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Reimagining Fun with Flash-free Games


by stargirl089

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When Flash was officially discontinued on the twelfth day of the month of Sleeping Y23, many Neopians were left questioning, “What are we going to do now that there aren’t any more Flash games?”

     The answer is simple: Flash-free games.

     Even though Flash is officially gone, Neopets still has plenty of older games that don’t require Flash. These Flash-free games still work perfectly, and you can play to your heart’s content. Many of these games were from the earlier days of Neopets, so you may have forgotten about them over the years, or perhaps even dismissed them as “old-fashioned” and “boring” because they rely on repeated clicking and page-reloading to show each move or step made in the game. I am here to show you that this doesn’t have to be the case. These old games may not be as cool or as flashy (pun intended) as the Flash games were, but with a little bit of imagination, they can still be exciting and provide hours of fun!

     There are also some happy side-effects of playing these games. More page reloads means more chances of Random Events (something we still can’t get on the new layout) and there’s a high chance of getting a good Random Event that grants you NP, an item, or even a Faerie Quest. Furthermore, if you get busy or tired, you can stop at any point in the game and pick up where you left off later – something the Flash games didn’t allow!

     So keep an open mind and prepare for a trip down memory lane as I guide you through the imaginary worlds of my favourite Flash-free games…

     Neoquest and Neoquest 2

     Type: Roleplay

     Take on the role of a single heroic Lupe trying to save Ancient Neopia in NeoQuest, or build a team of four brave adventurers (Rohane the Blumaroo warrior, Mipsy the Acara wizard, Talinia the Eyrie archer, and Velm the Techo healer) in NeoQuest 2. Together, you (and they) will explore different worlds, meet Neopians from all walks of life, and defeat the great evil plaguing the lands.

     With engaging characters, an intriguing storyline, intense boss battles and plenty of random battles in between to keep things interesting, the two NeoQuest games are sure to keep you occupied for days (or weeks or months, depending on your playing speed). You can win NP and items from the game, unlock avatars for completing certain tasks, and will be awarded a trophy for beating the game at each level of difficulty.

     In both games, each step you take will reload the page, but your progress is automatically saved with each step, so you can play as much (or as little) as you want per day. If you are busy with other responsibilities or simply tired of the game, you can even leave the game aside for a few days (or weeks). Once you feel up to continuing, simply come back and pick up right where you left off. Don’t leave it too long though – NeoQuest and NeoQuest 2 game data is wiped if you do not make a new move within 365 days of your last move! Also, your NeoQuest game is linked to your active pet, so make sure you do not Transfer or Abandon your NeoQuest pet, and make sure that pet is active when you want to play.

     If this is your first time playing NeoQuest or NeoQuest 2, I recommend reading a few guides before starting your first game. You can find guides that users have put on various petpages or on Neopets fan sites like Jellyneo. Alternatively, ask someone on the Neoboards to recommend their favourite guides. Guides will help you to understand the gameplay basics (so you know what to do), character skills (so you understand what abilities your characters have and how best to use them), and provide you with maps, game strategy and general tips (so you can plan how to play your game).

     Alternatively, if you would prefer to explore the game on your own without any spoilers, then take the plunge and dive straight in without further ado.

     So what are you waiting for? Put on your gaming face, some music for the journey and get started – adventure is just one click away!

     Cellblock

     Type: Puzzle, Strategy

     Cellblock is a puzzle game invented by Master Vex, a bored prison warden. Master Vex forced his inmates to play this game against him, initially enticing them with a (probably false) promise of freedom if they ever beat him. However, Master Vex was simply too good, and none of the prisoners ever managed to beat him. To keep things interesting, Master Vex now allows two of the prison guards and prison visitors (such as yourself) to join the Tournaments.

     The game starts at Tournament 1, Level 1. Each Tournament has 8 Levels. You face a different opponent on each Level. You and your opponent take turns placing a piece on the board. The objective is to line up five of your pieces in a row before your opponent does. If you do, you win the match. If you win the majority of matches against an opponent, you proceed to the next Level and face off against a different opponent. Note that the number of matches you have to win increases with each Level. If you beat all 8 Levels, you win the Tournament and move on to the next Tournament, and repeat the process.

     The starting board is the same for the first 10 Tournaments, so once you’ve figured out the strategy, all you have to do is repeat it over and over until you reach Tournament 11, when the starting board will be a little different each time. The same strategy will more or less still work though, so you will only need to modify your strategy slightly depending on what the game board is like.

     If you think that sounds a little repetitive and monotonous, that’s probably because it is meant to be. Keeping the prison inmates entertained was likely not a priority for Master Vex. Don’t let that deter you, however, as Master Vex himself is not immune to boredom and if you stay alert, you could outsmart him and beat him at his own game!

     Furthermore, you can quite easily earn up to 5000 NP per day from this game, especially during the easy levels. You’ll also earn trophies when you pass certain game milestones, and you’ll even unlock an avatar after you’ve played 300 games.

     Sewage Surfer

     Type: Puzzle, Strategy

     Need a way to distract yourself from the Flash-conversion? Try your hand at cleaning up a different mess – from the Neopets sewers!

     These sewers lie beneath Neopia Central and are in a horrible state. One could be forgiven for thinking they haven't been repaired for years. The truth is that they are so old that they simply break all the time and need to be repaired again and again. As a result, they are a broken, smelly mess and barely anyone wants to go near them. Matt the Wocky (hero and Plumber Extraordinaire) is pretty much the only one willing to do the dull, thankless and never-ending job of fixing them.

     In an effort to speed up the rate of the repairs, the Neopian City Council has been offering NP and avatar rewards to Neopians willing to brave the sewers and help out Matt. Sewage repair was also rebranded as a game to make it sound more appealing to volunteers. Anyone who scores more than 5000 points in the game is awarded NP. To deter those who are not at all serious about helping, the Neopian City Council decided that they would not reward half-hearted efforts (less than 5000 points).

     There are 50 levels in this game. On each level, you will have to fix a different broken part of the sewer. Your goal is to reconnect the sewage source to the sewage drain with a series of new pipes. Matt the Wocky will pass you a random assortment of pipes in different shapes and sizes. You can see the next three pipes coming up, but can only use one pipe at a time. You score points based on the number of pipes used – the more you use, the higher your score. You are allowed to discard a limited number of pipes per level, and points will be deducted for any extra pieces that you do not use. If you get stuck on a level, you can start over but you will lose 50 points for doing so.

     Once you think you are ready, click Start Flow to put your sewage creation to the test. If you’ve successfully constructed a new working pipe system, you will be able to move on to the next level. If you haven’t, turning on the sewage system will flood the sewer and require you to restart the level (and also lose 50 points).

     Beat Level 49 and quit to get an avatar (but no NP!), or persevere to the end and beat Level 50 to get your hard-won NP and, more importantly, fix all the sewers for good… or at least until they break again.

     Gormball

     Type: Luck

     IIIIIITTTTSSSS GORMBALL! Ah, Gormball… There was a time when this was THE game to play on Neopets, and the only one with an exciting annual sporting competition that Neopians looked forward to every year, even if it was just to see what the latest scandal that year would be.

     The introduction of the Altador Cup in Y8 somewhat eclipsed Gormball’s popularity. However, Gormball still retains a dedicated following of loyal fans to this day. The Annual Gormball Championships are still celebrated on the twenty-third day of the Month of Gathering every year, with fans showing up in droves to support their favourite player.

     Reports from past Championships seem to indicate that anything can happen once the games begin: last-minute substitutions, unexpected stadium equipment malfunction, sudden illness of a star player (was there foul play?), or simply that the Gormball may explode on any player at any point! Allegations of cheating also arise almost every year (as is to be expected from any competitive sporting event) but it seems Gormball fans are not easily deterred by drama or scandal. Even the widespread cheating scandal in Y17 and Y18 that caused the Championships to be forfeited for two whole years could not keep them away; fans turned up in ever greater numbers once the Championships resumed in Y19. There is never a dull moment in Gormball, and it is unsurprising that the unofficial motto of many diehard fans is to “Expect the Unexpected”!

     To play the game, simply go the Gormball game page and choose the character you want to play as. Do not be deterred by the large “RIP Flash” sign over the game trailer – the game itself is still very much working.

     After choosing your character and starting the game, all you have to do is wait for your turn. When your turn comes, decide how many seconds you want to hold onto the ball, then pass the Gormball on… but stay alert – you never know when the Gormball may suddenly explode! If you’re unlucky enough to be holding the Gormball when it explodes, it’s Game Over for you! Otherwise, the game continues until only one player is left, and that player (hopefully you) is declared the winner.

     The NP rewards of this game may seem pretty meagre nowadays, but the nostalgia of this classic Neopets game is unparalleled. Furthermore, the unpredictability of this game is sure to keep you on your toes and provide an adrenaline rush! Winning a game of Gormball will also unlock an avatar, and you can even get a trophy if you are lucky enough to score enough points for the high score table.

     Food Club

     Type: Strategy, Luck

     Every day, 20 pirates on Krawk Island take part in an eating contest. The pirates are split into 5 different arenas (4 pirates per arena) and each pirate tries his best to eat his way to victory in his respective arena. They each have their individual strengths and weaknesses, favourite foods and food allergies. The pirates are all deeply passionate about winning, especially when it involves their favourite food. As such, the competition can sometimes get aggressive, and scuffles among the contestants are common.

     Your role in the game is simple – bet on who you think will win from each arena. If you get it right, you win NP. If you get it wrong, you lose NP.

     The pirates rotate through the different arenas, so you will get a different combination of pirates in each arena every day. The food choices served in each arena also change daily, which can affect a pirate’s likelihood of winning. A glance at the win rate statistics will reveal that some pirates are generally more consistent performers, while others are more erratic. However, bet on a “reliable” pirate at your own risk, for an upset can happen at any time, regardless of the odds!

     At the beginning of each day’s competition, the Food Club bookie calculates the odds of each pirate winning in his arena that day, based on a secret formula that only he knows. Neopian punters consider the odds given and place bets with the bookie on who they think will win. The bookie will then adjust the odds of a pirate winning based on how Neopians bet that day. A favoured pirate tends to see his odds of winning increase, while the less favoured usually end up with decreased odds of winning. Shrewd long-time punters will tell you, however, that the bookie’s odds adjustments cannot be trusted. After all, just because more Neopians want a particular pirate to win does not mean he will!

     You are allowed to make 10 different bets per day. Generally speaking, most Neopians will use all 10 bets, with each one covering a different permutation of a particular outcome. This approach ensures the maximum chance of profiting.

     Learning how to maximise your profit at Food Club can be rather intimidating at first, but there are plenty of detailed guides that can help you to understand how the game works and how to place your bets. You can also ask for help on the Site Games Neoboards. Experienced players on the Food Club chat are often willing to answer questions to help out new Food Club players. Very often, new players will end up simply following (in other words, copying) the bets of someone who knows what they are doing until they feel ready to come up with their own set of bets.

     With most of the Flash games now inaccessible to the average player, Food Club has become the main NP-making game on Neopets. The older your account, the more NP you are likely to make, so place your bets and hope for the best. May your chosen pirate(s) win!

     And there you have it – five exciting Flash-free games that can still provide you with hours of fun!

     As the saying goes, life is what you make of it, and Neopian life is no different. The loss of Flash does not have to mean the loss of fun. There's always fun to be had, as long as you're willing to look for it.

     For me, playing Flash-free games again after the discontinuation of Flash was both a wonderful and eye-opening experience. I was filled with nostalgia when I replayed some of the simpler Flash-free games that I used to play as a child. I also discovered some Flash-free games that I had never played before, either because they were too complex for my childhood self to understand, or I was too impatient to sit through them when I was a child. This time, I took the time to slowly learn and play the game and was surprised at how much I enjoyed them as an adult. Even the repeated clicking did not bother me as much as I thought it would – it was sometimes strangely soothing and often felt like a calming escape from the many anxieties of non-Neopian adult life.

     I hope that after reading this article you will be encouraged to try playing some of these Flash-free games. While I have only described five games in this article, there are plenty more on the site that you can (re)discover and enjoy in addition to these five. Try a few of them out – hopefully it will bring back fond memories for you, and who knows, you may even find a new favourite game and surprise yourself!

 
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