Hey Poptropicans! This weekend, just two weeks before the end of 2020, the Poptropica Help Blog commemorated two things at our “Gone in a Flash” Holiday Party: the death of Adobe Flash, Poptropica’s longtime game engine; and celebrations for the holidays in Poptropica’s Flash-based common rooms — for the last time. Here are the highlights! ✨
We began the memorial on the PHC with a eulogy for Flash…
PHB staffers Sporty Boa and Fierce Flyer dressed for the Flash funeral.
A gravestone for Adobe Flash. Rest in peace.
In Loving Memory of Poptropica on Adobe Flash 😔
In 2007, Poptropica was born Bringing islands, costumes, friends, and more A universe built on Adobe Flash But now this system’s about to crash 💥
So much has changed, so much now lost What to do as Flash turns to frost? Gather round, and bring your flowers Press f in chat for its final hours 🥀
(A moment was given for everyone to pay their respects with an F in the chat, and later, Purple Paw lowered the coffin. RIP Adobe Flash, 1996–2020.)
From the ashes, a new star rises Haxe is bringing new surprises In the meantime, let us cheer After all, the holidays are here! 🎄
Now comes the time to celebrate On Poptropica — Flash, for old time’s sake Get ready to party! Boom boom boom Meet you in 24 Carrot’s common room! 🥕
And thus we gave our last hurrah to Flash, with festive costumes and holiday cheer in the 24 Carrot and Mythology Island common rooms. The party enjoyed its share of fun Flash items that haven’t made their way to Haxe yet, from the lightning-fast Feats of Speed sneakers to the infamously lag-inducing Fart Gun. Plus, both the text and voice chats on our PHC Discord server were filled with laughter, thunder, and even a dose of language learning. A merry time! 🥳
Though we’ll miss the many adventures we shared with Flash over the years, we’re looking forward to what Poptropica on Haxe will bring in 2021 and beyond. Thank you for joining us, and keep on poppin’! 💙
Heyo, Poptropicans! Big news: as promised, the festive Grapple-Pap side quest has appeared on Pop! After playing through it, I found it to be a very intriguing adventure. To begin, head across the wondrously snowy Home Island and speak to the man with a pile of presents.
He’ll ask you to deliver a gift to his sister. But before you accept the challenge, there’s one thing that needs to be set straight; what exactly is Grapple-Pap? According to the man, it’s ‘the time of year Poptropicans give gifts and merriment’. So it’s essentially the Poptropica version of Christmas! (I wonder what other holidays Poptropicans celebrate…)
If you’re feeling ready to go Grapple-Papping, respond with a ‘sure’ and you’ll be whisked off to start the adventure! Keep reading for a full guide with pictures below.
You’ll be in a very festive-looking town. Everybody’s dressed up in traditional Grapple-Pap apparel. Walk on up the road. You’ll pass by several townspeople getting ready for the holiday, including three jump-ropers and an ice-skater!
When asked where Clareta is, they all come up with generally the same answers. Nobody’s seen her for years, and they think that the Grapple-Pap got her. After all, if you don’t spread cheer, the great Grapple-Pap will get you for one whole year…very mysterious indeed. One will also tell you that the holiday is named after somebody called the Grapple-Pap! Finally, you’ll find a Poptropican who will give you a clue about Clareta. The baker up at the Salty Nugget tells you that Clareta lives in Cold Cliff Pass. An NPC wandering near the Salty Nugget will also warn you that Clareta has become ‘mean’ over the years…that can’t mean anything good.
Following the baker’s advice, go right to Cold Cliff Pass. There’s quite a bit of pretty winter scenery in this area.
It’s cold outside…
Keep walking down the hill until you reach a tunnel of ice with several floating platforms. There’s a stone block with an engraving on it; push it all the way against the far wall of the ice cave, and jump on it to reach the last platform. From there, climb onto the top slope and exit the ice tunnel.
Walk up a second hill and you’ll find yourself in front of a ledge with another stone block on top of it. Hop onto the ledge, and push the block off of it. Keep pushing it until you reach a very tall snowdrift. Using the block as a boost, climb up onto the snowdrift.
Go down another ice tunnel, and jump up onto a second tunnel above it, this one filled with snow and holly. There’s another stone block wedged in this tunnel, so you’ll have to push it out before you can proceed. From there, you’ll see a rope. Climb up it, and you’ll be in a blizzard; dangerous, yet beautiful. Walk against the blizzard down a hill–and, hey, there’s footprints in the snow here! Clareta must live nearby!
It sure is winter here.
Sure enough, at the bottom of the slope there’s a (rather rundown) house. Enter it.
Whoa, this house sure is creepy…just look at that huge, uh, whatever it is, hanging from the ceiling! But there’s a fire in the grate, so somebody must still live here. Walk through the house as far as you can go, past a huge bed with a bearskin on it, and you’ll see a piece of paper perched on a windowsill. Click on it, and you’ll see…
Aw, it’s Clareta and her brother (the man who sent you on the quest) at a Grapple-Pap years ago! Just look how young and happy they were…and it looks like Clareta is holding a Grapple-Pap gift not much different from the one you were sent to deliver to her. The two of them must have lived here together, at least when they were younger.
Once you’ve finished admiring that cute image, close it, and something quite frightening will happen. The bed behind you begins to shake…there’s a lump moving under the covers…and a very angry and bedraggled Clareta will burst out!! (Apologies for the horrible screenshot. I definitely wasn’t expecting something like that to happen!)
“I have a Grapple-Pap gift from your–“
Wow, somebody’s feeling nasty today. Clareta will scream at you to leave her house, which you, quite willingly, do. That Grapple-Pap’ll always get you if you’re not careful, as Clareta clearly demonstrated. But you can’t let it end like this…there must be something you can do to remind Clareta of the holiday spirit!
And, indeed, an opportunity presents itself! A very large pile of snow outside the house falls away to reveal a huge stone block with what must be the Grapple-Pap himself engraved upon it. Click on the block, and it’ll slide down the hill and crash straight into Clareta’s house! Oops…
Another scream will issue from the now-broken house, and Clareta will come outside and sprint away, promising that she’ll spread cheer. Run along after her.
Follow her back into the town, where she’ll be dancing (sudden change in mood, huh?) while holding a Grapple-Pop. She’ll thank you for reminding her what Grapple-Pap is all about, and gives you a Grapple-Pop as your reward. Congratulations, you’ve completed the Grapple-Pap quest!
Equip the Grapple-Pop and press space bar to turn everybody’s heads green.
Welp, that sure was a wild ride! Even though it’s not a full island, this side quest has really given us some insight on Poptropican lore and traditions. Overall, I think it’s pretty cool (pun may or may not be intended). But what do you think? Let us know in the comments down below! Merry Grapple-Pap!
Hello, everyone! We’ll be checking out one magical advertisement, two wild prizes, three festive accessories, and four creative illustrations. But enough counting, let’s get reporting!
We have a new ad game for the Apple Original film “Wolfwalkers.” To start your adventure, go inside the tree and talk to apprentice hunter Robyn. You have three minutes to explore a dark woodland maze and hunt seven wolves as well as one wolfwalker (a human who can turn into a wolf). When the creatures pop out of their hiding places, walk over to them to capture them.
Once you find all eight creatures, you will be rewarded with the Wolf Follower and the Wolf Transformation. In order to transform, equip the Wolf Transformation item and press the spacebar to (temporarily) become a wolf.
We received a tip from PHB reader PercyJackson1010, who told us that members have received three new holiday items for their pets: Red Plaid Scarf, Reindeer Antlers, and Cozy Sweater. How could we have missed these adorably festive outfits!?
To wrap up this post, let’s take a look at some awesome creations that the Creators have featured on Instagram. We have pet designs by capax_infini aka GEAR, Game Show Island art by PHB author Lucky Joker, a Christmas illustration by happyclonetrooper, and Baby Dr. Hare drawings by adventurersnhunters.
Hey Poptropicans, you don’t have to wait much longer for a new Poptropica story, a wintry side-quest teased just last week. The Creators announced that it drops tomorrow! (This post has been updated with a new sneak peek since it was published.)
Sneak peek from the Creators’ Blog. Looks like they could be villagers who live in the village scene depicted last week!
As Poptropica shared before, this is going to be a limited time event with a new story and new characters. You’ll also get to win special prizes!
And this week, they threw in a couple more details too: “Look for your starting point on Home Island and help solve the mystery.” So now we know there’s going to be a riddle on our hands!
UPDATE: The Creators shared another sneak peek for the upcoming side-quest on Instagram! Looks like we’ll be delivering a Grapple-Pap to Clareta tomorrow…
“An old man has asked you to deliver a Grapple-Pap gift to his sister in a far off land.”
Stay tuned to the PHB too — we’ll be here tomorrow to share all you need to know with a guide to this new adventure. Be sure to check out the post below, too, to catch up on what else is going on in the Poptropica community this week! Pop on, Poptropicans. ✌️
Hey Poptropicans! It’s mid-December, which means several things: rounding off the flurry of member gifts, some dates to remember, and even a handful of coloring pages when you need a break. Let’s pop into it!
The last of the 12 Days of Member Gifts is here, and it’s a doozy: this Ice Wielder Power is the perfect overlay for a wintry look, reminiscent of the Electrify power but with an animated storm of snowflakes.
Take a look back on the previous 12 Days of Member Gifts here, here, here, and here, and remember, you can get all 12 gifts if you become a member at any point this month. It’s the best time for bonus items!
There’s winter fun for all in other ways too, and the latest comes in the form of these free winter coloring pagesfrom the Creators’ Blog! In addition to Poptropicans dressed for the cold, we’ve also got snowmen (one melted) and a candy cane. Click the images to open in full size!
Once you’ve opened a coloring page image, you could save them to your device and color them with an art app, or print them out and color them the traditional way. Either way, the Pop Creators would love to see your creations — you can share them on social media with the tag #poptropicart for a chance to have your work featured!
Have you been cooking up an idea for the Design Your Dream Island Contest? Keep in mind that the last day for entries is this Friday, Dec 18 at 11:59 p.m. PST! The winner will be announced ten days later, Dec 28.
Intensifying panic notwithstanding, be sure to use Poptropica’s submission form here when you send off your ideas. And you can share it with us, too, although we can’t make your island real.
In the last contest, the PHB shared a closer look at a contest entry from one of the runners-up: House of Cards Island. In a similar vein, if you’d like to share your island idea with PHB readers, we’d love to share what you’ve come up if you send in a guest post!
Time’s ticking for one more thing, too—the end of Flash itself. The end of 2020 marks the end of the Flash era, and we’re sending it off with a bang of a Poptropica party!
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