Pop 5

Pop 5: Best Poptropica Contests

Pop 5 Contests Header

Hey there everyone! SD here with another Pop 5 post. You know the drill! Today, I’ll be counting down what I think have been the best contests (both from the Poptropica Creators, and within the community).

A good contest’s goal should completely be about community involvement! The more fun it is to participate, the better it is. Simple, but that’s not all! Cool prizes are a great incentive, unique rules lead to an exciting competition, and annual events make for something to look forward to. So let’s get started!

#5: The PHB Halloween Costume Contest

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By now, this event is simply traditional, so it had to make this list. With 9 contestsย and counting, our annual sp00py competition continues to be a fan favorite. The name speaks for itself: Every Halloween, the PHB picks the best of the best costumes, made by you guys! I still remember loving it before I became an author, and participating every year!

Having this annual contest allows everyone to look forward to it throughout the year, especially those really into Halloween! It gets everyone in the community involved in something easy to participate in. However, it certainly doesn’t make the top of my list simply because of it’s repetitive nature. With Original Poptropica dying down, there are only so many new accessories to mix and match. But don’t worry to much, because Poptropica Worlds is offering a whole new array of clothing to compete with!

#4: The PHB Tribal Tournament

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Though this event has only happened once, I have to say that it was a blast! Ever since Poptropolis Island rose out of the sea, tribes have been a pretty big deal within the community. Inspired by the Olympics, this contest brought together members of the same Poptropica tribe as they fought for glory through art, trivia, and medal collecting!

Not only was this contest completely unique in our community, but it also allowed for many different talents to shine. Yes that’s right, you could still easily participate if you weren’t an artist! Nanobots may not have come out on top, but everyone in every tribe put up an amazing fight, and it was exciting to see all the friendly competition. Are you hoping for this event to rise up once again?

#3: The Poptropica Costume Contest

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Sure, a costume contest isn’t completely original at this point, but this one definitely topped them all! Clothing and customization is a gigantic part of Poptropica, so this event was huge for the community. In this contest, fans got to create their very own Poptropica costumes and winners were promised to be put in the actual game! Who doesn’t want to brag that their outfit is actually in Poptropica? Though the runner ups have not had their costumes implemented in game yet (*cough* what’s up creators *cough*), the grand prize winners can continue to brag to all their friends.

Poptropica Worlds has started to introduceย a lot more modern clothing, and I personally think that’s super cool! It’s no doubt that some of these decisions had to have been inspired by contest entries, as submissions were really creative and diverse. I’m still bummed I won’t be getting to wear some of those great outfits! I’m hoping for another contest like this in the future, what do you guys think?

#2: The PHB’s Poppies

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Not to toot our own horn, but I totally love the Poppies, what about you guys? Similar to award shows like the Oscars, the Poppies presents various Poptropica-themed categories that the entire community votes on and announces the winners in an annual livestream. Like the PHB’s Halloween Costume Contest, it’s something to look forward to all year, and we just had a pretty good one!

The categories are always changing to keep things fresh, and I think it’s great that everyone in the community gets to decide on the winners! Since it’s not your average art contest or anything, it can be much more interesting to see the results. And as a cherry on top, it can be lots of fun to have everyone dress up for an awesome party! We always seem to come back to costumes, huh?

#1: The Create Your Dream Island Contest

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I’ll bet this top pick comes as no surprise! The CYDI Contest was a hit, with all Poptropicans dying to know who the winner was, as the Creators sorted through numerous submissions. Ever since Poptropica was born on the internet, fans were coming up with their own island ideas. So, of course a contest where Poptropicans had a chance for their idea to be made a reality was gripping!

This contest not only lead to the creation of Arabian Nights Island, a wonderful adventure, but also boosted Poptropica’s “Island Creator Kit” book. From start to finish, I think this event was amazing and I will continue to mourn those runner up island ideas that sounded spectacular. The contest allowed for the creative to let loose their imaginations in a way that we were all waiting for. In fact, I’m sure many Poptropicans hope to see this contest return!

Honorable Mentions

  1. The Hall of Fame Contestย โ€” This one almost made the list! Having your own Poptropicanย in the game is another big dream for many players. In this contest, all you had to do to achieve that dream was what we all always do: play Poptropica as much as possible! A great idea, and a tough competition!
  2. The #PoptropicaArt Contestย โ€” In the Poptropica community, art is a huge deal! With this contest, Poptropicans got to show off their art skills more than ever across all social media. I’ve got to say that every single submission was amazing!
  3. The Poptropica Sticker Design Contestย โ€”ย This one just recently closed submissions, but winners haven’t been announced yet. It couldn’t make the list, as we haven’t seen how it ends, but it’s without a doubt a cool, unique idea. Another way to show off artistic talent, but with a twist! Who wouldn’t want their friends constantly texting with a sticker thatย you made?

So… do you agree with my list? What have been your favorite Poptropica Contests? What kind of contests do you hope to see in the future?

~SD

Pop Fan Artist Spotlights

Pop Fan Artist Spotlight: NineTenOnetyOne

What’s up, Poptropicans? Another week brings another Pop Fan Artist Spotlight, and today I’ll be highlighting the work of NineTenOnetyOne.

Nine draws in a recognizable style that I just loveโ€”Poptropican-like, but still very unique, and with her own special touch. She’s very good with color usage and making her characters expressive. Check out this collection of her work below (click the images to enlarge them):

In addition to these eye-catching pieces, Nine makes goofy comics (which are so fun to read!), Poptropica memesย (though it’s been a while), and is also open to art trades, so you should really check her out on DeviantArt!

I hope you liked this look into a Poptropica fan’s artwork! Got any Poptropica fan art of your own? Share it onย our DeviantArt group gallery atย We-Love-Poptropica!

Thanks for reading… talk to you soon. Pop on!

โ€“ Lucky Jokerย ๐Ÿ€

Contests, Poppies

Reflecting on 10 Years of PHB, and a Recap of Poppies 2018 ๐ŸŽ‰

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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 โ€” 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 overโ€”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 yearsโ€”this blog has celebrated inย 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,ย makingย meme faces out of your Poptropicans, publishing your guest posts, hanging out on the chat… and more.

Perhaps it sounds clichรฉd, but it’s much more than I dreamed of when I first started blogging. I simply started out of a desire to writeโ€”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. โค๏ธ

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…

That’s 10 for 10 years, folks! Thanks for all your nominations, votes, joining us at the partyโ€”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. ๐Ÿ’™

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. ๐Ÿป

โ€” the PHB โ€”

 

Escape from Pelican Rock Island, Pop Places IRL

Pop Places IRL: Escape From Pelican Rock

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Hey Poptropicans, and welcome back to our new “Pop Places IRL” series! Here, I’ll be walking you through some of Escape From Pelican Rock Island’s most notable scenes and comparing them to those scenes in real life (IRL).

You may already know this if you’re very familiar with California (or have read our trivia on the Escape From Pelican Rock Island Guide), but Pelican Rock is based onย San Francisco (or “Bay City”), and more specifically, its famous Alcatraz island prison.

Even though the prison is no longer up and running IRL today, visitors can still take a tour of the islandย located in San Francisco Bay (if you can withstand the strong smell of pelican feces). When it was still in operation, the facility was well known for being impossible to break out of, though I guess our Poptropicans proved that wrong!

Once you’re arrested, you get to visit many important places inside the prison, including the yard. If you thought it was a pretty dull way to spend your time in game, I’m sorry to tell you that the IRL prisonย recreation yard isn’t any more dazzling.

Aside from your recreation time behind bars, meal time makes up a big portion of our Poptropicans’ adventures. While photos of Pelican Rock’s cafeteria aren’t in black and white, the IRL prison cafeteria may just have better food!

The last main location you often visit while at Pelican Rock (besides the plate making room, which shows a very common jail trope) is, of course, your cell. Poptropicans may have it a bit better space wise, but it’s cool to see that even the green walls match up with the IRL prison cells.

Another big landmark on the island in game was the “Colt Tower” that you chase Booted Bandit up. IRL, this location was based on San Fran’s Coit Tower, a tourist destination aside from Alcatraz!

A spot that I’m obligated to mention is of course San Fran’s famous Golden Gate Bridge! Though not a huge destination in game, the bridge can be seen in the background multiple times along your adventure and is a staple in the city’s skyline.

Well, that wraps up our tour of real-life Escape From Pelican Rock! What did you think?

Have you been to San Francisco? How does it compare to Poptropica’s interpretation? I’ve actually been on an Alcatraz tour and think the resemblance is pretty cool! What other places do you want us to cover in this series?

If you liked this post, be sure to smash that like buttonย check out our real-life tour of Crisis Caverns Islandย too! ๐Ÿ™‚

~SD

Big Nate Island

Big news: Big Nate Island is available to all!

What’s up, Poptropicans? It’s Lucky Joker here, and I’ve got some big news. Today, Poptropica just announced that…

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There it is loud and clear, folksโ€”Big Nate Island is available to all players this week only! Up until this Friday (July 27), members won’t be the only ones able to play this classic island. ๐Ÿ˜‰ Sadly, it’s not really a full week, but rather a full standard school/work week which is only five days. :/ But heyโ€”it’s better than nothing at all.

UPDATE: We’ve been getting reports that the membership lock continues to activate up until the end of the demo point. To combat this, PHB reader Massive Monster suggests closing the “get membership to continue” window and refreshing the page to continue without membership.

So what are you waiting for? Log on to Poptropica, check out our Big Nate Island Guide for some extra help, and earn those credits (since store items are super pricey now)!

Well, that’s the little amount of news for now. Thanks for reading as always! Talk to you all soonโ€ฆ pop on!

โ€“ Lucky Jokerย ๐Ÿ€