Fanfiction, Guest Posts

Fanfic: Murder at Myron’s ๐Ÿฆ‰ Part 1/4

Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by Magic Kid. Enjoy!

BOO! >:D Hi guys, did I scare you? Iโ€™m Magic Kid, and after my long hiatus after my last fanfiction, Zombies, Zombies, Always Zombies!, Iโ€™m back with another Poptropica fic for y’all: Murder at Myronโ€™s. Iโ€™ll post this fanfiction in four parts throughout the month of October as a Halloween treat for you PHB readers!

This series will be narrated by none other than Merlin, the mechanical owl from Astro-Knights Island, and will feature several Poptropica villains you know and love that will be introduced as the story goes on.ย 

And now! Without further ado, I present you withโ€ฆ

Murder at Myron’s

(Part 1/4)

It was a dark and stormy night…

Thatโ€™s how most stories start, right? Either that or โ€œOnce upon a timeโ€, which wouldnโ€™t suit the tale we were about to embark on anyway. But I assure you that the night of which our story starts was indeed โ€œdark and stormyโ€.

Thunder echoed in every corner of the woods, lightning crackled and split the sky, the rain mercilessly poured from the heavy gray clouds. What a storm, what a storm!

And then, from the clouded night sky, a light shone. It was bright and it wasโ€ฆ moving? Sure enough, the light was getting bigger, coming closer and closer to the ground.

Was it a UFO? Were perhaps aliens about to invade the lush forest? Good guess.

As the clouds parted to let this mysterious object land, it was now apparent that the light was from fire from the spaceshipโ€™s thruster. The rain pounded against the metal of the ship as it gently lowered itself down onto the earth, breaking the tall treesโ€™ branches as it went.

BOOM! And with that, our ship had landed. 

Continue reading “Fanfic: Murder at Myron’s ๐Ÿฆ‰ Part 1/4”
Contests

๐ŸŽช The PHB’s 15th Halloween Costume Contest: The Show Must Go On ๐ŸŽช

๐ŸŽต Come one, come all / It’s the PHB Ball!
Where the creatures of the dark / Gather answering the call ๐ŸŽต

Hello fellow Poptropicans, and welcome back to another Halloween Costume Contest with the PHB! Cue the excitement, and most importantly the theme… The Show Must Go On! ๐ŸŽช

This year, we’re looking for circus wonders, from trapeze artists to clowns, animals, and characters from carnivals in the media. And there’s one more twist: your costume must include a handheld item! โœ๏ธ

โ˜‘๏ธ Rules โ˜‘๏ธ

  1. ๐Ÿ’™ Create your costumes on Poptropica! You may create as many as you like for the competition. To qualify, it needs to have a handheld item and belong in a circus.
  2. ๐Ÿ“ธ Take a screenshot. For the backdrop, we recommend either the character customization screen or the Costumizer window on PoptropiCon. Hereโ€™s how you can take a screenshot. Please crop it to focus on your costume.
  3. โฌ†๏ธ Upload your pic to the internet. Youโ€™ll need a web link for your pic to share it with us, which you can get by posting it to sites like ImgurDiscord, or Instagram. Then, comment on this post with the link.

๐Ÿ—บ Tips for Creating Your Costume ๐Ÿ—บ

๐ŸŒŸ Prizes ๐ŸŒŸ

  • ๐Ÿ—“ Deadline: The contest closes on Saturday, October 26.
  • ๐ŸŽƒ On Halloween (October 31), weโ€™ll post our favorite costumes on the front page of the PHB for all to enjoy.
  • ๐Ÿฅ‡ First place will win a copy of Poptropica on Steam (valued at US$20), which includes 17 of the newer classic islands.
  • ๐Ÿฅˆ Second place will win a Poptropica merch item of their choice from Zazzle (up to US$20).
  • ๐Ÿฅ‰ Third place will win a Poptropica merch item of their choice from Zazzle (up to US$10).
  • ๐Ÿ’Ž Winning costumes will be immortalized in our Look Book, but weโ€™ll also have honorable mentions for just the post, not page.

Good luck! We can’t wait to see your wonderful costumes.

Advertisements, Creators, StoryArc Media, Uncategorized

Poptropica the Company shuts down, staying alive on Cool Math Games

ROI: We’re all about sound investments here.

BREAKING NEWS: Poptropica, the company, is out of business.

Last month, we reported on the apparent End of Poptropica, as reported by one Poptropica ex-employee on LinkedIn, and backed up by several “looking for work” updates from other former employees on the job-focused platform. Though there still has yet to be an official announcement from Poptropica itself, the news was recently confirmed on X/Twitter by another ex-Pop Creator, Jonathan Pitcher.

We reached out to Jon, former Art Director at Poptropica and its spin-off Roblox studio Suit Up Games (which has also closed), whom we’ve had the pleasure of interviewing before. Graciously, Jon was happy to share more information surrounding the company closure. Below is our Q&A:

PHB: Has Poptropica officially closed, and will there be an official announcement? What does this mean for the future of Poptropica?

Jon: The company that made Poptropica and Suit Up Games is now closed down โ€” Sandbox is the parent company for Poptropica & Suit Up Games. They also are for Cool Math Games and that will continue.

Poptropica will continue to live on at Cool Math Games.

Landfall: We’re establishing a beachhead.

PHB: Why and how has this happened?

Jon: The decline in Poptropicaโ€™s traffic made the company not able to secure clients for advertising to bring in enough revenue. Without regular paying clients for advertising the company could not continue.

Old Growth: It’s a jungle out there.

PHB: Is anyone is still working on Poptropica, and if so who?

Jon: The employees at Cool Math Games have the power to keep Poptropica going. I donโ€™t know what their plans are for new content at this stage.

PHB: How is the rest of Sandbox doing? Can they support Poptropica’s futureย development? Anyone else from Sandbox who can share?

Jon: The plan is for Poptropica to keep going on Cool Math Games. The employees at Cool Math Games have the latest perspective on Poptropica but letโ€™s give them time to decide how they would like to proceed.

Aces High: We’re baron our souls on this one.

PHB: Anything else you can shareย with Poptropica fans about this situation?

Jon: As I look for a new job as an art manager and animator Iโ€™ll continue my support with Poptropica and the Poptropica Help Blog. Thanks for keeping the torch lit.


We’re super grateful to Jon for shining some light on this situation, especially while Poptropica itself continues to leave us in the dark! Speaking of whom, Jon Pitcher is currently available for hire as a director or animator, and we think he’d be an amazing asset to any company or project. ๐Ÿ™Œ Check out his animation demo reel below which showcases many of the Poptropica ad mini-games he’s worked on:

We’ve also featured some of Jon’s work here on the PHB, which are now featured on his LinkedIn page! Enjoy a look at the design process of a monster worm, Q&A about the future of Poptropica, and his Poptropica Portfolio of artwork. Thanks for the spotlights, Jon!


Last month, we also took a dive into Poptropica’s financial statements, where we found losses noted and Sandbox lumping in Pop’s finances with their other subsidiaries. Now on their page in the Companies House of the UK government, where Poptropica Limited is registered, it shows that their accounts are overdue as of 30 September 2024 โ€” another sign that the company is not operating normally.

Meanwhile, a new filing from Sandbox International Holdings Limited dated 28 September makes note of a “slowing global spend on digital advertising” affecting their businesses, reflecting Jon’s comment that a lack of advertising clients for Poptropica affected its ability to continue.


But hey, the legacy of Poptropica lives on! Popular rising girl group KATSEYE, in response to a fan’s question on X, recently mentioned Poptropica among a list of video games they played. ๐Ÿ”ฅ


Despite the closure of Poptropica the company, the game still lives on officially through Cool Math Games, though whether it will ever receive updates remains to be seen. More of the game, including its older content, can also be unofficially accessed via Flashpoint. And we the PHB aren’t going anywhere โ€” we’ll continue to be here as a gathering space for the Poptropica fandom. See you around! ๐Ÿ‘‹

Top of the Heap: One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

P.S. Poptropica just had its 17th birthday this past September! See how we celebrated with our community art collab here. ๐ŸŽ‰

PHB Specials

The PHB’s Poptropica 17th Birthday Collage ๐Ÿฅณ๐ŸŽจ๐Ÿ–ฅ๏ธ

Wasssup, Poptropicans!!! This is Gentle Dolphin coming to you live from the hottest b-day party in Poptropica! The Early Poptropica Arcade is packed with peeps dripped out and ready to dance all nite!

Time to party like it’s 2007! ๐Ÿฅณ๐ŸŽ‚๐Ÿชฉ๐Ÿ–ฅ๏ธ๐Ÿ“ฑ

Man, that party was the bomb dot com!!! We blew last year’s Sweet 16 shindig out of the water with 34 artists bringing along 57 characters to celebrate Pop’s 17th birthday! Here’s everyone that showed up as well as the cool artists that made them:

2000s talk aside, a big thank you to the fans who contributed to this collab! You guys make these community events as fun as they are. And another thank you to the Poptropica Creators from 2007 and beyond who brought this game to life! Happy 17th birthday, Poptropica! ๐Ÿฅณ๐Ÿ–ฅ๏ธ

Thank you for coming to our party, and have a good day!

โ€”Gentle Dolphin ๐Ÿฌ

ImPOPtu!, PHB Series, PHB Specials

โœ๏ธ๐Ÿ’ฅImPOPtu! #1 (Poptropica Mad Libs)

Howdy Poptropicanos, it’s LJ starting up a brand-new series here on the PHB called ImPOPtu!โ€”a Poptropica version of Mad Libs. Longtime players and followers of Poptropica might recall Poptropica’s release of an official Mad Libs book over a decade ago. (You can check it out under the miscellaneous section on our merchandise page.) I’m here to revive this concept and to hopefully carry it on.

What are Mad Libs: Mad Libs is a well-known word-based game characterized by stories interspersed with multiple blank spaces. These blanks can be filled with various types of words, including adjectives, nouns, and names.

How to play: Players are tasked with filling in the blanks without any prior exposure to the story. Once filled, the final story is read aloud, often resulting in humorous and occasionally absurd outcomes. That’s it! Are you ready for a laugh?

Below, you will find three completely random (and incomplete) stories inspired by Poptropica, all thought up by me. As noted earlier, the arrangement of events and the selection of some characters are determined by you at random. So, what are you waiting for? Discover the entertaining tales you’ll come up with!

Story 1

Story 2

Story 3

  1. Poptropica island
  2. Poptropica character
  3. Gadget/tool
  4. Gerund (verb ending in “-ing”)
  5. Adjective
  6. Plural noun
  7. 2nd adjective
  8. Abstract noun (e.g. strength, happiness, etc.)
  9. 3rd adjective
  10. Number
  1. Plural noun, living
  2. 2nd plural noun
  3. Adjective
  4. Noun
  5. 2nd adjective
  6. 2nd noun
  7. 3rd noun
  8. 3rd plural noun, living
  9. simple past tense verb (verb ending in -ed)
  10. Emotion
  1. Superlative adjective (best, worst, etc. & adjective ending in “-est”)
  2. Noun
  3. 2nd noun
  4. Adjective
  5. Career
  6. Poptropica character
  7. Gerund
  8. Plural noun
  9. Adverb (verb often ending in “ly”)
  10. 2nd adjective

Story 1: Betty Bites the Dust

After years of confinement in the infamous prison on [#1-Poptropica island], Betty Jetty finally managed to escape. With a burning desire for revenge against those who she felt had wronged her, she reached out to her old ally, [#2-Poptropica character]. Together, they devised a cunning scheme. [same character as before] arrived equipped with a remarkable [#3-gadget/tool] capable of [#4-gerund] anything in their path. As they made their way to the heart of the island, they created chaos to capture the authorities’ attention and set them into a [#5-adjective] trap. The island erupted into turmoil once the trap proved successful, with terrified citizens fleeing and [#6-plural noun] collapsing around them. Just when Betty and her accomplice believed victory was within their grasp, a formidable team of superheroes known as The [#7-2nd adjective] Action Force intervened. World Guy wielded the elements, Elf Archer showcased her incredible marksmanship, Gold Face unleashed his super [#8-abstract noun], and K-Man utilized his flight & telekinetic abilities. The ensuing battle was nothing short of [#9-adjective], with explosions and fierce collisions shaking the very ground. Ultimately, The [2nd adjective] Action Force triumphed, harnessing their enhanced powers to defeat the two evildoers. The citizens of [same island as before] erupted in cheers as the villains were escorted back to prisonโ€”sentenced to [#10-number] years behind bars. Once again, The [2nd adjective once more] Action Force had proven that, in any case, heroes would always rise to defend the innocent and that good would always win against evil.


Story 2: Comic Book Shop Flop

Ned Noodlehead, the owner of the comic book shop, couldn’t believe his bad luck. First, a group of [#1-plural noun, living] came in and accidentally knocked over a stack of rare [#2-2nd plural noun], causing a domino effect and turning his store into a chaotic mess. Then, a famous comic book artist, known for his [#3-adjective] personality, stopped by to sell his latest work. But instead of paying in cash, he offered to trade his artwork for a rare first edition [#4-noun]. Ned, being the [#5-2nd adjective] man he was, declined, causing the artist to throw a [#6-2nd noun] and storm out of the shop. To top it all off, a real-life [#7-3rd noun] convention was being held right outside his store, causing a traffic jam and deterring potential customers. But just when Ned thought his day couldn’t get any worse, a group of [#8-3rd plural noun, living] landed in front of his shop, claiming to be fans of his store and asking to take a picture with him. As Ned [#9-simple past tense verb] for the photo, he couldn’t help but smile, realizing that even with all the chaos, his comic book shop was still a place of [#10-emotion] and magic for people of all ages.


Story 3: The Concert Caper

Hip Hop, the [#1-superlative adjective] new teen popstar, was in a race against time. Due to a miscommunication with his [#2-noun], he was about to miss the final concert of his world tour on the other side of Poptropica. In a desperate attempt to make it on time, Hip Hop resorted to hitchhiking. He caught a ride on the back of a majestic [#3-2nd noun], but unfortunately, couldn’t communicate directly to give directions to the concert venue. After a long trip, the [2nd noun again] landed on Cryptids Island, where the majestic being’s destination awaited. Hip Hop, [#4-adjective] and running out of time, jumped off the anomaly and stumbled upon Harold Mews, a famous [#5- career] lurking about. After a brief chat, Harold, generously offered to take Hip Hop to his concert in his helicopter for free. As they flew over a couple of islands, they caught the attention of [#6-Poptropica character], a notorious villain who was hiding in the waters below. With a blast from a pyro bazooka, they brought down the helicopter, causing it to crash into the water before fleeing the scene while [#7-gerund]. But Harold, being a prepared adventurer, had survival supplies on hand, and together with Hip Hop, they made their way to the coast of the neighboring island, Monkey Wrench. There, Hip Hop met Amelia, a fearless adventurer who was taking a break from her thrilling escapades. With only one night left till the concert, Hip Hop begged Amelia to take him in her plane, as she was the only one who could get him there on time. After some convincing, Amelia agreed to help, but under the condition that she got free [#8-plural noun] and a front-row seat to the concert. Hip Hop, desperate and determined, agreed to her demands. With time to spare, they landed [#9-adverb], and Hip Hop made it to his concert on Backlot Island with a few hours to spare. And as he took the stage and performed for his adoring fans, Hip Hop couldn’t have made it without the help of his unlikely friends and their [#10-2nd adjective] abilities.


I think it would be really cool to have a comments section showcasing everyone’s diverse outcomes, so please share yours below! I just love imagining the game characters in a variety of scenarios.

Thank you all for reading, and I look forward to chatting with you again soon. Until then, pop on! ๐Ÿ€