GAMES ROOM - I don't care if it's after Halloween and "resurrected"
is now officially a tacky word. I'm bringing back the two articles that started
it all for me and The Neopian Times two years ago on Nov. 3rd: "On Your Mark...Get
Set...Neopoints!!!" and a week later "Get Your Mark...Get Set...Neopoints!!!
Part 2." Amazingly short, but I probably rated and supplied advice for (almost)
every single game in Neopia in existence during that time, giving tips and ratings.
Then again, there weren't many games. (Wah.) Maybe I'm trying to squeeze a franchise
even more, but hopefully I can squeeze enough to keep you excited.
The score I give each game is upgraded from a maximum of 5 to 10 (an overall
score) from the last issue, and I'll be going through all of the Puzzle Games.
I'll release a Luck/Chance version and a Action version later this month/year,
but will take a break next week for a article celebrating Neopets Birthday.
Yes, including current sponsor games, and a Neopian Version always seems to
come out. I won't be discussing play methods, as I don't have that much time.
Want some coffee? It's nostalgia time with epk. Zoinks!
Armada - epk's score is 3/10
For the hardcore NP and Trophy lover, I'm going to direct you right out of this
game. Not to say it isn't a fun game - this is one of the better games on Neopets
if you want to be entertained. The only thing you may want to know is that the
only problem with it is that the wait in between turns can be extremely long
and if you get distracted, you may forget to resume your game. Oops. And even
if you complete your game, your not going to get Neopoints.
Considering Armada is a "Multiplayer" Game, like Kacheekers and Geos, you
can get NP and a trophy in the Monthly Multiplayer Competition.
Caption Competition - epk's score is 3/10
This game is horrible. #1 - you have an approx. 1:1000 chance of getting in!
That's approx. once every ten years your going to get in. #2 - the art is often
better spent on other things, and #3, who votes for the best caption? If you
want to get in, my only advice is cross your fingers and send a very large present
down to the Neopets Office.
Also, Adam, I voted. Don't ice me.
Cheat! - epk's score is 8/10
Cheat! is one of the better games to play. Not only is it a fun one, you also
get trophies really easily. And along with Battlecards and a fair NP prize,
well, yeah! I'd recommend a round of this if your wanting to pass time. And
as some advice, the best time to accuse someone of cheating is when, a) if they
are starting a new pile and the cards they put down are all ones you have the
same number of, b) if they put down more then it's possible for them to have.
(5 cards, or 4 cards when you have 1 of the cards, or 3 cards when you have
2, etc.) and finally, c) when they are about to win! As an added plus, this
game is real easy to get a random event on.
Cliffhanger - epk's score is 9/10
If you thought Cheat! got you a lot of NP, just take a whack at Cliffhanger.
Not only does it have a small entry fee and a fair turnout, it will randomly
increase your active pet's intelligence! But if your not interested in a okay
turnout and your pet's intelligence, perhaps thirty-thousand NP will interest
you? Interested now?
Okay...come closer...here's the secret: Christmas Paint Brush. Okay, now you
think I'm crazy, but let me explain: as the Paint Brush for Terror Mountain,
the Christmas Paint Brush is highly regarded. But Terror Mountain has it's own,
unique Random Event that gets you the Christmas Paint Brush, which has a higher
demand as the season is approaching, and it occurs fairly often. And Cliffhanger
is an easy way to get this Random Event, as you change the page your own often.
It's a nice quid pro quo--oohhh...word of the day!--you play Cliffhanger and
get the Christmas Paint Brush in return.
Of course, let me tell you some advice for playing Cliffhanger. There are
two main methods: One is the honest, down-to-earth play, where you select letters
(I recommend going in the order R-S-T-L-N-E-A-I-O-U for your first 10 letters
on Easy) and try to figure out what the answer is. The second is the cheap,
go to Web site and find answers and put them in. I'm not going to direct you
to a directory of Cliffhanger Answers, because of the fact that would be cheating...erm...anyway,
that's my advice. I prefer #1 because I can feel REAL guilty...however, your
not frozen (to my knowledge) for #2.
Codebreakers - epk's score is 4/10
Okay, this is a fair game and all, but the big problem with it is that it takes
too long for too little Neopoints. If you want any advice though, Round 1 is
only Red and White, Round 2 is only Red, White, Yellow, and that amount of colours
increases each round. Keep that in mind.
Deckswabber - epk's score is 6/10
Although this game may of earned a perfect 10 if it still gave away dubloons,
currently Deckswabber is not quite up to par with other good games. The NP Reward
is not quite enough to call this game a non-waste of time. The game also can
be tedious and repetitive, and when enemies get in your way and you can do little
about it your entire round falls apart. All I can give for advice is PUSH THE
BUTTON FAST to get a good time. Like Rapid-Fire fast. Like a 500 ton Elephante
going down an icy slope of Terror Mountain on Roller Blades fast. Zoom.
Destruct-O-Match - epk's score is 7/10
One of my favourite game plots for some weird reason, it's pretty fun to blow
up old Tyrannian Houses. Although you don't get millions of NP, it's a fairly
fun play. My only wish is that it would be more fast paced didn't increase by
levels, but by rows every set amount of seconds. The levels themselves have
way-too high standards to advance. It's a reasonably nice game. My advice is
too estimate the two colours that occur most and don't zap them until late in
the game.
Faerie Caves - epk's score is 2/10
This game is very easy once you've memorised the routes, but other then that's
it's BUGGY, LONG, and BORING. My only advice? Run away. I can't type about it
much longer without going mad.
Faerie Crossword - epk's score is 4/10
Although it's nice to test your Neopet Know how, it really puts people with
a Dial-Up Connection at a disadvantage, plus, if you do 1 letter wrong, you
pull all hair from your scalp just trying to figure out WHAT IT IS. It's big
advantages are intelligence boosts and that it helps guilds gets members by
posting the answers daily. Plus they always seem to have it under construction.
Blergh.
Fetch! - epk's score is 1/10
If it walks like a Mutant Blumaroo, looks like a Melted Wax-Figurine like a
Mutant Blumaroo, loads like a Slorg, what is it? #1 on epk's Scariest Things
in Neopia List. No further discussion.
Gadgadsgame - epk's score is 8/10
A real game to be entertained with, it makes you quite a lot of NP at a nice
rate. It's a real fun game to play during that extra hour during your day, one
of those you can just marathon without getting bored. You may want to attack
me with my saying of an extra hour, and I'll admit, yah-that-is-a-stretch, but
ravencjean (current high-score holder) didn't get 5,793 points. While waiting
for a web page to load. If you are going to stick it out for as long as possible,
my first bit of advice is: STAY ORGANISED! Try and keep Tigersquash somewhere,
keep Purple Juppie somewhere, and prevent overlapping! Go for the 3x3 shapes
whenever possible. And for a psychological edge, download a lot of music and
brew a bunch of coffee.
You should have some...I warned you this was going to be a long article. In
fact, I told you to get coffee, didn't I? Well then, if you don't have it now,
your gonna want it. (Unless you skim. Do you feel guilty now?)
Ice Caves Puzzle - epk's score is 7/10
You may think I'm speaking against my own words by putting this game after here
after flamin' Faerie Caves, but let me tell you something. This game has somewhat
of a charm to it, an addictive quality to it. Especially for me, because I have
a slight addiction to NP and seeing heavy objects land on Lupes. Best of two
worlds I say. I'm not going to give you any tips...this game is too fun to give
any tips. (Or I can't think of anything.) Take note that is also one of the
two flash games that spawned a sequel playable at the same time as the original,
the other being the poorly lived Scorchio's Quest. Feel free to correct me if
I'm wrong. (Take note of the keywords FLASH GAME and PLAYABLE AT SAME TIME.)
And if you do correct me, have a candy bar. But not from me.
Kiko Match II - epk's score is 5/10
Kiko Match the Original was a success. Why? Quick, fun, easy, major NP Turnout.
When Neopets saw the soaring popularity of it, they...replaced it with a more
boring Kiko Match. And that is Kiko Match II. And although you still get some
NP, I wouldn't recommend it, as it gets repetitive really...really...really...fast.
It's hard to memorise 500 different Kikos on the screen, especially since you
have about 3 blues and 2 yellows and different coloured backgrounds...argh!
But, still, these downsides don't take away all of the fun.
Maths Nightmare - epk's score is 7/10
A simple game that simply does not get annoying, Maths Nightmare is a must-play
for anyone able to figure out a simple math question. Although the scoring system
is kinda weirded out (You actually get 2.5 times your score for Random, not
5 times your score. Same for every other difficulty.) it can be a valuable tool
and can help the average person improve their math grade. Trust me, if you can
do the basics faster and better, you'll do much better in any math class. Including
some College Class under the name Glooblah-ing-physics-complicated-math-thingie
101. Basics help. Trust me, Professor. It's good if your bright students can
do 1 + 1. It's gonna help.
Meristones - epk's score is 8/10
Okay, I may find this a fun game because I understand the concept. For those
of you who don't, it's simply...well, you click something on your side...and...okay.
It's not simply, and it's not one of Neopet's "You'll Understand as You Play"
games as much as others. It's advantages are big turnouts and easy-to-get random
events. But as a disadvantage, modem users can get frustrated, and the Draik
can steal stones when there are more then 3 on your side. (I've had 100's of
points of a lead and then poof. Cheater. May I have a Draik Filet now?) My tips?
Go to Africa. Learn Mancala. Earn Frequent Flyer Miles.
Neggsweeper - epk's score is 9/10
Similar to Meristones as it is a very confusing game, Neggsweeper is also a
great NP Maker, but unlike Meristones, you don't have an evil cheating computer
opponent that you feel like turning into dinner. If you understand the key concept
that whatever number is shown is how many bombs surround that number you should
do fine. I also wish the modem-lag would go away. Especially since I get the
ISP that will connect me at 30.6kps to 50.6kps randomly it seems. Great. But
for DSLers, get Neggsweepin'!
NeoQuest - epk's score is 6/10
I myself don't find this game as appealing, but to summarise it, it's an extensive
RPG too large to mention in one paragraph. The rewards are low, especially near
the beginning, but many people find it pretty addictive. It's a real large game,
so, yah. Read someone else's article, this is one of the games I can't complete.
The Snow Imp near the beginning of the game is cool lookin' however.
Neowardrobe - epk's score is 1/10
Sure. Fun to dress a Neopet in Bunny Ears.
Plushie Tycoon - epk's score is 9/10
Unlike quite a few non-Flash Games, this one gives people with modems a fair
chance by pausing in-between rounds. However, I'm not going to discuss it for
the time being as it appears to be an inactive game. I wonder what the prizes
are...
Poetry Competition - epk's score is 6/10
Well, not many people are poets,
And many people know it.
But during the contest,
we all see who will be the best.
Okay, I'll cut that rhyming thing. I'm horrible...I know...but the Poetry
Competition isn't half-bad. No, it's a little under half-bad, not bad. I wouldn't
consider this a game really. It's a game cut down to a select group of people.
Poets. The Caption Competition may be easier for the majority of Neopians. End
of story.
Poogle Solitaire - epk's score is 5/10
You know, if you know the so-called "answer" to this game, then it's pretty
much free NP each day. Now that's pathetic for a game. It's more like Bank Interest
then anything else. Neopets needs to think about keeping Poogle Solitaire on
the site. Santa Clause 2: Wheel of Words - epk's score is 7/10 What I didn't
like about the game? The game. The letters were hard to click, bankrupt is magnetically
attracted to the pointer thingy, and the puzzles were quite boring. What I did
like was the addition of the Write to Santa Lists. The concept to see other
people's wishes was quite fun. (How many people want Baby Paint Brushes? Yeesh.)
The game isn't as great as the movie however. I highly recommend you see the
movie however. The plot carried over quite well. Okay, now I'm going to stop
plugging for a sponsor before it looks like I'm tricking Neopets into getting
me in.
Sewage Surfer - epk's score is 8/10
I have to admit, great game. Nice to see Neopets has a sewer, shows hope for
adequate sanitation in the Neopian World after all. Of course, we need it to
get fixed, so we control Matt (is the programmer naming that after himself there?)
to fix the green Sewage. My advice is try and go as long as possible for maximum
points. And if your dedicated, you can get one of those tube-thingy trophies.
That is actually one I might consider trying to shoot for myself it's that easy-looking.
Plus pretty good looking for a trophy.
Shapeshifter - epk's score is 7/10
Another great game to improve your math/logic skills, Shapeshifter is one of
those games that is frustrating but fun at the same time. One of Meridell's
games that doesn't involve food, (or digested food) I recommend to check it
out. For advice? Try...try...try...try...throw Sinsi off a cliff.
Techo Says - epk's score is 5/10
Like many other puzzle games, this one trains your short-term memory. It's very
slow paced I have to admit, but take my advice from over two years ago. Put
the Neopets into groups. Like for example ------ Chia ------ Blumaroo Kacheek
Blumaroo Kacheek ------ Chia ------ You can remember it is Chia Bread on top
of the sandwich, two Blumaroo, Kacheek Lettce and a Chia Bread on bottom. Take
note I copied that as an exact quote, including misspelled lettece...argh...still
can't spell it. Normally good spellers have good memory, and if I can't spell
stinkin' Letece (argh!) I'm not bound to soar in Techo Says. So, stay away from
Techo Says if your memory is a weak point. If you really want to excel, get
out some weird-named medical herb that is said to increase your memory and good
luck.
Feel free to Neomail
me. Support the reconstruction of Maraqua and bye in six different languages.
Until next time!
Disclaimer: This article was all advice and little fact. Not intended to
be an investment strategy. Article written 11/01/02, 11/02/02, 11/03/02, 11/04/02,
and 11/05/02 and submitted approx. 9:40 PM NST 11/05/02. (Just in case anything
covered in the article becomes out-of-date.) | 
