Ghost Bopper – the Trophy Guide

How to play

All you need to play this game is either a number key pad, or by changing the setup you can also play with the letter keys Y, U, I, H, J, K, B, N, M. In terms of the mode of play, the number pad is definitely easier as the keys are in three neat rows, and it's easier to remember the placement of those specific keys, but it is more than possible to get the trophy with the letter keys.

So, you have chosen your mode of play. What next? Make sure you can rotate your keyboard around. If you are using a laptop, get yourself a wireless keyboard. This game is much easier if you can rotate your keyboard rather than awkwardly repositioning your arm.

Basically, some ghost petpets have gone on a Neopian scaring spree and you need to stop them. They can come out of nine graves (3 by 3 square), and to stop them whack them with the corresponding tombstone. To see which grave corresponds to which number/letter, there is a small diagram on the right hand side of the screen. For example, if a ghost comes out of the top left hand grave, you will press either 7 (if using the keypad) or Y (if using the letters). Same for the middle grave, you would press 5 or J depending on your settings. To make your game slightly easier, leave your fingers hovering over the middle three keys, so that it is simpler to hit the right grave.

Scoring

• Greeble - 1 point
• Faellie - 2 points
• Deaver - 3 points
• Ona - 4 points
• Skeleton - 5 points
• Treasure chest - 10 points
• Coins - 20 points
• Kacheek - lose 2 points

You lose lives by whacking a skull, not whacking the ghost petpets in time or whacking an empty grave. However, it is quite easy to gain lives as well, all you have to do is whack hearts if you see them.

Walkthrough with tips

There are a total of thirteen levels in this game. Luckily, you can take a break between levels if you want to stretch your fingers as you need to press the space bar/click to start each level. Each level is 30 seconds long, and you can tell how much time you have left by the progression of the moon at the top of the screen - once it reaches the right hand side, your time is up. There is no 'set' amount of ghost petpets you need to whack so don't worry about that either. I would recommend you leave the sound on while playing, as whilst the screams in the background can get annoying, you can also hear the amount of times you have whacked a ghost.

Level 1 - You start off with 10 lives in this game and your keyboard will be the normal way up. The only things in this level you will encounter are Greebles, which take one whack to disappear and get you 1 point each, coins which give you 20 points, and hearts which will give you an extra life. Seeing as this level is pretty slow and calm, there is little point in going for the hearts as you can't have more than 10 lives at one time. They don't give you points either. By the end of this level, I strongly recommend that you have hit every Greeble you see and have points from at least one set of coins. Otherwise, restart. Those 20 points could be the difference between a trophy and not getting one. Scores for hitting every Greeble and one set of coins would range from 40 - 49.

Level 2 - This level is the same as the previous one, except a new ghost is introduced, the Faellie. This petpet will take you two whacks to get rid of, and gives you 2 points. Greebles, hearts and coins are still here and this level should not be a challenge. Try and complete this level whacking every Faellie and Greeble you see as well as having whacked at least one set of coins.

Level 3 - You now have another way to lose lives here - the skull, which also comes in multi-coloured varieties if you look closely. You should start training yourself to ignore the skulls, and go only for the hearts, coins, and Faellies and Greebles. As a general target, have around 130 points by the time you finish the level.

Level 4 - Before you start this level you will see a notice - "The controls have been rotated! Collect the Treasure Chests, if you see any that is :)" If you look at the bottom right hand corner, you will see that the keys aligned to each grave has changed (except for 5/J that is). Don't fly into a panic. Turn your keyboard 90 degrees anti-clockwise and you will see that your keyboard alignment now matches that of the game! You can play as normal now (if you are playing with the letters you may have to adjust a little - now the side keys are straight, and the K is jutting out compared to the I and M). This is why you can't do this with a laptop - you can't really rotate your laptop without making your gameplay very uncomfortable.

As the notice also tells you, treasure chests are introduced here. You get 10 points for hitting it, and if there are coins inside, you get another 20 points. So these are how you make points really quickly. Apart from the keyboard rotation and the treasure chests, this level is the same as Level 3.

Level 5 - Despite what the notice says, you will NOT lose a life if you hit the pet (a pink Kacheek). Instead, you will LOSE 2 points, so you want to avoid hitting those Kacheeks at all costs. Just ignore them like you would ignore the skulls. The rest of the level is the same as Level 4.

Level 6 - This level introduces the third ghost petpet of the game - a Deaver! This one takes 3 whacks to get rid of but also gives you 3 points. You will find that by now the pace of the game is much faster - there is more to hit, and those coins disappear faster. The rest is the same as Level 5. By the time you have finished this level, try and have at least 320 points.

Level 7 - Yay. Keyboard rotation. Except this one is grosser than the previous one. Return your keyboard to the position you played Level 1 with. The numbers/letters for the middle row is the same as it was in Level 1. The orders for the top and bottom rows are also the same as they were in Level 1, except they have swapped positions. So if you want to whack a ghost on the top row, the corresponding number/letter is on the bottom row, and vice versa if the ghost is on the bottom row, the corresponding number/letter is on the top row of your keyboard. You can only really get used to this with practice.

Level 8 - Here you will meet the last ghost petpet - the Ona, which not only takes 4 hits to get rid of, but also worth 4 points. This is where having the sound on helps with counting how many times you have hit that Ona. Fast hand-eye coordination will help here.

Level 9 - The notice says that lives restricted to 10 but they have been since the beginning.... Otherwise exactly the same as level 8. Having around 700 points by this stage is good.

Level 10 - The good thing about this keyboard rotation is that the top and bottom rows aren't messed up and they are back to the way they were before. The bad thing is that now you have to rotate your keyboard 90 degrees clockwise and I just find that using the letters for this arrangement is the hardest in the game (to those with number pads - you will have zero issues). Other than the keyboard change, this level is the same as Level 9.

Level 11/12 - Nothing new here, same gameplay as Level 10, just make sure you get those coins fast because they disappear quickly. It is quite easy to be distracted bopping that Ona and miss that coin floating beside you.... If you want to be in a good position for a trophy score, try and have around 1000 points by the time you finish Level 12. If you are in the 800s/low 900s you are not going to get the trophy score.

Level 13 - The keyboard is back to normal, just like how it was in Level 1. Woot! The catch... the introduction of some spooky skeletons! They are worth 5 points, but unlike normal ghosts, you can't just bop the corresponding number/letter to get rid of them. Each skeleton is holding a sign, and the number/letter they are holding up is what you need to type to get rid of them. You only need to bop them once, which is good because there are so many Onas/Deavers now. I find if you are really having trouble, it helps to look at the right side of your screen with the diagram as they may help you to bop that skeleton faster. Hopefully you get at least 150 points from this level to get you to that trophy score.

Conclusion

Once you have the ability to constantly finish the game with little trouble, your new Ghost Bopper trophy will not be far away! The lowest score that you can get a trophy with will usually be around 1140 points on reset day (the first of the month) and this score is easily attainable if you keep playing and find that game with heaps of coins and treasure chests. It is better if you wait until later into the day to play so you have a clearer point target - if you just want the trophy, aim to beat the 14th or 15th highest score to avoid getting bumped out later after all that hard effort. Good luck and happy ghost bopping!