Why Play HTML?

Do many long-time players still play these games? Certainly! But I don't often see them recommended to newer users, some of whom may never have experienced the days of Neopets, or even the Internet, before flash became the force it is today. Many of these new players may not even be aware that there are HTML games on the site.

Indeed, why bother to play an HTML game when there are so many fun, quick flash games on the site? Why click your way through a card game when you could be making more NP blasting Mootix out of the sky in Cootie Wars? Well, there are many advantages to playing HTML games! Here's just a few:

Random Events. Most HTML games reload the page with every move – this means more chances for random events!

Convenience. The site saves your place in most HTML games when you close out of the page, or even log out of your account. So if you need to step away, your progress won't be interrupted.

Trophies. Many HTML games award trophies. Some of the easiest trophies on the site are earned from HTML games, making them a good starting place for new trophy collectors, or someone just looking to spice up their profile. Others take patience and skill, making them a badge of honor for whomsoever manages to earn them.

More NP Per Day. HTML games do not fall under the 'three sent scores a day' rule, and many have higher thresholds than the 3k a day max you can earn from a flash game.

Avatars. Many HTML games award at least one avatar (some award more than one!) and, like the trophies, some are easy to earn, while others require dedication and perseverance.

Entertainment. They're challenging and fun! Try a few and I bet you'll find at least one that you enjoy!

There are some drawbacks to HTML games, of course, but it's not like I'm recommending you stop playing flash games! Here are some things to be aware of:

An HTML game cannot be the Featured Game of the day; only flash games can.

The payout rate for most HTML games is going to be lower than for a flash game, especially when you are just starting out. You will make more NP on a particular game as you get better at it and progress to higher difficulties.

More chance for Random Events means you can have negative REs hit you, as well! Make sure your items and NP are safe!

Here is a quick introduction to some of my favorite HTML games on the site. Maybe you'll enjoy them, too!

Cheat

Cheat! is one of the more unique games in Neopia. Where else on the site are you not only allowed, but encouraged to break the rules?! You and three wily, scheming Neopets each start with a hand of 13 cards. The aim of the game is to get rid of all of the cards in your hand – by any means necessary!

By the rules of the game, players take turns discarding cards from their hand. You can only play cards of a value within one unit of the cards discarded by the previous player; and if you play multiple cards, they must all be of the same value as one another. So, for example, say the player before you placed down a six – you can play a five, six, or a seven. You could play two fives or two sixes, but you can't play a five AND a six.

Unless, of course, you decide to cheat.

During your turn, there are two decisions to make. First, you select the card(s) you are going to discard. Then, you decide what you are going to 'call' the cards – what you're telling the other players. Since you are placing them face down, the other players can't see what cards you're actually playing. So you could play a five and a six – or even a jack and a two – and call it two sixes. You can lie about the cards you're playing any time you want – and it will often become necessary, as you run out of legal cards to play! The other players can lie about their cards, as well.

Of course, you aren't going to just get away with it! If one player thinks another is lying about their play, they can call cheat. Any player caught cheating has to not only take back the cards they were trying to discard, but pick up the entire discard pile and add it to their hand! However, if a player calls cheat and the play was honest, then the player making the accusation has to pick up the discard pile instead.

Whenever cheat is called, the card order is disrupted and the next player can play any card they like to start the game going again. Use this to your advantage!

You earn a small number of Neopoints every time you catch a cheater – it starts at 8 NP per cheat called, and increases by 4 NP every round you advance. You also receive a handful of NP and a battle card of one of your opponents every time you win a round – and, of course, there's trophies! The NP rewards for this can be kind of small, especially in the early rounds, but as you get better at it, you can make quite a bit on the later rounds just by picking cheaters. The gold trophy is also fairly easy to earn, and a nice addition to your collection; same goes for the avatar available for this game.

Pyramids

Pyramids is a fairly simple solitaire game. You begin with the cards arranged in a triangle or pyramid (thus the name), with only the bottom row of cards being face-up. There are two piles of cards at the top of the screen – a face-down draw deck, and a face-up discard pile.

You proceed by discarding cards from the pyramid into the discard deck; you can only discard a card that is one below or one above the card currently on top of the discard pile. So, if you start the game with a five in the discard pile, you can discard a four or a six from the pyramid. If you discard a four, you can then discard a three or a five, and so on. If you get stuck and there are no cards you can legally discard from the pyramid, you draw a card from the draw pile so you can continue. As you discard the face-up cards and uncover the cards in the next row, they will be turned face-up and become playable. The game is over when you either clear the entire pyramid, or you have no legal moves left and no more cards in the draw pile.

You will earn NP whether or not you clear the pyramid - and you will rarely clear the pyramid. You do get a significant bonus for clearing the board, when you manage it. Otherwise, the bulk of your prize will be based on how many cards you discard from the pyramid. Clearing cards on higher rows or levels will earn you more NP than those on lower rows; you also earn bonus NP for consecutive plays (i.e., playing several cards in a row without having to draw from the draw pile). The points you are earning in the game is displayed at the top of the screen, and is equal to the amount of NP you've earned.

There is strategy to this game, but luck plays a significant part as well. Don't get discouraged if you have a bad game! Sometimes you just get a bad hand (or pyramid, as the case may be). Playing costs 50 NP a game, but you will make at least twice that on the majority of games. You can also earn two different trophies for this game! One trophy is based on how many times you've cleared the pyramid; the other is based on the high score table for the game.

Scorchy Slots

Scorchy Slots is a slot game with a twist. You take a spin by clicking the 'play again' button; each spin costs you 5 NP. Like a typical slot game, you win prizes when three or more of the same symbol line up in the center row. But there's an extra feature – the volcano, located under the slot game itself. You will notice that some of the slot symbols have yellow circles with numbers on them; if the numbers you get in a spin add up to at least 8, the volcano will erupt! The volcano can affect you in several ways, but most often it will give you a bit of extra NP.

A typical spin will be completely unrelated to the spin before it, and the volcano progress will reset as well. However, sometimes (at random) the volcano progress will be saved for the next spin – the game will tell you when this happens – which makes it much easier for you to reach the volcano; so, for example, if you get a 3 on one spin and it gets held over for the next, and on the next spin you get a total of 5, then you will reach the volcano.

Sometimes you will also, again at random, get the option to select slot symbols to hold in place for the next spin. This can be really useful for those times when you just need one more slot to fall into place to win. You can also choose another tactic and hold over symbols with high numbers on them to try and reach the volcano. It's also possible for this to happen on a winning spin – essentially giving you a guaranteed second win.

Prizes for lining up three or more of the symbols can range from as little as 15 NP to as much as 1.2K, and there is always a jackpot. The really fun prizes are the items you can win – bottled faeries and map pieces! You can win up to three map pieces in a spin if you're really lucky! (Note: as of this writing, the game is still giving out the older Fading Bottled Faeries as prizes, rather than the new Weak Bottled Faeries.)

This game is more of a gamble than the others I've gone into in this article, but in my experience, you do usually come out on top. To ensure I don't spend too much on this game, I give myself a limited budget – usually 200 NP – and every time my winnings bring me above that amount, I deposit it in the bank. This way I know I'll never come out down more than 200 NP. If you want to do something like this, base the number you want to spend on how quickly you can earn back that NP. You can also deposit all your winnings directly in the bank and not play them, and you can keep track of how much you've won in a text document or a spreadsheet to see if you're generally gaining or losing. Gambling is fun, but if you aren't careful, you could lose a lot of NP!

Neoquest II

Neoquest II is a very different animal from the other HTML games on the site. It is a turn-based RPG; in other words, you play as a character, exploring the world of Neopia and completing a quest, battling monsters along the way using a turn-based combat system. RPGs are not for everyone; they can be a lot of fun, but there are certainly people who find them boring or tedious. If you have played and enjoyed other turn-based RPGs in the past, I suggest you at least give Neoquest II a try – it's a very well-balanced game and as a big fan of RPGs, I think it's a lot of fun! It is also a fairly simple RPG for newcomers to get into.

You start the game as Rohane, a Blumaroo venturing out of his home town in Meridell to take on the big and scary world with his father's old sword in hand. The plot quickly thickens, and you gather other party members with different skills and abilities along the way. You can customize your characters' skill sets by choosing what to spend points on as they gain experience and level up.

Every time you defeat a boss, you earn NP (real NP – there is an in-game currency as well, of course, for buying weapons and healing items in the game; it goes by the genre-typical title of 'gold'.) When you finish playing the game, you receive a tidy sum of NP, a prize item, and a trophy; you also unlock the ability to re-play the game on a harder setting ('Evil') which awards a larger sum of NP and a better pool of prize items. The final difficulty setting ('Insane') awards an even greater sum of NP and a prize from a very rare and valuable pool of items, which can only be won once – re-playing on the final level will only award the NP prize, but you can earn the prizes from the 'Normal' and 'Evil' levels as many times as you like. Like any good RPG, there is a lot of replay value in the game in trying out new strategies and builds.

There are also three unique avatars that you can win while playing Neoquest II. One you earn by suffering a humiliating defeat to a Plains Lupe, the first monster you face in the game. The other two you will have to discover on your own!

Do not expect to finish a game of Neoquest II in one sitting! Like most RPGs, it has a significant play time. If you find that you're having trouble keeping track of where you are in the game, it might be a good idea to have a text document or a petpage where you keep notes for yourself – what your plans for building your team are, what you just finished doing, and what your next goal is. If you get really stuck, there are some great guides out there to help you, or you can ask in the Games or Help forums for a nudge in the right direction if you don't want to spoil yourself for the plot.

Further Playing

The four games above are only a small sample of the HTML games that are available on Neopets. Below is a more complete list, with a short description of each game – see if any of them pique your interest!

Note: Although dailies (like Coltzan's Shrine and Tombola), competitions (like the Art Gallery and Caption Competition), and fetch quests (like the Kitchen Quest) technically qualify as HTML games, I have left them off this list. That doesn't mean you shouldn't check them out, though! I just wanted to keep the list short and relevant.

Bilge Dice, a dice gambling game played against three opponents. The aim of the game is to roll higher than the three pirates trying to take your NP! You can win an avatar for this game.

Cellblock, a game very similar in form to tic-tac-toe; however, the board is much larger, and you must get five pegs in a row to win, rather than three. Also, you're playing against prisoners in the Darigan Citadel dungeons! For winning a round, you earn four times the amount of NP you paid to enter; you can also earn a trophy and an avatar.

Cheese Roller, a cheese race! Buy your cheese and roll it down the mountain as quickly as you can, diving around obstacles as you go. The quicker you get down the mountain, the more NP you earn, and if you're fast enough, you can keep the cheese as well! You can earn an avatar from this game.

Cliffhanger, a Neopets version of Hang-Man, where you must guess the phrase before your Tuskaninny falls off the cliff. You can earn an avatar from this game, although you might find the method of earning it to be a little counter-intuitive!

Dice-A-Roo, a solitary gambling game played with dice. Dice rolls can win or lose you points, and you decide when to end the game and collect your winnings (unless you get a losing roll first!). You can earn an avatar if you manage to get the jackpot!

Fetch!, a maze navigation game. Find the object and then get out of the maze before you run out of turns!

Godori, based on a Korean card game of the same name (also known as Go-Stop or Matgo) played against your own Neopet. This game requires a lot of strategy! Note: This game does not seem to refresh the page during play.

Go! Go! Go!, a very complex shedding card game comparable to Crazy Eights or Mau Mau. The aim is to get rid of all of the cards in your hand while still following the complicated rules for what cards you can discard!

Gormball, a game of hot potato with a splash! Toss the gormball and hope it doesn't explode on you! If you're the last one standing, you earn an item prize on top of the NP! There's also a gormball avatar for you to earn.

Grarrl Keno, a gambling game where you pick up to ten numbers, and win an NP prize if enough of them match the ten winning numbers that are revealed. You can randomly win an avatar from this game.

Guess the Card, a chance game where you and your Neopet each pick a card. If you pick the same card, you win NP, and your Neopet's intelligence might increase as well!

JubJub Blackjack, a simple blackjack game where you choose how much to bet and your own Neopet acts as the dealer you're playing against.

Kacheek Seek, a very quick game where you play hot-and-cold/hide-and-seek with your active pet! Note: Although an HTML game, this game opens in a separate window, so it does not refresh the main window. You can randomly win an avatar from this game.

Kiss the Mortog, a chance game. Pick the right Mortog, and your point total goes up! Pick the wrong Mortog, and you lose the game and all the points you've earned. Guess enough Mortogs correctly and you can win an avatar!

Krawps, a complicated dice gambling game played against a bank (or dealer).

Neggsweeper, a game where you must clear the tiles from the board without activating any of the hidden bombs!

Neopoker, a very basic five-card poker game played against your own Neopet. There is no holding or betting, you just draw a hand and then reveal it to see if you've won or not.

Neoquest, AKA Neoquest I, the game that came before Neoquest II. This game no longer gives prizes or trophies, however you can still play it if you want, and there is an avatar you can earn. It is an oldschool turn-based RPG with a lot of mazes.

Petpet Battles, a game where you can raise your petpet's level by having it battle against another petpet. At the time of this writing, there is no prize for playing other than your petpet's level increasing.

Plushie Tycoon, a game of capitalism and strategy. Can you run a plushie store for a month and make profit? This is one game where I strongly advise you read a strategy guide before just jumping in! The Games Board is a great place to start, as they have a monthly Plushie Tycoon Help Board with links to the best guides, and can answer questions for the confused. You should also be aware that it does actually take a month in real-time to play out a game of Plushie Tycoon. There is an avatar for winning.

Round Table Poker, a five-card poker game played against four Neopets. Unlike Neopoker, it is a full poker game with betting rounds.

Sakhmet Solitaire, a version of the classic solitaire game. The game requires some strategy and a lot of luck! Like Pyramids, you can win two trophies for this game, one for getting on the high score table and one for winning a certain number of games.

Scarab 21, another version of blackjack with some bonus hands that can earn you extra points.

Sewage Surfer, a puzzle game where you must create an unbroken pipe for the sewage to flow through. There's an avatar for this game, although earning it can be a puzzle in itself!

Shapeshifter, a complex puzzle game where you must change the symbols until they all match the target. The NP prize depends on what level you are playing at, and you can earn an avatar – if you can figure out how!

Snow Wars, a game where you must find and destroy your opponent's snow army before they destroy yours! You receive snowballs as prizes for completing the rounds, as well as a trophy. Not to be confused with Snow Wars II, the flash game, which is also quite fun!

Tyranu Evavu, a simple card game where you guess whether the face-down card is higher or lower than the face-up card. The twist is that the dealer you are playing against only speaks Tyrannian! There is an avatar for this game.