Category: Steam Bundle

A bundle of old Poptropica islands and the create-your-own-world Realms can be purchased via Steam, the video game distribution platform.

Monster Carnival Island, Steam Bundle

Step right up for a secret twist! 🔮

Slanted Fish

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.”

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.

Abhi Arya, Q&A with the Poptropica CEO

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! 🤞

~🐠

Contests, Jade Scarab Island, Monthly Costume Contests, Steam Bundle

Arbiters of Fate & Artifacts to Create 🪲

Slanted Fish

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?

Mocktropica
Virus Hunter
Monster 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? 🤔

Steamworks
Spy
Zomberry

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 by Thursday, 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!

Popsona recolor by @sockf00ted.books
Speedy Catfish (Thinknoodles) by @sakurannb0
Bard in Smart’s dress by @brittscarlet1
Favorite games by @_smart_spinner_
Cymbeline & Laertes (Pop OCs) by @a.jbox
Mademoiselle Moreau by @pinklightningmc
Amelia’s seen some stuff by @kohukokofe
Fox costume by @joeynigrogames
Black Widow by @maryanntheconqueror

That wraps up this big bunch of small stories! Thanks for popping by!

~🐠

Arabian Nights Island, Steam Bundle

Dungeons & Dummies & Dr. Hare 📚

Slanted Fish

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:

That’s all for now. Join us on Discord to share your theories, and stay tuned with us for the next half of the Steam island hints as they come!

~🐠

Clubhouse, Steam Bundle

Tribes Vibes up in the Clubhouse 🥇

Slanted Fish

Join the club of clue chasers as we solve the mystery of the 13 Steam islands — we’ve already got takes on hints 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 in the house.

The sixth hint is here and we’re back to using words: “Vie for victory in the centuries old clash of clans! Who will come out on Pop?”

No, not that “Clash of Clans”…

pic: Supercell

…but all signs point to another team rivalry in Poptropica: Tribes! Tribes were a popular feature introduced with Poptropolis Games Island and allowed players to pick one of eight teams to align with not just in the island, but also on friend profiles and in exclusive common rooms.

We don’t know whether all that will return with the Steam bundle, but at the very least, you’ll get to compete for your tribe (“vie for victory”) in the island if our guess is right. Poptropolis Games is also an island that rises from the sea once every 100 years according to the lore, matching the hint’s description of “centuries old.”

Although originally released pre-SUI (Sound Updated Island) in 2012, it was later re-released as an SUI in 2013 with two more games, following the AS3 islands theory. It’s also one of the few AS3 islands that never made it to the app, so fans have been waiting a long time for its return.

The Distance in Your Eyes: Victory is a hop, skip, and a jump away.

In other news, the clubhouse store has been updated with a new rotation, including plushies and wallpapers! Check out the collection:

I-is that Unicorn Frenzy in the background?

Speaking of clubhouses, don’t miss our latest Clubhouse Tour with Pink Crush a few posts down! And if you’re feeling inspired, you can send in one of your own, too. 🏡 See you next time!

~🐠

Social Media, Steam Bundle

Small Clues, Mighty Implications

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! Another day, another Steam island clue. 🤔

The fifth hint comes to us in a mystic language of dots and dashes. Can you crack the code? 🔢 (Plus, for those following along: we’ve got takes on previous hints so far here: 1, 2, 3, 4.)

This hint comes with a little nudge: unscramble the letters below and you’ll get Morse Code. Only one island uses Morse code: Shrink Ray! The dots and dashes, by the way, spell out “small but mighty” — another nod towards the island where you’re mostly in miniature.

Such Great Heights: Finally, someone in Poptropica you can look up to.

We previously predicted Shrink Ray as a possibility for the first hint, but with this clue pointing to this island so strongly, the other one probably points to our other guess: Survival. Both islands fall within the theory that all 13 old islands returning to Steam will be the AS3 (newer) ones.

See A Shrink: If you catch this ray, it’ll be the last thing you ever do!

In other news, Poptropica reached 10K followers on their Twitter over the weekend! They previously promised to follow back more fan accounts when they reached this milestone, and they’ve been delivering! Up a third from last time, they’re now following 218 accounts, including many fans who requested it. If you’re on Twitter, prove your Pop loyalty and you might get yourself a new follower! 🥳

Congrats to Pop for their W, but an L soon followed with an amusing typo for Jeff Brim Heim, the game’s music composer. (Btw, our Poptropica Music page is filled to the brim with his soundtracks!)

That’s all for now. Stay tuned for the next hint, and pop by again soon!

~🐠