Yes, it's that wonderful time of the year again -- Poptropica's birthday! This September we're celebr8ing 8, that's right, eight years of amazing Poptropica history. That's an incredibly long time for any game to last, let alone such a lively game as Poptropica! But Poptropica has been doing much more than simply surviving to this age. No, it's been thriving -- more players join Poptropica every year, new comics, toys, books, apps, and possibly even TV shows are coming out, brilliant new islands are being created. We've come quite a long way since Poptropica opened up with one lone island, Early Poptropica, back in 2007.
It doesn't stop here, though. Who knows what the next 8 years will bring?
Quick note... One interesting effect that's becoming harder to ignore: the original Poptropica players. Most kids who found the game back in 2007 were around the ages of 6-10 years old. Now those same kids (myself included) are in their mid to late teens. Even though new players are constantly joining, Poptropica might be slowly identifying itself with an older generation. Certainly today's Poptropica bloggers have established a monopoly, and they're almost all teenagers (I'm looking at you, Poptropica Help Blog, Thinknoodles, and even Poptrickia). We've already started seeing islands with more complexity and deeper themes, and my prediction is that it will only go ahead from there. Sounds exciting! Either way, the age selector for making a new character is going to need an update...
Well, enough history! What's in store for the party this month? Two words -- pigs and cake. It starts out in the traditional way -- common rooms all over Poptropica are filled chock-full with multicolored balloons. But only one of them -- the one with the big 8 on it -- is the one you're looking for. If you find and click on this semi-rare balloon, you get the prize of the year, which is...
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The 8-Bit Birthday Pixel Pig Power! (mmm... double alliterations). Not only does equipping this turn your character into a pixel8ed, bouncing pig, but if you press SPACEBAR, you throw birthday cake which turns other characters into pigs! And the best part -- it works on people in common rooms, too. Time for some extreme games of multiplayer tag!
And on the topic of Early Poptropica... starting today and continuing until the end of the party (about 2 weeks), there's a race to finish Early Poptropica! Players who have completed this classic island since today are being recorded and immortalized on the World Champions map for the Island. And if it's your first time, you'll get a whole 200 credits from it to spend in the Store. So don't just sit there, play Early Poptropica! And if you need any tips (or just to brush up), check out Poptrickia's guide of the island. (The guide itself is historical; it was written sometime in 2010!)
Well, that's the wrap-up of the party going on this month. Think about this: How and when did you discover Poptropica? Tell me in the comments! Personally, I found it sometime in 2010 when a Poptropica fever had infected the whole 5th grade. Spy Island was the first one I tried, but I never got to finish it then because the teacher swiftly banned all computer use 😥. Ah, the memories...
Happy birthday, and long live Poptropica!
