NEWBIE CENTRAL - Greetings again, fellow denizens of Neopia! I, stal0s, continue
to bring you the tips and tricks of making it in Neopia. This week's issue deals
with games, and the Neopoints (NP) you can make from them, showing you just
how much you can earn in a day, a week, and a month. It also deals a little
with managing your finances, though not much there.
First order of business is this: I assume since the first article, it being
about two weeks later from the first article, that you've done some exploring
and game playing of your own. That being the case, this (and further) articles
may appear rather moot, just bare with me. Now onto making NP from games and
making it big, NP wise.
Meerca Chase
This is probably the biggest game in Neopia. Nearly everyone plays it. You
may wonder why that is. Well, here's why:
The game is fairly easy. Ever played the old game Rattler Race? Or what about
Snakes? This game is pretty much identical to those two games. The game itself
is fun. Throw in the decent Neopoints you can earn (example: I earn somewhere
around 750 Neopoints per day on it), and you've got a hit.
If you haven't played (and even if you have), here's how it works. The main
point of the game is to chomp the neggs (little fruity-egg things) that come
up, without eating (A) the evil red neggs, (B) your tail, or (C) hitting the
wall. You use the arrow keys to guide your little Meerca sprite around. That's
all for game play directions. Heh.
Now for some stats about the game: The yellow negg, the most common one, is
worth one (1) point. The Dark Blue worth three (3) points. Green worth four
(4) points, gray: five (5), pale yellow: ten (10), rainbow: twenty (20). Finally,
the pale blue/fish negg is worth a whopping fifty (50) points.
Okay, now take the different levels of difficulty: Easy multiplies those points
by three (3), medium by five (5), and hard by eight (8). The difference in levels
is that in easy, you go slow, medium just a bit in-between, and hard you go
semi-fast (I've gotten used to it, so I find it easy).
Therefore, with all that in mind, I'll tell you the score-to-NP ratio. First
thing, a little explanation on what the ratio means. Not all the games on Neopets
have the same score-to-NP ratio. Some games, whatever score you get is how many
Neopoints you earn. In others, your score may be multiplied for your Neopoint
total, while in others it may be divided. Meerca Chase has a score-to-Neopoint
ratio of 1:1 (1 point = 1 NP).
Tips for Meerca Chase:
-If you're new to the game, start off on easy and just go some practice rounds.
Possibly medium, though. Just don't start off on hard unless you've gotten proficient
in these games before.
-Don't send your score for everything. Set a goal for yourself after getting
familiar with it, and don't settle for less. For example, I used to never send
in my score for the game if it was under one-oh-four (104)(I only play, and
send, on the hard level…). Then I raised that up to one-sixty (160). Nowadays,
if it's below two hundred (200), I don't bother. This nets me at least six hundred
(600) Neopoints a day for this game alone. Nice, eh?
-You don't have to hit the Neggs head-on for it to count. Think of it as a
square, where if you touch any part it counts. Use this tip when it's near a
wall or another negg. Turn so that part of you will touch part of it, and you'll
scrape by. :)
Volcano Run
This is another great game, and way to earn NP, in Neopia. Gotta love this
game. :) I doubt many of you have ever heard of The Infamous Worm Game. It's
little known, and I only found it due to a link from a friend of mine (and was
fortunate to find it about a month before this game was released). This game
takes TIWG and improves on it.
You guide Glubgar, the hero of this game-a Tyrannian Scorchio, through a Volcano.
You're given a passage you must take without touching the walls, the floating
lava-stones, or hitting the fireballs that fly out. Along the way, you'll want
to grab the blue diamonds for extra points, and the blue ball for a shield.
Directions are simple. Hold in your left mouse button to make him go up, release
to go down, and the space button is your brake-it'll slow you down.
The score-to-NP ratio is 4:1 (4 points = 1 NP). That ratio may not sound too
promising; trust me, it's much better than it sounds. I earn over one thousand
Neopoints a day, playing this. I never let myself send a score that's less than
twelve hundred (1200). Divide by four (4) and you get three hundred (300) Neopoints
Nice thing is, I usually do better than this in every day playing. :)
Tips for Volcano Run:
-Don't be afraid of the stones, especially when they begin to move (which
happens after you hit one hundred [100] points). This'll only cause you more
trouble. Learn the art of trajectory. Don't let yourself think because the stone
is in one area, it'll be when you get to it.
-Use your brake. I've survived many potential 'Game Over' endings by using
my brake. It helps-trust me.
-When you have a shield going, don't worry if you may be in for a tight squeeze.
Stones can pass through your shield until they actually touch you. That's when
it'll be affected. Usually, you can even survive a stone graze with your wing,
even without a shield.
Extreme Herder
Extreme Herder is one the of the newer games on Neopets. And one of the
sweetest. The object of this great game is to prevent Balthazar the Bounty Hunter
from eating yourself, or your petpets. Balthazar may have a sick sense of food,
but otherwise, this game is extremely good.
The controls are very basic. Use the arrow keys to guide Samrin the Kacheek
around and gather up the petpets. All you have to do to gather them is walk
into them. Next, walk to one of the sides of the paddock and deposit your pet
through the...striped depositor thing.
Now that you've got those basics, be on the lookout for snowflakes and orange
balls. The snowflakes will freeze Balthazar temporarily, giving you a chance
to collect any petpets near his mouth. The orange balls will give Samrin a quick
boost in speed, which is quite good, since you're already double Balthazar's
speed.
The score-to-NP ratio is 1:4. That's right. For every one (1) point you earn,
you'll get four (4) Neopoints That is one of the reasons that make this game
extremely cool. I won't settle for anything less than a score of one hundred.
I usually get more than that. :) I net at least one thousand, two hundred (1,200)
a day from playing this.
Tips for Extreme Herder:
-Be noble; don't sacrifice petpets to Balthazar. If you can see that there
is no way for you to avoid Balthazar getting something, run over and let him
eat you. This leaves that pet around for when it starts again.
-Try to start each level from the upper-left hand corner. That's where Balthazar
is, and you can grab any petpets close to him.
-You don't need to get every power up. Don't go out of your way to get it,
if doing so means you might lose a petpet, or your life.
-If you need a quick break, when you grab the last petpet of the level, don't
put him in the paddock. Balthazar will retreat to his corner, and you can take
your eyes of the game.
Other Games
There are many other games in Neopia that can earn you Neopoints I've only
listed three above and gone in-depth on them. I'll list three more down here,
but not as in-depth.
Carnival of Terror
This game, as well as a certain movie, inspired the title of this article.
Due to that fact, I feel I should include it.
Carnival of Terror is a point-and-click/shoot shooting gallery. Shoot different
parts of the Chia clown robots for points. The score-to-NP ratio on this game
is 1:1.
Potato Counter
Here's a new game that emerged slightly before Meridell, but takes place
in that world. All you have to do is count the potatoes that the yellow Kacheek
has laid out. You can do this three times a day. I usually earn two hundred
fifty (250) from this game a day.
Poogle Solitaire
Here's a nice little game. It costs fifteen (15) Neopoints to play. It's
like that old computer game called pegs. Never played it? Ah, well, you jump
one peg--or Poogle--over another, taking out the one you jumped. The object
is to have one left, preferable in the middle.
There are a few different ways you can do it, and various Web sites have a
solution. I won't tell you where to go to find one, though.
In addition, you can only earn Neopoints from this game every twenty-four
hours. Meaning if you finish it at 11:00 AM, NST (Neopian Standard Time) you
have to wait until then to earn NP from it again. Not only can you earn up to
seven hundred fifty (750) Neopoints from it, but also your pet's intelligence
can increase, and you may earn a prize...like a Pink Poogle Toy :)
Faerie Crossword Puzzle
This is a nice little thing. The Library Faerie puts together a crossword puzzle
everyday that involved Neopets questions. It is a bit difficult, but if you
ask your friends, you should be able to pull through.
In addition, if you're in a guild, one of them may post the answers for everyone
else to look at, so check your guild message board...if you're in one.
The number of Neopoints you can earn through it varies. If you finish the
puzzle in less than five (5) minutes, you'll earn six hundred (600), less than
fifteen (15) minutes, but more than five (5), four hundred Neopoints (400).
If you take longer than fifteen (15) minutes, you earn two hundred (200) Neopoints
Other Ways to Earn NP
There are a few other ways to earn Neopoints Off the top of my head, I can
only think of three: contests (sponsored), the stock market, and a shop. I'm
only going to cover the shop portion.
Your Shop
The first thing you need to do is go to Neopia Central (accessible through
clicking Explore on the sidebar, then Neopia Central, or just the Shops on the
sidebar). After you do that, look at the upper link bar. Click on the small
building with a sign in the window. That'll be your shop.
I forget how much it costs to open one up, but it's worth it. The shop will
eventually pay for itself. After you buy a shop, you can put any item in there
that you don't want, or wish to make Neopoints off of.
For example, if you're playing Neopets and your pet finds a bottled Faerie,
I suggest you put it into your shop. You put it in your shop by clicking the
item and then selecting "Put in your shop." Or using Quick Stock, and clicking
"stock".
With a faerie in your shop, you now need to visit it and select a price. They
usually sell for around three thousand (3,000) Neopoints Nevertheless, check
the Shop Wizard to see what the cheapest price is. When you do that, put your
faerie cheaper than that, or if it's insanely lower, buy it and make a profit
off that.
Once the faerie is sold, go to your shop till. That's where your profit will
be. Withdraw the Neopoints Now click on Sales History to see who bought it.
You may not wish to know, but you still need to clear it and help out Neopet's
servers.
As you can tell, owning a shop is a very profitable business. :)
In addition, you can buy more space to store more items there, are when you
start you can only put five items in. The higher your shop size is, the higher
it'll be displayed on the shop wizard, if you've got the same price as other
Neopians.
NP Managing Tips
Below are just a few tips on how to manage your Neopoints, and not go broke.
Budgeting
If you like to buy things with your Neopoints (and I only know one person
who doesn't. :) Hi Fly.) Make sure you don't spend too much, that you make yourself
poor. Give yourself a budget. Set yourself a point you don't want to go below
in spending level. Example: If you have over two thousand (2,000) Neopoints,
try to stay above one thousand (1,000). You never know when you may need it,
or you may just want to save.
Banking
The bank is a good place to put Neopoints, but not much. What I'm getting
at is: keep your Neopoints with you, but set up a savings account. Whenever
I earn ANY Neopoints, I put ten percent (10%) away into savings, to cover later
expenses.
Example: When I go on vacation every year, I usually get nice gifts, and everything.
I usually can't get to a PC, though, and need to make sure my pet is taken care
of.
I've set up an account where the Neopoints accumulate in the bank, so that
ten percent (10%) adds up. I currently have around thirty thousand (30,000)
in the bank, after a few months of saving. When I go on vacation, that will
cover the Neolodge expenses, and get my pet, LtKettch, a gift. :)
If you don't know how to figure ten percent (10%) out, it's simple. Whenever
you play a game, write down how many Neopoints you earn. Now add those up, or
figure it separately. When you get the final total, take away the last number,
and you should have, roughly, ten percent (10%). Here are some examples:
10% of 250 is 25
10% of 1000 is 100
10% of 764 is 76
10% of 246,731 is 24,673
Get the picture?
Donating
Donating may not seem like a way to save money, but it is appreciated. Not only
do I save ten percent (10%) of what I earn, but I also try to donate another ten
percent (10%).
Donating is a nice way of giving back to Neopets. You may be able to help
some unfortunate poor person by donating. Alternatively, if your guild has a
donations shop, you can help make the guild better by donating some of your
NP to it.
In Conclusion...
As you can see, earning NP isn't as difficult as it appeared to be. Let's
add up what I earn on an average day of playing (I'll use the least amount of
NP I can earn, though).
600 (from Meerca Chase)
900 (from Volcano Run)
1200 (from Extreme Herder)
250 (from Potato Counter)
750 (from Poogle Solitaire)
200 (from Faerie Crossword)
_______
3900 NP
Not bad for one day, eh? Moreover, that's at the very least. Go out there
and earn your share of the riches!
The author of this article wishes to thank the following people: The members
of the Pink Poogle Toy.com Guild for all their support and help. The Neopian
Times and the staff for making Neopets. | 
