Reality TV Island – 🏝 Poptropica Help Blog 🗺

The Islands of 2010 – Ranked 15 Years Later 2️⃣0️⃣1️⃣0️⃣

February 23, 2025February 24, 2025 LJ

Howdy Poptropicanos! 🤟 This is LJ, and today I will be ranking the islands from 2010, which are celebrating their 15th anniversary this year. It’s crazy to realize how long ago these were released, isn’t it? I believe that the islands from 2010 highlight some of Poptropica’s best work, and I can’t wait to get into it. Let’s begin!

Please note that this is not a comprehensive review of each island; therefore, the analysis will be concise.

#7: Steamworks Island ⚙️

(Released for members on August 12 & all players on September 9)

Placing Steamworks Island in the last position may attract some flack as it seems to be pretty popular among many players. In all honesty, though, my recollection of this island is rather limited. 😬 I believe I’ve only played Steamworks on two occasions: once shortly after its initial release and another time during Poptropica’s Hall of Fame competition.

I can recall a few elements, however, such as Sprocket being a supportive companion and the very challenging boss battle, both of which I like looking back. Still, I wasn’t fond of the lonesome experience throughout most of the gameplay, but I’m willing to admit I was probably just too young to fully appreciate the intricacies of this island at the time. Perhaps I should’ve played it more, but ultimately, Steamworks Island stands at seventh place on this list. 3/10 mech cranks. (I’m so sorry y’all.) 🫣

#6: Great Pumpkin Island 🎃

(Released for members on September 30 & all players on October 14)

The Peanuts franchise is a source of comfort for me, as I’ve enjoyed several of its television specials and feature films repeatedly over the years. 😊 Great Pumpkin Island effectively mirrors the classic “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” special, and I sincerely appreciate the TLC the creators put into bringing the wonderful world of Peanuts into Poptropica.

The gameplay is brief, but it’s packed with various games and engaging moments that make for a very enjoyable time. I would like to rank it higher (compared to its placement in the Halloween ranking), but the competition is strong this year. 6/10 great pumpkins! 🙂

#5: Skullduggery Island 🏴‍☠️

(Released for members on May 20 & all players on June 17)

The next entry on this list is the unique adventure that is Skullduggery Island. I feel like Skullduggery tends to divide opinions sharply; players either love it or hate it. Personally, I find myself firmly in the camp of those who like it. 😀

Much of the gameplay involves traversing the seas, trading various goods, recruiting crew members and upgrading ship models. While this process requires some patience that sometimes I don’t even have, upgrading to a new ship gave me a rush like no other, haha. 😁

Encountering storms, enemy ships, and sea creatures while sailing around was somewhat nerve-wracking but overall remained fun. Plus, the trading aspect was enjoyable and educational for me. The diversity of the landscapes was also impressive, as each mini-island seemed to represent a different region of the real world. There are a lot of things I like about this one! 7/10 doubloons!

#4: Cryptids Island 👣

(Cryptids Island was released for members on December 20, 2010 & all players on January 18, 2011. For the sake of ranking all of the islands as quickly as I can, I’ll be including it in this list as opposed to waiting to tackle the year 2011.)

Like Steamworks Island, this island is one that I surprisingly neglected during my childhood, which is pretty baffling to me given that its premise seems like something I would’ve instantly gravitated towards. The pursuit of the world’s most popular cryptids in order to prove their existence seems to be a perfect concept for a Poptropica island.

I’m very glad that I made the decision to revisit this one a couple of times in 2020 because I really took a liking to it. 👍 The mini-games were entertaining, the landscapes were appealing, and the Jersey Devil jump scare remains memorable to this day. 8/10 footprints for Cryptids Island!

#3: Reality TV Island 📺

(Released for members on February 24, 2010 & all players on March 24, 2010)

Reality TV Island had me hooked right from the trailer. The idea of being on a TV show and becoming a star was so cool to me back then. 🌟 I remember investing in a considerable amount of time to make sure my application was flawless in order to secure a spot on the show. (Spoiler: you always get accepted, lol)

The island was packed with a fun cast of eccentric characters that I personally fell in love with. (I even made paper dolls of them so I could play RTV irl with my cousins!) While a majority of them weren’t super fleshed out, each had their own little quirks that became apparent by reading their dialogue if you decided to click on them.😜 We also got a handful of guest appearances from fan favorite villains like Betty Jetty and Dr. Hare to pick up any slack.

I thought most of the games on the island were a total blast! While some, such as Water Run and Coconut Catch, could be somewhat irritating, overall, it was a fun and thrilling experience. (I actually got pretty decent at Water Run eventually.) The worst part about this island, though, was if you ever got trapped in a relentless cycle of being voted off the show, like I did – especially if you were super close to winning. GAHHH. 😂 Regardless, I give Reality TV Island 9/10 coconuts!

#2: Counterfeit Island 🎨

(Released for members on December 21, 2009 & all players on January 4, 2010. For the same reason as with Cryptids Island, I’m including it here.)

In contrast to Reality TV, Counterfeit Island introduced a couple of unforgettable characters, such as the devious art thief Black Widow and the pitiable, ever-drifting Balloon Boy. Talk about Poptropica icons! 👌

Moments I found enjoyable include analyzing the art in the museum, utilizing the x-ray device, and the scooter chase with the shady cop. I also found the plot twist surprising and well executed. (This was before I spoke French and could understand that “Veuve Noire” means “Black Widow”.)

Fun Fact: Counterfeit Island marked the first instance where you needed to travel to another island in order to complete it. It wouldn’t be until Rumpel’s side quest, which came more than a decade later, that we’d see this again. 🤓 That aspect always made Counterfeit interesting to me, alone. I was simply blown away.

Counterfeit Island is indeed a masterpiece. 9.5/10 paint palettes!

#1: Mythology Island 🌩️

(Released for members on April 1 & all players on April 29)

Where do I even begin with Mythology Island? This was the first island I ever played on its release day as a member which contributes a bit to my fond memories of this one. Mythology Main Theme is also one of my favorite soundtracks in the game which adds a few bonus points. 😏

As a kid, I developed a profound fascination with Greek mythology, entirely because of my playthrough of Mythology Island! I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the various deities and encountering them (such as Hades, Athena, Aphrodite, etc.) was even cooler. The narrative was compelling, the characters were memorable, the scenery was exquisite, and the gameplay provided a meaningful educational component without being excessive. In essence, everything was perfect in my opinion. 😄

I, like almost everybody I knew, felt really disappointed when Poptropica transferred Mythology over to Haxe. It’s as if numerous elements that made the island truly remarkable were discarded in favor of a more simple, straightforward experience. (Not my Poptropica! 😤) Nonetheless, the original version will forever hold a special place in my heart as one of my all-time favorite islands, not just in 2010, but across the entirety of the game. 💚 10/10 starfish!

Wowie, what a year! In tandem with 2011 and 2012, it definitely represents a peak period for Poptropica. I can’t wait to do those upcoming years later…

Were you able to play any of these islands? I’m curious to know which one you liked best and which one you liked the least. Please share your opinions in the comments down below. ⬇️

Also, check out my other rankings of the Poptropica Islands if you’re interested: 2008, 2009, 2013 & 2014. Until next time, pop on! 🍀

Contests, Poptropolis Games Island, Reality TV Island, Reality TV: Wild Safari Island

PHB Tribal Tournament: Gamers’ Gauntlet 🏅🏃‍♂️

August 18, 2020August 18, 2020 LJ

The time has come, Poptropicans… welcome to the final round of the 2020 PHB Tribal Tournament. Allow us to introduce the Gamers’ Gauntlet!

In this round, you’ll need to put your Olympic energy to the ultimate test, and you’ll be doing it in the most competitive Poptropica way: completing islands. But not just any islands! For these Games, the challenge is to beat Poptropolis Games, Reality TV, and/or Reality TV: Wild Safari Island. As much as you can.

Once you’ve finished one of the aforementioned islands, take a screenshot of the result and make sure to include the date and time in the corner of your screen. Then, share the screenshots with us either on your tribe’s channel on the PHC or by sending us an email. Let us know which tribe you’re repping!

*Here’s an example of a screenshot with the time and date included to help us verify that the island was completed during the time of this round.* *Your computer may display the time in a different corner of the screen.*

Every island completion earns 10 points for your tribe. You can replay any of the islands as many times as you want — and the more you do, the more points you’ll earn for your tribe. And a few other notes…

Here’s a guide on how to take a screenshot.
For Poptropolis Games, you are only eligible for points in the tournament if you place in the top 3.
Poptropolis Games is only on the Flash version of Poptropica, not Haxe. You can use the Format Loader to switch from one to the other.
The original Reality TV Island is currently officially available to members only, but non-members can try accessing it via the Old Island Directory.
Out of the 3 islands, only Reality TV: Wild Safari is available on mobile, but your device may not show the time when in the game app. However, your progress will sync to your computer, so you can log in on your computer and take a screenshot there if you’re playing on mobile.

By the way, it’s more fun on Discord. Join us on the PHC to play alongside other Poptropicans and share your victories with your team! 😄🏅

For anyone curious, here are the answers to last week’s tricky games. How many were you able to get?

Tricky Trivia: Answer Key

Who created Poptropica? Jeff Kinney
What was the 32nd island released? Zomberry Island
Poptropica’s in-game currency is called what? Credits
What year was the Friends feature implemented? 2012
How many islands have a bonus quest? 14
When was Early Poptropica (the pilgrims’ settlement) founded? 1982
Who was CJ’s role model on Shrink Ray Island? Marie Curie
Why is Crusher wanted in prison? For smashing bugs
What are the nine flavor variations of PopGum that exist? Classic, Cinnamon Fire, Spooktacular, Grape, Vampire Bat, Lucky Shamrock, Winter Blast, Helio, and Psychedelic
Which iconic character had their name changed due to legal issues? Shark Boy/Guy (check out our article on the Mystery of Shark Boy!)
What event, on Mystery Train Island, is the train headed to? 1893 Chicago World’s Fair
Where did Flambe, the prison chef, receive his/her culinary training? Le Cordon Bleu
What weight does the weight guesser incorrectly predict your Poptropican to be on Monster Carnival Island? 115 pounds
On Counterfeit Island, how long was the museum security guard’s break from his Monday night shift? 12 minutes
How much does an ECO-Bike cost at Twin Palms Mall? $3599.99
How could one originally gain access to play the Blimp Adventure mini-quest? By purchasing the blimp toy and using the code that comes with it to unlock it
Who is buried in the plot A42 at Hemlock cemetery? Humility Goodman or Percy Brewster
What are Zeke Weke’s three favorite musical artists? The Banana Heads, Popzart, and The Roaches
On which island is the Grease Monkey building located? Spy Island
How many islands has Smokey Chinchilla completed? 18

Trace That Place: Answer Key (see labels)

Presenting the Genius Games MVP

It’s time to crown another MVP (Most Valuable Poptropican)! This person swarmed in with an immense amount of team spirit by taking on almost every possible method of earning points. Congratulations to Celeste (Purple Paw) of the Nightcrawlers — you’ve done your tribe proud!

Will you be the next MVP? Are you willing to accept the challenge and contend for victory in the medallion marathon of the Gamers’ Gauntlet? This round ends next Tuesday, August 25, so get going!

🏃🏾‍♀️ On your marks, get set, go! 🏃‍♂️

– the PHB tribe reps –

Noveen (Black Flags), Sporty Boa (Flying Squid), Spotted Dragon (Nanobots), Slanted Fish (Nightcrawlers), Lucky Joker (Pathfinders), Gentle Dolphin (Seraphim), Fierce Flyer (Wildfire), & Silver Wolf (Yellowjackets)

Join us for more fun on the PHC Discord!

Escape from Pelican Rock Island, Guest Posts, Reality TV Island

Tips & Tricks for Escape From Pelican Rock and Reality TV Island

March 15, 2017June 22, 2017 Slanted Fish

(Hey Poptropicans! This is a guest post written by Gentle Fang, a Poptropica player in the community. In this post, she’ll be sharing some game tips, particularly for last month’s Islands of the Month, Escape From Pelican Rock and Reality TV. Enjoy! –🐠)

tips efpr rtv

Since Poptropica’s kickoff in 2007, we have seen many islands, each filled to the brim with adventures, puzzles, brainteasers, and fun. But within this wonderful world, there are also secrets that may not be obvious, things that I’ve picked up on through my experiences of playing the game. (For example, did you know that the later episodes of Survival Island are based on the short story The Most Dangerous Game? There’s a PHB post about it here.)

Anyway, this post will be all about these cool tips and tricks! I’ll be sharing with you all some tricks to help you succeed, cultural references, and other neat facts that you may or may not have caught onto.

General Tip: Explore around instead of overlooking things.

If you climb on the tops of buildings, you can find things and meet characters that, while maybe not important to the story, can be just as interesting as the people and things below.

An example of this can be found on Reality TV Island. If you jump to the top of one building, you see a woman holding a camera. She is not part of the story, but what she tells you is a hint about finding a celebrity in the motel.

Similarly, if you go inside buildings they might not seem important, you can still find super cool stuff, some of which you may need during the island quest. In 24 Carrot Island, I got my super cool bright teal hair from drinking the juice that changes your hair color. While not necessary, I do now look a lot cooler than I did before with my typical blonde hair!

Now we get into the specifics…

Although it’s March, I wrote this in February, so in honor of February’s Islands of the Month, I’ll share my tips about Reality TV and Escape from Pelican Rock. These are both some of my favorite islands. The competition of Reality TV really drew me in, as well as the fun escapades of EFPR.

Tips for: Escape From Pelican Rock Island

efpr2bfloodlight

In Escape from Pelican Rock, we have a prison on top of an island, with the city in the distance. The security is higher than that of the other prisons, like Azkaban from Harry Potter. As the guard with the brown hair so eloquently put it, “Break the prison rules, and you come here.” It’s a lot like a former real-life prison in California: Alcatraz.

For those who don’t know, Alcatraz was the highest security prison in America. It was where the worst criminals went, and it was home to many psychopathic people. The only comfort was the sea air, which has been eroding Alcatraz. Very few people were known to escape, and often they were later proclaimed dead. In short, it was a tough place.

Now for some tips regarding the island:

Get out of prison in 7 days

During the mini-game where you make license plates for cars, which is very boring and generally just a waste of time, I figured out that – assuming you made 7 sticks of gum per day (to the point where the machine breaks down) – you could get out of prison in 7 days.

On the first day, your character only makes 5 sticks of gum, not wanting to make the machine overheat. In total, to complete all purchases, you need 21 sticks of gum. So, you would need a total of three days of playing the game to get the total amount of gum. With four days gone (first day + 3 work days), you only need to work the day you overwork the machine and sharpen your spoon (day 5), and the day before your escape when you have fixed the air vents (day 6). On day 7, you can escape.

Trapped in vents?

When you are in the ventilation corridor right above the mess hall, if you misstep for any reason, you can fall through the vents into the kitchen. If this happens, don’t panic: the guards will not find you in the kitchen. While you can decide to take stuff or stir the mashed potatoes while you are down there, it is of no significance.

Instead, in order to get back up, go to Home Island and click on the island icon that shows up below the blimp to continue. This will restart you from the end of mess hall.

Skip (most) meals

Uh, Cook’s food tastes disgusting. You can never stomach her food, and the twins are pretty sure that s/he never trained at the Cordon Bleu. (I certainly agree…) So with that being said, do you really have to sit through mess hall? The answer is no.

The exceptions are: on the first day when you get your second spoon, and when you get the noodles, as well as when you dump plaster into the potatoes and start the food fight. All of the other days, it is not important in the slightest to sit down. The people say the same things every day.

With that being said, if Alcatraz was still operating with all of the breaking and entering I’ve done in Poptropica, I would be there!

Tips for: Reality TV Island

balanced diet

Well, look at you! You managed to get onto a Reality TV show! And now you have to pick off the other seven contestants in an array of mini games! Well, while someone has to get voted off every round, there are definitely ways that you can minimize your chances of being that person.

Here are my top three tips for Reality TV Island:

Pay attention to what people are saying!

If Merry Muse says that she’s in it to win it and Sickly Skull says she doesn’t care, it might not seem important. But it actually is. The more devoted a person is to winning, the longer they tend to last, and the less likely they are to get voted off.

Therefore, you want the person in the final round to be someone who cares the minimal amount. I know this seems crazy, but I have played the game multiple times and found this to be true for me.

Geyser Guess

In Geyser Guess, the mini-game where you step on different geysers and contestants are eliminated one by one, it seems all you can do is cross your fingers and hope for the best. That’s true for the first round.

However, after the first person gets eliminated (hopefully it isn’t you), your strategy should be to pick the geyser that just exploded. Based on my experience, it’s less likely to erupt again because it already did. Using this strategy, I have won multiple times.

Don’t sweat it

If you know you cannot win no matter what you do, don’t sweat it. Unless it’s the last round, chances are, people will either vote off the person who came in second place (because they are a threat) or will vote off someone who constantly wins but didn’t this round. If you come in dead last, you are actually one of the least likely to get voted off.

With that being said, I wish you luck on your drama-filled adventures with the seven other characters you’re up against. Grandma Gracey and Merry Muse hate me for some reason, no matter how many times I play. Honestly, they’re probably just jealous of my gorgeous hair. (I’m so vain…)

This also concludes February’s Island of the Month hints. If you guys like this, I may do one for March’s Islands as well!

-Gentle Fang

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Hope you enjoyed this guest post by Gentle Fang!

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 (Poptropica Help Chat).

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

Islands of the Month, Reality TV Island

Behind-the-Scenes: Making Reality TV Island a Reality

February 28, 2017March 6, 2017 LJ

Hello, everyone!

Lucky Joker here and today I’ll be sharing, from the Creator’s Blog, some fantastic sketches from one of February’s Islands of The Month, Reality TV Island. Some of these concepts never made it into the game, so it’s pretty cool to see what the Creators had originally planned out for us!

In the rough sketches below, which you can click to enlarge the view, we see ideas for different challenges which seem to be more complex and difficult than the ones from the island. This includes game ideas called Rope Vine Races, Grab the Crab, Cage the Croc, Coconut Tree Shake, as well as a race through some islands that preceded RTV, like Early Pop and Shark Tooth.

There’s also a more refined schematic that explains to us what I’m assuming to be the directions and tips for completing the island, though they never appeared in-game. More game ideas are presented: Sharpening Stone, Build Your Own Fort, Forage for Food, and Dangerous Rock Climb.

In this lovely collage of sketches, there are many different character designs, some of which we see on the reality TV show and some that didn’t make it. A handful of these characters still have the same gimmick but were redesigned, while others were replaced with already existing villains and characters from previous islands. It also looks as if these characters didn’t have names at this stage in development.

Alright, let’s evaluate these characters more thoroughly, shall we?

In the first group (left), we have the Athlete (who became Slim Slam in the game), the Music Lover (Rickie Rock), the Fast Food Help (Freddy Fry), the Grandma (Grandma Gracey), the Biker Gang Dude (Richie Rebel), the Farmer (who might’ve been replaced with the cowgirl, Lassie Lasso), the Artist, the Cheerleader, and the Old Man (Grandpa Grum).

In the second group (middle), there’s the Hip Hop Guy (Hip Hop), the Hiker (Helen Hiker), the Golfer, the Store Clerk, the Magician (Magic Mervin), the Cat Lady, and Popsicle Boy.

Finally, in the third group (right), we have the New Age Hippie (Hippie Harry), the Lawyer Type (Busy Bob), the Librarian (Possibly Cathy Codex), the Rich Guy, the Snooty Girl with Small Dog (Sarah Snooty), the Angry Chef (Chef Jeff, except he’s less angry in the final version), the Cool Tech Nerd, the Goth Girl (Sickly Skull), and the Aerobics Instructor (perhaps what became Sally Score).

The Creators also had some more refined images of various natural settings that didn’t make it into the final game, which you can check out below:

The Beach Cliffs show several large rocks on a beach shore with birds and their nests perched on top of them, giving us the full scale of a smaller sneak peek from back in 2009.

The Obstacle Course is a bamboo contraption that contains various sections to get past: tilting platforms, jungle bounce trampoline, collapsible doors, swinging hammers of wood, fruit fumble (probably slippery to walk on), rope climb, and finally, a parachute drop. Many of these mechanisms have appeared in other forms on other islands.

Finally, there is the Base Camp and its Caverns, not to be confused with the rumored Crisis Caverns Island. The objective here is uncertain – perhaps some kind of maze game or a place for a hidden item? Interesting nonetheless!

Which ones do you wish they had made a reality? Share your thoughts on these behind-the-scenes peeks in the comments below!

Thanks for reading, I’ll talk to you soon. Pop on!

-Lucky Joker

Contests, Photo Booth, Reality TV Island

Love becomes Reality this Valentine’s Day!

February 10, 2017March 6, 2017 Brave Tomato

Hey guys, my name is Brave Tomato, and I have some lovely news to share with you all today!

It appears love is in the air this Valentine’s Day season! Whether you have a special someone to share the season with, or if you’re just here for the chocolate, the Creators now have a little V-Day-themed Photo Booth contest going! Get started with the booth on Home Island:

val2

The objective is to create a Valentine’s-themed photo booth picture. To help with the contest, several lovely Photo Booth props have arrived in the selection, so you can add your own special touch to what you have.

val1

When you’re ready, post it to Twitter or Instagram (with the hashtag: #PoptropicaLove), or post it on their Facebook page. Besides showcasing their favorites on social media, one-month memberships will also be randomly awarded to some lucky participants!

Here are some example Photo Booth creations from Poptropica (the first is a collage of multiple photos):

Hey look, it’s Spotted Dragon! Anyway – have a lovely time creating. 😉

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In other news, the awaited video walkthrough for Island of the Month Reality TV Island by everyone’s favorite pirate is now available on YouTube! Check out Crawfish teaching you how to complete the island while not exactly being an expert on the island either, with his usual wit along the way!

Now go for those 500 (for first time finishers) or 300 (for one subsequent time) credits you can get by completing this! Don’t forget- you can also get the credit boost through…breaking out of jail in Escape from Pelican Rock. How romantic.

So what do you think? Will you be participating in the new contest? Did you catch the little joke Captain Crawfish made in the new video? What will be next?

Iiiiiit’s… Wa-Black Widow! Have a nice day.

wablack-widow