miniquest – 🏝 Poptropica Help Blog 🗺

Hey Poptropicans, get your flexing fingers ready — as promised, the Candy Crazed Mini Quest is here!

To get started, head on over to the candy palace on the map, or find the one-legged Master Huggles on Home Island.

Upon arriving at this sugary heaven (which is canonically part of Fairytale Island), you’ll find (as leaked earlier) the prologue comic showing Hansel and Gretel nomming on everything in sight. But unlike the original fairytale, some of these sweet treats are sentient, including the beloved blue gummy bear Master Huggles! Horrified by the hungry humans, a little witch orders Nanny to cage the children…

…and that’s where you come in! If you can follow the treat tower’s trail and grab all 100 gumdrops along the way, the witch says, the kids will be freed. So there you go — jump on gelatinous confections and bop your way to the top. With all the heights and slippery objects, it’s not as simple as it appears, but there’s no time limit!

When you’ve beat the game, you’ll get to see the end comic, in which the freed kiddos find Lady Licorice and begin eating her, too. You’ll earn 50 credits for each playthrough, so you can replay this to rack up credits!

You’ll also win a Little Witchy Follower. She sparkles!

Now that we’ve had a chance to digest this digital dessert, which comes at the heels of a similar Lost Cubs Mini Quest, let’s dish out some thoughts. This style of quick gameplay seems rather like the ad games of Poptropica’s somewhat distant past, but without the ads, although some players on the PHC reported seeing ads for Rugrats and other things. Ad-based mini-games are fine (and often fun), but they’ve never been the main highlight of Poptropica. Stories are.

And while there’s some story packed into this Candy Crazed mini quest, most of it takes place in the comics. We’re dropped right in the middle of the action to pick up a hundred gumdrops, and then we’re out again.

Still, the story itself is interesting — while inspired by the classic fairytale of Hansel and Gretel, it also brings the lively twist of new candy characters, like Master Huggles, Dot and Gummy. It’s too bad we don’t get to interact with them at all in the gameplay.

But perhaps that’s what separates an ad-like mini quest from a full-on island. Which is why, while mini quests might offer a fun distraction with cute new lovable critters, we’re going to keep saying it: Bring back the old islands (or make new ones that go beyond mini quests)!

That’s a wrap for this post. What did you think of this mini quest? Does it make you think Pop Rocks or it’s just worthy of Snickers? Was it a Milky Way (to go) or a Milk Dud? Pop on over to the comments and let us know!

~Slanted Swedish Fish 🐠

Lost Cubs, Sneak Peeks

Bears to stare at while we bear the wait 🐻

May 12, 2021May 15, 2021 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! Bear with us for just a little longer and we’ll soon get to enjoy a new mini quest this Thursday.

In the meantime, the Creators’ Blog shared some cool behind-the-scenes pics of the upcoming bear-based event, so let’s take a look!

The bears from the earlier teaser were confirmed to be from Survival Island, and they also inspired the new designs of a mama bear and her cubs! We’re definitely here fur it.

A bear bones edition of a comic strip also alludes to the storyline: mama bear wakes up to find her cubs gone, and as an earlier leak revealed, it’s up to us to find them!

The Pop Creators hinted that “Bearhaps there will be a Part 2 to the Sneak Peek tomorrow?” Let’s see if that holds true…

Regardless, we reckon it’s time to go out of hibernation when this mini quest drops, promising with it an easy way to accumulate more credits (for more shopping). Stay tuned for the PHB’s guide when it’s here!

We’ll see at least one of these beasts in the new mini quest.

~🐠

Blast from the Past

2011 Rewind: Toys & Prizes? We’re Game

August 13, 2019August 11, 2019 Slanted Fish

This post is part of our Poptropica Yearbook series. If you missed the intro, check it out on the 2007 Rewind and browse the collection here.

2011 was like Poptropica heaven. This was a time of peak popularity for the fandom, and plenty was popping!

Poptropicans had some fun times hanging out on our Poptropica Help Chat (PHC) server, particularly during the PHB Author Night sessions we introduced. Plus, we had plenty of reasons to party, what with events like the PHB celebrating 5 million views in May, the countdown to Shrink Ray Island’s release in June, and the PHB’s third birthday in July!

A big new thing was pre-island mini-quests, which were created to promote an island before its release. Back in January, Wild West Island was the first to get one: a little horse-lassoing game called Round’Em Up! Every day, you could play for a new prize, like the color-changing Wunder Tonic.

Sneak preview for Wild West Island
Drunk on the Wunder Tonic

In March, Wimpy Wonderland Island debuted on Poptropica, which was pretty significant since Jeff Kinney, the author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, is the founder of Poptropica! (Another fun fact: Before the first Wimpy Kid book was even in print, it could be read online on Funbrain, a website that also promoted Poptropica from its beginning.)

Each island came with its own map, where you could hover over an area to see its name. The PHB would put together fully labeled versions like this.

Other games and islands released this year were: Prepare for Impact! for Red Dragon Island, DC Diner for Mystery Train Island, Money Ladder for Game Show Island, and Spook Central for Ghost Story Island.

Money Ladder, the preview game for Game Show Island

But the general consensus as to the most exciting mini-quest was not a pre-island game. Instead, it was an out-of-this-world (literally, you leave Poptropica for a distant planet) experience filled with mysterious robots and sword fights: Legendary Swords, released on the momentous date of 11/11/11 (November 11, 2011).

A small but helpful feature was also introduced: the pause button. This allowed you to freeze time on Poptropica, which was good for lingering on dialogue or scanning the scenery just a little (or a lot) longer.

Poptropica also released a wide selection of toys, each with a special code that would give your in-game character a bonus item! There were three-inch and six-inch figures, plushies, and even a big ol’ inflatable blimp.

And that’s not all the Poptropica merch. The first ever Poptropica book, The Poptropica Guide, made its debut in October 2011. Poptropica even had a few scavenger hunts from the book to unlock prizes in-game — but of course, the book’s got nothing on the PHB, where we have guides for all the islands that have been released since then… and plenty more. 😉

To round off the year, Ghost Story Island came and gave us a spooky yet sentimental story, making it the 23rd island. Poptropica had released an impressive 7 islands in 2011 — their most yet, and that’s not even counting all the mini-games! Poptropica was really on a roll with this year!

You’ve reached the end of the 2011 page of the Poptropica Yearbook! Stay tuned for the next chapter, and to view the entire collection, check out the Poptropica Yearbook in our Pop Plus collection.

While you’re here, sign the yearbook by commenting? ✏