flashback – 🏝 Poptropica Help Blog 🗺

Happy New Year, Poptropicanos! 🥳 We’ve made it a quarter of a century into the new millennium! Woah. 🤯

Speaking of being shook, can you believe the Poptropica Help Blog has been around for an incredible 16 years, and is now on its way to the 17-year mark this summer? It’s without a doubt that the PHB has made a significant impact on readers from all around the world during its time in the blogosphere, and I personally think that calls for some sort of recognition. 🫶

It’s been nearly 8 years since Fishy commemorated the many styles of headers past, and double that time since veteran former author, Codien, did it first. With that in mind, I thought a fun way to celebrate yet another 8 years of awesomeness would be to take a stroll down memory lane once again and revisit some of the old headers (2017-present day) that have graced the top of our homepage.

Most of these designs were crafted by our founder, Slanted Fish, but a few were created by other PHB staffers as well. During special occasions like Halloween, April Fools, and The Poppies, we sometimes find it extra fun to whip up some themed banners for merry measure. We even held a contest once! Without further ado, I hope you enjoy this trip back to 2017 (where we last left off) in…

✨A Lifetime of Headers, Part 3✨

(Hover over each image for more details & click to see them in full-size glory!)

October 2024 (Halloween), by Smart Icicle

July 2024 (PHB Poppies 2024), by Gentle Dolphin

April 1, 2024 (Mount Olympus/Zeus’s reign of terror prank)

July 2023 (PHB Poppies 2023), by Purple Paw

July 2022 (PHB Poppies 2022), by Smart Bubbles

April 1, 2022 (Poptropica Hate Blog prank), by Purple Paw

July 2021 (PHB Poppies 2021), by Purple Paw

April 1, 2021 (Poptropica Dating Sim Fan Blog prank), by Smart Bubbles aka MarayannTheConqueror

August 2020 (PHB Tribal Tournament 2020), by Gentle Dolphin

October 2019 (Halloween), by Slanted Fish

September 2018 (PHB Header Contest winner), by Gentle Dolphin

July 2018 (PHB Poppies 2018), by Slanted Fish

October 2017 (Halloween), by Slanted Fish

As you might notice, our method for designing headers over the last eight years has largely involved using illustrations instead of piecing together assets from in the game.

What began as an innovative approach in 2016 has now evolved into the norm, and I feel that the blog is even more unique and captivating as a result. It really demonstrates the remarkable talent of our community, don’t you think? 😁

Which ones do you remember from back in the day and which ones are your favorite? I really like the one Gentle Dolphin created for the header contest held in 2018. The Poppies headers are always a hit for me as well. Share your opinions and memories down in the comment section below!

(Don’t forget to check out parts 1 & 2 for even more nostalgia!)

Thank you so much for reading as always and I hope you continue to hang around for more moons to come. Pop on y’all! 🍾

If we thought 2023 was a quiet year for Poptropica, well, 2024 might just give it a run for its money. And a run out of money, too, as the game now hangs on life support. Still, the community won’t let it go so easily.

(You might be interested in taking a look back on Poptropica’s previous years, too. We’ve got just the thing over on our Yearbook page!) 📖

So let’s hit Rewind and see what 2024 had in store for Pop! ⏪

Fresh off a shutdown scare, January brought on more signs of trouble with the deletion of the entire Poptropica Creators’ Blog — years of content down the drain. Not long after, Poptropica announced that they would be moving in with Coolmath Games, keeping membership free.

The move was made official in March, with the Poptropica.com website disappearing altogether and redirecting to its page on Coolmath Games, where the game can still be played. However, there were no new game updates all year, nor will there be for the foreseeable future.

Meanwhile, we heard from a couple of OG Creators: art director Jonathan Pitcher shared with PHB readers about Poptropica seeking new avenues to continue its storytelling amid bumps along the way, and Poptropica founder Jeff Kinney spoke fondly of Poptropica’s legacy, despite older content no longer being playable due to old Flash technology.

In September, the writing was on the wall for Poptropica, with various staff departures announced on LinkedIn. There was even a post from an ex-staffer announcing the closure of the Poptropica company, which was further confirmed in another interview with Jon Pitcher. As Jon shared with us, “The decline in Poptropica’s traffic made the company not able to secure clients for advertising to bring in enough revenue” — but “the plan is for Poptropica to keep going on Cool Math Games.”

Despite the downer of Poptropica’s current state, here on the PHB we’ve tried to keep spirits up with lots of fun content throughout the year. 🎉

We celebrated the magic Poptropica brought us with a Favorite Poptropica Island Tournament where Astro-Knights was crowned victorious. Zeus from runner-up Mythology Island wasn’t too fond of this, but it made for an epic April Fools event!

We also hosted our annual Poppies Awards in July, celebrating 10 Years of Poppies with a look back at highlights from the decade past. And we had a blast engaging with the community in a succession of events: our Tribal Tournament 2024 in August, Poptropica 17th Birthday Collage art collab in September, and 15th Halloween Costume Contest in October.

Beyond the festivities, we’ve also shared some interesting posts this year. Here’s a selection, with more in our Greatest PHB Posts:

While things may continue to be quiet on Poptropica’s end, the Poptropica fandom will still be around to make some noise for our favorite game. Join us on our PHC Discord server to find fellow Poptropicans, keep playing Poptropica on Flashpoint for more content, and of course, stay tuned to the PHB for the latest. 🫶