
A message from Slanted Fish, creator of the PHB
Wow. Ten years. A whole decade of the PHB.
Ten years since a little girl of 11 (me from the past) discovered the untaken WordPress URL that started this blog — poptropica.wordpress.com. Ten years since the release of Super Power Island, the fifth Poptropica island, and the first island to get a guide on the PHB. Ten years since she started blogging about a then-small game and clicking publish, many times over—the words traveling from an apartment in Hong Kong to reach millions of kids all over the world. The rest, as they say, is history.
We’ve shared a lot of fun memories over the years—this blog has celebrated in Poptropica parties like the one we just had, hosted contests (like the Poppies), and gotten to talk with some cool Pop Creators. We’ve brought you exciting news of island releases over 50 times and grieved with you when Poptropica wasn’t shaping up. And we’ve had the delight of sharing your amazing creations, making meme faces out of your Poptropicans, publishing your guest posts, hanging out on the chat… and more.
Perhaps it sounds clichéd, but it’s much more than I dreamed of when I first started blogging. I simply started out of a desire to write—to help others with the power of words, which I put into guides that, back then, didn’t even have pictures; to share a joy for a simple game that I watched become a pretty big and beautiful enterprise. I couldn’t imagine where it would go, and I still don’t know where it will go. And that’s okay.
Ten years ago a kid who’d just finished elementary school started a website for fellow kids to share in a common joy. Today I’m just a couple of semesters shy of an English degree, in part because this community gave me a platform to nurture a little creativity and love for the written word. And I hope it’s been a place of joy for you, too.
Thank you to every Poptropican out there who’s been a part of the PHB journey. It’s been pretty great, and 32 million views later, we’re still making history. There is good in the world, and we can all be a part of it. Here’s to a poppin’ decade. ❤️
Slanted Fish
Editor-in-chief, Poptropica Help Blog
During the party, the PHB staff hosted a livestream to announce the winners of this year’s Poppies. You can revisit it in the video above, or look down for the results:
And the Poppies Awards for 2018 go to…
- Best Poptropica Worlds Island: Greek Sea Odyssey (runner-up: 24 Carrot)
- Best Poptropica Worlds Character: Dr. Hare (runner-up: Beatrice & Hazel)
- Most Educational Island: Time Tangled (runner-up: Mythology)
- Best Accessory: Shrink Ray Gun (runner-up: Lightning Staff)
- Most Evil Poptropica Villain: Zeus (runner-up: Myron Van Buren)
- Best PHB Author: Brave Tomato (runner-up, by one vote: Lucky Joker)
- Best PHB Series: Community Creations (runner-up: Pop Fan Artist Spotlights)
- Best Ask Blog: Your friendly neighbor art thief, blackwidowpoptropica (runner-up: Welcome… Eh Whatever, ask-director-d)
- Best Fan Art of 2018: “Alice and Fierce Fox” by POP-whitewolf (runner-up: “Train to Zomberry Island” by ANNE14TCO)
- Best Poptropica Portfolio: Jessica Devine, aka Skinny Moon (runner-up: Mitch Krpata, aka Captain Crawfish)
That’s 10 for 10 years, folks! Thanks for all your nominations, votes, joining us at the party—and, even if you didn’t do those things, thanks, at least, for being a part of the Poptropica community and our PHB adventures. We’re glad you’re here. 💙
Best Fan Art nominee gallery
One visual representation of the wonder of the Pop community is the fan art it produces. To celebrate that, we’re including this gallery of this year’s “Best Fan Art” nominees:
Thanks for popping by on the Poptropica Help Blog!
Here’s to ten years. Cheers. 🍻
— the PHB —




