of Pop classics, we might consider Zomberry, where we have to find the source of the zombie outbreak or risk succumbing to it; Super Villain, where we enter villains’ dreams and extract the source of their evil; Twisted Thicket, where we risk the destruction of a forest; Steamworks, where we crack puzzles that lead us to restoring humanity; Spy, where we rescue spies and prevent hair loss… and so many more! With so many possibilities, who knows? 🤔
SteamworksSpyZomberry
While we wait for islands both old and new, the Pop Creators are hosting a new challenge based on the upcoming Dream Island winner: the Secret of the Jade Scarab Fan Challenge! 🪲
All are invited to design an Egyptian artifact, which can be completely original or a redesign of a preexisting one. Submit your entries to Poptropica byThursday, April 28 at 8 p.m. PST for a chance to win big credit rewards. See the official blog for details »
At the same time, the monthly costume contest has kicked off. Design an outfit for a chance to get it in the game! April’s contest runs until Monday, April 25 at 8 p.m. PST. More details on the official blog »
Rounding off this post are the latest fan art features from Pop’s Instagram stories, including doodles of the many different emotional sides of the Black Widow from the PHB’s MaryannTheConqueror. Enjoy!
Them Steam island hints keep coming, and we’re already halfway to 13! (Keep up with past hints here: 1,2, 3, 4, 5, 6.)
The seventh hint ups the challenge with a more obscure reference: “Bypass ‘Spell Casting For Dummies’ and ‘How to Survive In A Dungeon’ while searching for another bizarre book. Your medallion depends on it!”
You’d be forgiven for wishing on an older classic island — maybe Astro-Knights, where a library leads into a dungeon, or Red Dragon, where a book transports you to old Japan and you end up in a dungeon at some point — but don’t let the hint’s change in background fool you away from the AS3 islands theory, which continues with this reveal:
The book titles mentioned are from a shelf in Arabian Nights Island, Episode 3. Careful what you wish for! (Thanks for the tip, Sean30303.)
Poptropica currently only has Episodes 1 and 2 of Arabian Nights (with the latter being members only), so having the Steam bundle serve as our magic carpet access to the full set will be nice. We’re not sure how that’ll tie in with membership, but we do know the Steam bundle won’t be free.
Arabian Nights may not have a ton of nostalgia, but this recent tweet from a former Pop Creator might! Nate Greenwall, sometimes known as Shark Boy, was one of the OG Pop Creators (see his Pop Portfolios 1 & 2) who invented the character of Dr. Hare. Here he shares an early sketch of the goggled bunny, and a note that he’s glad he’s still out there:
I was going through my sketchbooks and found an early rough sketch of Dr. Hare. He is an “evil” villain I created for the game “Poptropica”, and I’m happy to see he is still out there being villainous. Not sure what’s up with the banana guy 🤷♂️ #poptropica#drharepic.twitter.com/Z4sW7mly0q
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