Scoring Big When You're Bad At Games

As much as I have always enjoyed playing games, I’ve never been that great at them. It hasn’t stopped me, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that it made earning Neopoints through games and scoring the much coveted trophies and avatars easy. Even so, I’ve managed to get trophies and avatars and improve my scores on lots of different games. My usual approach is to pick a game or two that I want to work on and set some goals, whether it is aiming for a trophy or trying to get that elusive avatar. It’s not just all about practice; you just need to be strategic about playing games.

For a trophy:

Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve always wanted to have a user profile filled with exciting trophies. Of course, being bad at games, it wasn’t exactly something that looked like it would be an easy thing to do. If you, like me, have wanted some trophies to spruce up your profile, the best place to start is with non-flash games. Snow Wars, Pyramid, Sakhmet Solitaire, Go! Go! Go!, Cheat, and Cellblock are just a few of the games that have easy trophies. For some, like Sakhmet Solitaire, it may take quite a while, but you’ll be able to earn some NP and score an easy trophy. Another time consuming, but simple, trophy is achieved when you beat Punchbag Bob. It may take an hour or two, depending on your pet’s strength and the weapons you choose, but you will definitely feel a sense of accomplishment when that bag finally falls over.

I know what you’re thinking, “That’s fine, but it’s that spiffy Kass Basher trophy that I really want!”

I get it. I feel that way too.

The first step is to practice. Look up various game guides on the game, learn any strategies that will help you to get a good score, and play more than the 3 times per day that you can send your score. You want to try to get your score as high as you can.

Once you have a score you are happy with, the easiest way to turn it into a trophy is to make sure you can get a great score on the first of the month when the High Score Tables reset. Trophies are awarded at 10:50pm each night, so that is your deadline to hit a high score. A score that is at the top of the table may not even be on the table at the end of the month, but you will still get a trophy, as long as you were in the top 17 positions at the end of the day. Keep in mind that it will only count as your high score if you are able to send the score, so make sure to not send the score three times unless you’re absolutely happy. It is also worth remembering that the table will continue to change throughout the day, so you might not get a trophy if you play early in the day. If you have more time to play early in the day, it might be a good idea to only send your score once or twice so that you can have another go at the end of the day.

If you don’t succeed and get your trophy, make sure to check the scores that are up the top of the table, as this will give you a better idea of what score you will need to get for a trophy next month. If you do succeed, you’re probably going to be hooked on that new trophy feeling and will start the process over again for another game.

For an avatar:

There are many avatars that can only be achieved by getting a certain score on different games. These scores are often just out of reach, at least for me. I’m trying to get as many avatars as I can at the moment, so I go through a list of avatars and decide on a game that I would like to get the avatar for. I usually decide based on a few things; how the avatar looks, if I enjoy the game, and if I’m good at the game.

The first thing that I do is play through the game to see where I stand and how much work I have left to do. When I was working on the Snowmuncher avatar, I found that I had a lot of work to do. I’m currently working on the avatar for Ice Cream Machine and made a point to play through the game without getting any special bonuses or extra lives so that I would measure my improvement without factoring in luck.

The next step is to check out some game guides. There are many guides online, especially on the recommended fan sites and on many pet pages. Often you will find that these guides have cheats that you can use. If you’re lucky, you might even find a strategy for getting the avatar.

From there you need to practice. Set yourself goals that are achievable and work on the game whenever you can. Like with trophies, you will only get the avatar if you send your score, so keep that in mind as you practice. The avatar probably isn’t going anywhere, so don’t be afraid to take your time.

You may find that it is difficult and that it takes longer than you would have expected, so don’t be let down! Be sure to give yourself a break every now and then.

Being bad at games doesn’t mean that you have to miss out on game avatars and all those shiny trophies, it just means that you need to be a little smarter about it. It might be a little more work, but just think about how proud you’ll be when you can use your new avatar or when you check out your profile and see a new shiny trophy on display for all who visit.