Category: Pop 5

Hey Poptropicans—this is a guest post by Leona Henryson, a mother and educator who, along with her son, enjoys Poptropica and its fan community. From the perspective of one parent, here’s why Poptropica is great for kids!

Games have exploded across the years and are now found everywhere – on our phones, computers and the internet. The good news is that they’ve been coopted into doing more than just entertaining. They now educate in equal measures. This means they are useful for children and adults to learn everything from languages to math.

An example which nicely straddles the border between entertainment and education is the game Poptropica. This game, specifically designed for children and offers them an environment that is safe, even while allowing them to interact with millions of other children. They hone their puzzle-solving skills and collect points with which they can upgrade the appearance of their character. All while being kept safe and secure.

So what are the big advantages of the game?

#1: It’s hugely entertaining

There really is no getting around it. This game is hugely entertaining. There are so many different games that go in so many different directions that children will be sure to find something they’ll enjoy doing.

In fact, so many people have such good memories of the game growing up that they’ll return to it when they’re older just to go on a trip down memory lane.

Heck, even parents sometimes get sucked into the platform themselves, due to its entertaining puzzles, its whimsical characters and its funny ideas. That means that this offers a great opportunity to play games together.

And naturally, it’s hugely important that the game actually entertains children. After all, whatever other educational or social advantages the game has, if children don’t actually want to go on there to play, then it won’t be much use, will it?

#2: It performs as a gateway

In today’s environment it is important we all learn computer literacy, as a lot of the jobs that are going to be created in the next decades are going to depend on how well we can interact with computers. At the same time, we don’t want to just thrust our children into the world wild web, with its trolls, stalkers and adult topics.

That’s where platforms like Poptropica come in. They teach the former, while making sure the latter problems can’t intrude. In this way, it forms a great way for your children to start learning how to use the internet. They’ll come to learn a great deal of the basic ideas that govern how we interact with virtual environments and begin to understand the underlying ideas.

#3: Safe interaction

Another nice advantage is that the game has been constructed in such a way that children can interact and play games together, without inviting the problems normally associated with that kind of thing. On the different islands in the game, children can play games against other players and even communicate with them – albeit through a limited repertoire of dialogue options.

This means that children get to enjoy one of the most exciting aspects of the online word – namely being together with millions of other children who are sharing the same experiences – while not running any risk.

#4: It’s great to do together

The game can be at its most rewarding if actually done together with your child – particularly if they’re still young. That’s because some of the puzzles can be a bit challenging, and they do need pretty decent reading skills to understand the nature of some of the puzzles.

This could be seen as a drawback, but you can also turn this into a learning opportunity. For example, by helping your kid find the islands they enjoy the most and the topics that most excite them, you’re going to be able to get an idea of what they actually enjoy. This you can then explore further offline, for example. Or you can use it as a way to find interesting topics that you wish to broach.

In this way, the game can become a fantastic educational tool as well, as it opens up roadways and paths for you to find topics your kids find exciting.

#5: It’s worth your time

If you’re looking for a safe and fun way for your children to spend time online, then you have to check out Poptropica. It’s a highly enjoyable environment that you and your kids will love to explore and learn about.

This can be done for free. Alternatively, you can pay for a month of access for $3 US – which really isn’t going to break the bank – in order to get full member access. This opens up some more islands, gives them early access to the new islands being designed, and gives kids full access to the store where they can design the look of their character.

Whatever way you choose, you’re not going to be disappointed by Poptropica.

Hope you enjoyed this guest post by Leona Henryson! For another perspective that offers 5 more reasons Poptropica is great for kids, check out this post with thoughts from a former Poptropica Creator, James Lema (Director D).

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 PHB post, we’d love to hear it!

Hey Poptropicans—this is a guest post by Striped Cactus, who shares about some books that, in her opinion, would make awesome Poptropica Islands. You, too, can write for the PHB—take a look down below to find out how!

Admit it: we’ve all had a moment when we’ve been watching a movie or reading a book, and then suddenly it hits you that “this would be a great Poptropica Island!” And then you get distracted by thinking about how the storyline would go, the Poptropicans you would meet, the items you would pick up… No? Just me?

Well, here’s a Pop 5 list of literary places I wish were in Poptropica. Keep in mind, since Poptropica is technically a “kids’ game,” I’m keeping my list age-appropriate.

#5: A Wrinkle In Time

Yeah, maybe part of my inspiration for this is the hype for the reboot of the movie coming out soon, but this has always been one of my favorite books, and how awesome would it be to have your Poptropican be a stand-in for Meg, going on adventures with Calvin and Charles-Wallace? I would kill for a Poptropican island for Wrinkle.

I’m thinking a boss battle with IT comparable to the Red Dragon boss battle at the end of that island (Cloud Dragon vs Fire Dragon), or something like the Steamworks boss battle.

#4: The Lightning Thief

This is just too good of an opportunity to pass up. I’ve always dreamed of having a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt for my Poptropican, and I’m talking outside of that one ad they did for the Sea of Monsters ad millennia ago. I’m thinking spacebar activates Riptide, ya know, with some mini battles every time you have to fight a monster… It would be a very unique island to the Poptropica universe, but it would be so awesome.

#3: The Harry Potter Series

Now, if you know me well enough, you’ll know that I’ve always been on the borderline with Harry Potter. It’s never been my favorite book series and I never could quite understand the hype that the fans associated with it, but on all levels, I admit the Harry Potter books would make one heck of a Poptropica island. Think getting to choose your own house, a Quidditch mini game, Voldemort boss battle, a scene in the Hogwarts Express—the opportunities for that are endless.

Related: Check out the PHB’s Harry Pop-ter and the PHB Pop-over post for some Harry Potter costumes on Poptropica!

#2: The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles

I know few people have heard of this book, but hear me out. It’s written by Julie Andrews herself (The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins) and it’s a book that changed my life when I was younger, inspiring me to take writing seriously. The plot resembles something I could definitely envision as a Poptropica island.

Three children must learn to submit themselves to their imaginations to travel into something of an alternate dimension where a mystical creature called a Whangdoodle lives, the last of his kind. Guiding them is a man known mostly as “the professor” and he holds the key to cloning a Whangdoodle, in hopes that there would be more in the future. Sort of like if you mixed Twisted Thicket with Mission Atlantis.

#1: A Tale Dark and Grimm

A Tale Dark and Grimm still remains my favorite book of all time. Yeah, some parts of it might be a tad bit gruesome for kids. When the book was written, the imagery was left to the imagination, but if you’re seeing some of the stuff described as an animated video game, those could be frightening images.

I mean, granted… when it comes to the Poptropica Creators, we’re talking about the same creeps (and I say this with love) who made the Jersey Devil that haunted my childhood so, I guess these things are possible. A combination of some of the most classic fairy tales while also providing some valuable and realistic life lessons? Very cool.

I’d love to hear some of your guys’s ideas for books that would make cool Poptropica islands! Be sure to tell me in the comments. 🙂

Stay safe out there, everybody.

—Striped Cactus

Hope you enjoyed this guest post by Striped Cactus! To learn more about the writer, check out Striped Cactus’s My Place in Poptropica story.

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 PHB post, send it in!