Anyway, to check out this gear, just visit the all-new Poptropica Shop page, enter your username, and you’ll be brought to Ty’s Toy Box, where you can select from lots of different shirt designs and hoodies of various colors! There’s hot pink, royal blue, gray, and a few others of similar tints, so maybe you’ll find one you like. Shirts are US$17.95, hoodies are $24.99, and zip-up hoodies are $39.99. Remember to order to the right size! Also, it seems like they’ll only ship within the States.

For a list of all the options, as well as Poptropica’s other merchandise, check out the PHB article Merchandise: A Guide to Poptropica Shopping. They’re listed under “Personalized Clothing.”

Are there any you’d like to buy? Which one(s)? Share your thoughts in the comments!

I think the logo looks kind of weak, but that may just be me. Comment below and tell us what you think! The Creators have given us the plot summary as well:

Somewhere in Poptropica, an unknown citizen harbors within his bloodstream a dangerous new virus. Your mission: locate Patient Zero, and eradicate the disease before it spreads. Prepare for a perilous journey to the most far-out place of all — inside the human body!

(Patient Zero is most likely Joe, who I predicted would be a big character in this adventure.)

Next the Creators say, “It’s the biggest and best (or maybe smallest and spiffiest?) Poptropica Island ever!” That’s probably a reference to the entire adventure taking place in one person.

The PHB’s Virus Hunter Island page has also been updated accordingly, with links to the island extras (including witty postcards regarding body parts!) and info on the members’ stuff (including the bonus quest, where we’ll be helping a sick dog).

That’s all for now; there’s not much more to say, as we already knew about the island, but remember to check our Virus Hunter Island page for more sneak peeks and trivia.

Adios!

Anyway, onto the good part! Here were 5 reasons James cited as what makes Poptropica a better kids’ virtual world than any other game:

1. We are not building a game. Let’s create a collection of narrative driven quests.

2. Ask for age and gender. If they want to register, ask them after they have played around for a while.

3. 2D is faster, cheaper… and none of us know 3D.

4. We will use pre-scripted / random chat.

5. We are NOT Facebook for kids.

Interestingly, Poptropica started out with a staff of just two artists, one of them being Lema, and Poptropicans spend an average of 30 minutes per session on the site! If you’d like to read more, check out Lema’s Poptropica article on Dubit, which explains the 5 things more in-depth.

Want to know what we at the PHB think about Poptropica? Check out our Poptropica: Game Review article in the Cool Stuff section!

Now the question is, why do YOU think Poptropica is awesome? Let us know in the comments!

Last week on Poptropica, there was a video ad on Main Streets for Max Steel, a new Disney XD TV series. Watching the video awarded viewers with a costume and super power of Max McGrath’s tech alien, Steel. Sadly, I don’t have pictures, and all I could find of this ad was a blurry YouTube video.

What could this mean? Will there be more Max Steel in Poptropica’s future, or was this just a glitch? What if we get to keep all advertisement items in the future?! That would be awesome, especially considering the Creators disabled the Poptropica Ad Transporters a while back.

UPDATE: PHB commenter Abigail informs us that “Scholastic Summer” (a book-reading challenge) now takes the top spot in the items dropdown menu. Once again, clicking on it will tell you “You don’t have any items for this campaign yet. Explore Poptropica to see what you can find!”

This could mean that we’ll only get to keep our ad items until a new ad replaces the previous one, as commenter Fruitbat7777 speculates. Perhaps they’ll release this ad soon!

On a different note, the Creators blogged about this Dr. Hare fan art they received from Poptropican Cool Crown, complete with a Dr. Hare plush toy. Watch out… it could get “harey”!

Lastly, this Sunday (as are all other second Sundays of May) is Mother’s Day! The Creators have posted a lovely Tribute to the Moms of Poptropica on their blog (featuring the likes of CJ’s mom on Shrink Ray, Katya’s mom on Vampire’s Curse, and more).

But there’s another definition to “Poptropica moms,” and that’s all the mothers whose son or daughter is a Poptropica player! If that’s you reading this, happy Mother’s Day!

Go out to the Poptropica Store and get any of those epic free adventures you don’t have right now!

Speaking of Legendary Swords, when are we getting those updates promised a year and a half ago? I would be pretty excited getting a Battle Arena or some new legendary adventures!

In other news, some strange images have been showing up in the Daily Pop. I don’t really know what to make of these sneak peeks.

De-Coded: There’s a glitch in the system.

Building a Mystery: Why is construction going backwards?

Battlemechs: Don’t mess with these battle bots.

I am the Cheese: You can’t stay neutral about flavor this bold.

I am going to go out on a limb here and say that these probably aren’t about Virus Hunter Island, so what are they about? A new Battle Bot Cheese Factory Glitch Island? What do you think all of these could be about?

The little evil genius in the pink rabbit suit welcomes you in green or blue backgrounds for multiple devices and screen sizes. If you want this green-goggled face greeting you when you look at your screen, download it for the device you want it on:

• Computer (green): 1920×1200, 1600×1200, 1024×768
• Computer (blue): 1920×1200, 1600×1200, 1024×768
• iPhone/iPod Touch (green): 4th Gen - 640×960, 5th Gen - 640×1136
• iPhone/iPod Touch (blue): 4th Gen - 640×960, 5th Gen - 640×1136
• iPad (green): 2nd Gen - 1024×768, 3rd Gen - 2048×1536
• iPad (blue): 2nd Gen - 1024×768, 3rd Gen - 2048×1536

Now we’re only ~4,000 supporters away from the goal of the big ten thousand! So if you haven’t already, and you’re over 13 (or know someone old enough to represent your vote) – you know what I’m going to say next – vote for Dr. Hare’s Lair on LEGO CUUSOO to make it a reality!

Welcome to another PHB Sunday Special! Here we are at the comic book store with an engineer, theoretical physicist, blonde waitress, experimental physicist, and astrophysicist – ie. the main cast of the TV sitcom The Big Bang Theory! Here’s how you can dress like one of the nerds (left to right):

• Howard: Shirt from guy in the Queequeg’s on the left (Back Lot, Main Street), hair & pants from goth guy on Reality TV (Main Street), belt from Masks & Capes Store (Super Power)
• Sheldon: Lightning shirt from signup, belt & pants from Masks & Capes Store (Super Power), hair from lodger guy in front of Ghost Story Island graveyard, lightsaber from Sky Hawk Warrior (Store)
• Penny: hair, lips, & skirt from girl on Cryptids Island (Main Street, right side), bangs from girl outside Mike’s Market (Reality TV, Main Street), apron from waitress in 24 Carrot diner, shirt from girl outside Astro-Knights planetarium (idea from here)
• Leonard: Earth Day shirt from Don’t be an Energy Hog game, hair & glasses from people in the line outside the mall (Night Watch), jacket from superstitious salt guy on Ghost Story
• Raj: Argyle sweater from innkeeper at Hemlock Inn, jacket from tent guy (Ghost Story), hair from signup (dye it black at 24 Carrot)

Whether you’re a fan of the show or not, we’ll leave you with one final word…

Pretty cool! The finished product is a mix of the first few, but personally I like the film reel design – maybe #6, but perhaps with an outline on the circles like #7, though the font on #5 is also interesting. Which ones do you guys like (or dislike)?

In other news: the LEGO CUUSOO project is getting close to 6,000 supporters (for which we’re promised a new Dr. Hare wallpaper), and the Island Creator Kit is coming on August 1, as the PHB previously reported. May the 4th be with you! ;D

It’s a forgotten something. It’s a wonderful something. It’s a curious something. It’s a spooky something. It’s a festive something. It’s a mysterious something. It’s a whimsical something. It’s an amusing something. It’s a monsterous something.

It’s the carnival. Of monsters. Monster Carnival. Yup. A ringmaster to lead them all in a circus. It would’ve been dazzling! It would’ve been wonderous! It would’ve been all this…

… if it wasn’t taken off the map. (Okay, I’ll stop talking like a ringleader now.)

Monster Carnival had always been one of the greatest mysteries in Poptropica. It was an island that was put on the map back when Time Tangled (back then called Time Twisted) Island had a coming soon sign. I heard old tales of this mysterious island, although I never was a witness to the events. One day, Monster Carnival mysteriously vanished from the map, replaced by 24 Carrot Island. If you want to read more about this mystery, check out the PHB’s Mystery of Monster Carnival page!

However, Captain Crawfish made a curious post today about some old notes he found in his notebook:

One from the archives 

The Creators seem to be recognizing that us Poptropica fans are curious about this never-released island, and now we know that the original title of this island, before Monster Carnival, was Haunted Amusement Park.

Also, there’s some interesting notes on here- the column on the left talks about some of the things that would’ve been in the island (both circus and amusement park related), and the right side seems to talk about other things, information.

“Ringmaster has cursed/enslaved zombie carnival workers.”

Is that a good or bad thing? To me, that doesn’t sound very good.

“Scare him into a cage? Make him eat cotton candy?”

“Horror-themed park infiltrated by real zombies.”

Wait… so Monster Carnival might have not started out as real monster-infiltrated?

“The ringmaster has lost prized possession and is withdrawn, moody. Prized possession is bullhorn.”

Wow. This is some pretty good information that the Creators slipped to us. And Captain Crawfish’s last words sound a little strange to me:

You never know, I guess.

That sounds… like… could it be? Could the Creators be taking a closer look at this? Could they have realized our true curiosity of Monster Carnival? Could, if even possible, it be that they might be planning to go back to it?

We’ll never know- until we know for sure.

BT out!

This is the kind of stuff that tells you all about an island. So now stay tuned while I make a short list of…

Angry Wing’s Bold Predictions!

• There is a man named Joe Stockman
• Joe lives on Virus Hunter Island (the cards say so)
• He won a trip abroad (travel rating card) and (You Won! envelope)
• On his trip abroad, he acquired a foreign disease
• It is our job to cure that disease
• The common room could be Bob’s Place Barbeque (coupon)
• Lastly, maybe the disease isn’t a real disease… what if it’s… nanobots?

And we do know what Joe Stockman’s house looks like:

Notice the caption, “A Spartan existence for an average Joe.” Clever wordplay, Creators… Clever Wordplay.

Then there are the character drawings by Nasan Hardcastle.

Now that we know there’s a Video Store Clerk, we can connect that to this Sneak Peek.

By the way, Green Square is a reference to Redbox, and “Bust the Block” is a reference to Blockbuster.

Soooo…

Let the dramatic music play!

(We’ll check my predictions after the island is released.)

Goodbye everyone! *takes a bow*