🏝 Poptropica Help Blog 🗺

We’re nearing the eleventh hour of the Steam island hints, and the eleventh hint is upon us! (Visit past hints here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.)

“You must resist a biteless bug that few can see or wait some time for reality.” Will you take the bait, or wait for an answer?

Among the fandom’s guesses, two popular candidates stand out as strong possibilities: Virus Hunter or Mocktropica. The “biteless bug” could be a virus or computer bug, while waiting for “reality” could refer to situations that emerged since the islands’ first releases: the Covid-19 global pandemic or Poptropica’s pivots towards gaming gimmicks. (But would the Creators be so bold as to put the latter out there?)

However, we previously guessed both of these in hint #8! If it’s not one, it could be the other, which balances things out on both ends. Still, the vagueness of hint #8 also leaves room for other possibilities.

One option posited by Tough Spinner is PoptropiCon, which also follows the AS3 islands theory. Now that other episodic islands have been hinted at for Steam, PoptropiCon could be one of them — seeing as, following the eighth hint and the events of Episode 3, you solve a “puzzle” to save the Mighty Action Force heroes from Omegon, a “dire fate.”

Unmasked: A costume is good for what’s alien you.

Now that we’ve gotten a lot of guesses going, let’s take a moment to round up what we’ve got so far, if our guesses turn out right:

Survival (hint here)
Mythology – classic version (hint here)
Galactic Hot Dogs (hint here)
Mission Atlantis (hint here)
Shrink Ray (hint here)
Poptropolis Games (hint here)
Arabian Nights (hint here)
Virus Hunter, PoptropiCon, Mocktropica, or older islands (hint here)
Monster Carnival – with a twist! (hint here)
Mystery of the Map (hint here)
Virus Hunter or Mocktropica (scroll up!)

Fans following the AS3 islands theory have been checking off the list, and among those that remain are Monkey Wrench, Reality TV: Wild Safari, and any of the possibilities mentioned for hint #8 that turn out false. Then again, maybe this theory will be debunked at the reveal of the 13 Steam islands later on. Here’s hoping! 🤞

With two hints left to go, we’ll be following along to find out which ones make the cut, and which were just wishful thinking. Stay tuned!

~🐠

Fan Art Features, Steam Bundle, Store

Linking Adventurers & Outfitters 💥🔗

April 19, 2022April 20, 2022 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! After a brief hiatus for the holiday weekend (a belated blessed Easter if you celebrate! 🐇🥚), the Pop Creators are back with the next Steam island clue, store updates, and fan art features.

The tenth hint is an ad with some interesting criteria: “Adventurers Wanted! Must be familiar with: Search & Rescue, Fishing, Explosives, Heavy Lifting, Food service experience a plus.” 🧐

Can you think of an island that ticks off this whole list? Following the AS3 islands theory, Tough Spinner put forth a good case for Mystery of the Map: We “search & rescue” Octavian (or the kids), go “fishing” with a goblet, cause a rockslide with “explosives,” do “heavy lifting” with a big fur coat, and even serve food to hungry Vikings.

Whether or not this guess is right, we’ll soon find out. (Btw, keep up with past Steam hints here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.)

In the meantime, we’ve uncovered another interesting detail about the upcoming Steam bundle. According to a Pop Creator’s reply to a comment on the official blog, players will be able to link active Poptropica accounts (as in desktop and mobile) on Steam! This could mean connecting credits, costumes, medallions, and so on. Cool!

Speaking of connecting adventurers with their outfits, the latest rotation at Adventure Outfitters on Home Island has sprung some fresh spring looks. Highlights include the Floral Spring Dress (350 credits), Jetpack (300), Fedora for pets (75), and more…

Rounding off this update, enjoy the latest displays of fan art from Poptropica’s Instagram stories! (Protip: Click the artists’ names to view originals, including animations for the Friday Night Funkin’ post.)

Daisy Skies (Pop OC) by @pinklightningmc

Come back soon for the final few Steam clues, and pop on!

~🐠

Monster Carnival Island, Steam Bundle

Step right up for a secret twist! 🔮

April 16, 2022April 20, 2022 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.”

Only a few more clues remain! This fan favorite island will be returning to Steam… with a secret twist.
Can you fuess the island AND predict the surprising turn of events? 🔮 pic.twitter.com/CeftoxeDsx
— Official Poptropica (@Poptropica) April 15, 2022

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”). 🎡🐦

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 🪲

April 15, 2022April 20, 2022 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?

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? 🤔

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!

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

~🐠

Arabian Nights Island, Steam Bundle

Dungeons & Dummies & Dr. Hare 📚

April 13, 2022April 20, 2022 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:

I was going through my sketchbooks and found an early rough sketch of Dr. Hare. He is an “evil” villain I created for the game “Poptropica”, and I’m happy to see he is still out there being villainous. Not sure what’s up with the banana guy 🤷‍♂️ #poptropica #drhare pic.twitter.com/Z4sW7mly0q
— Nate G (@ngreenworks) April 12, 2022