This is the My Place in Poptropica story of Lucky Joker, a longtime Poptropican who doesn’t plan on giving up anytime soon! See below for details on sending in your own MPIP!
Howdy, it’s Lucky Joker! Before we get started with my MPIP story, be sure to check out (and maybe follow 😛) my Twitter, @LJokerPop. Shameless self-promotion, I know. Anyway, here is my story!
2008 | The Discovery
Every Friday during my years in elementary school, my class was taken to the computer lab to practice our typing through a program called Mavis Beacon. Afterward, we were allowed to play a game of our choice. The teacher gave us four options which included Funbrain, Cool-Math Games, Zoombinis and — you guessed it — Poptropica (which he pronounced as pōp-tropica 😝). I mostly opted for Logical Journey of The Zoombinis, but one day after a while of playing I found myself yearning for something new.
I eagerly tried out Poptropica because of how cool the name sounded. Alas, Lucky Joker was born! Apparently I was late to the game among my peers as most of them had already created accounts and completed some islands by the time I joined.
2008-2009│Exploring the Islands
At this time I hadn’t known about walkthroughs, so I had to figure out each island on my own which was quite difficult as a kid. I had some help from friends, though, and it was really fun. Poptropica was quite popular at my school and everyone was always flexing their costumes and medallion count. It was very much a hierarchical thing, haha.
If my memory serves me correctly, Astro-Knights was the newest island, and a funny thing that I remember was when my friend had told me Monster Carnival was going to be the last island (after Astro-Knights), “ending Poptropica”. I didn’t even know what he was talking about. Even today I’m not exactly sure where he got that idea, but boy was he wrong.
2010│Lazy Bird
By this point, I hadn’t played Poptropica in a little while and I decided to check back in. I couldn’t remember my login information, however, so I had to create a new account — this time with my mom so she could keep note of my account info. My new Poptropican was called Lazy Bird; my mother and I thought the name described me perfectly. 🙃
She purchased a 6-month membership for me which made me all the more ecstatic to log in. I completed all of the classic islands on this account once more, and also played Counterfeit, Reality TV and Mythology (the newer releases) for the first time. This was when Mythology was available with early access and it became an instant favorite of mine. I also attempted Skullduggery once, but to no avail. Unfortunately my membership sort of ended up being a waste as I played a little less actively for the tail end of it.
2011-2012│Rediscovery
One day when I was cleaning my backpack — along with a bunch of loose crayons and pencil shavings — fell a small wrinkled up piece of paper. I unfolded it to see what it was and it turned out to be my previous account’s login info. Lucky Joker was back and here to stay! I immediately went into the living room and rushed to the computer with my love for Poptropica reignited. I was surprised with how much I needed to catch up on, but thanks to walkthroughs I was now aware of and my (almost insane) amount of determination, I was all caught up within a month. I had even bought Poptropica: The Official Guidebook from my school’s book fair to help me. I still own it to this day!
(In the states) After elementary school obviously comes junior high — and like most kids I was feeling pressured to “grow up”. Luckily for me though, I eventually made a couple of new friends who I could open up to about my “childish” interests. I introduced the game to one of them and learned that the other already had an account, so that was a good feeling. Poptropica was the topic of conversation during lunch from time to time and we also multiversed occasionally over the phone once we got home afterschool.
2013-2014│Finding Poptropica Fans
As time progressed, I found myself playing Poptropica more and more. I learned about replaying islands as an option and quickly took advantage of the feature. I was really impressed by the improved art and storytelling in the newer islands.
I then introduced the game to my two younger cousins who I’m very close to. They still play today and it’s somewhat of a bonding thing for us. I had also developed an interest for learning more about the online Poptropica community (at which point I didn’t know existed). I was searching for videos on YouTube and eventually ran into Brave Tomato’s YouTube channel! I started binging her videos and quickly subscribed.
I also remember searching for Poptropica content apart from YouTube and found a blog that immediately caught my attention — the Poptropica Help Blog! The design and the team of authors intrigued me. I knew I wanted to be a part of it someday.
2015–present│Now and Later
In the summer of 2015, I took part in the first Poppies event via the comments section, inserting myself a bit more into the fandom. I also participated in Poptropica’s Hall of Fame the month before. I kid you not, I must’ve been one of the most active players of the game at this point. Half of my summer vacation was dedicated to playing every island in order to get a spot. I replayed every island at least twice, and some even up to 15 times! I was pretty upset (to put it mildly 😅) when I found out I wasn’t one of the winners. Finishing the third episode of Arabian Nights at #49 on the World Champions map (right after BT!) made me happy, though.
Nowadays, as a high schooler, I don’t know anyone in person who plays Poptropica. However, I will never stop playing because of the status quo, and now that I’ve fully immersed myself in this community, I plan on playing the game for many years to come. I currently run a blog alongside my good friend White Ice and a couple of other cool people. The future has yet to be written, but it’s looking bright! I’m Lucky Joker and this is “My Place in Poptropica”.
– Lucky Joker 🍀
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Hope you enjoyed this “My Place in Poptropica” story! Feel free to send in your own (please include a minimum of 550 words, type with good spelling and grammar, divide it into labeled sections, and include your username). Look out for more community MPIPs in the future!
~the Poptropica Help Blog
🦄 Ponytropica 🦄 