My kids discovered this site a few months back. I made a quick check to make certain there were obvious spam attacks or inappropriate content, and I found none, so I let them play with the promise that I'd have to come back to dig a little deeper later. Once I started, I found myself sucked into the game for more than a week before I could pry myself away. Poptropica is a platformer/puzzler. The conceit behind the game is that you travel to different islands, each of which feature a different adventure. Themes include everything from history and time travel to world cultures to wacky mad scientists. Genres stretch from mystery to sci-fi and fantasy. This is mainly a single-player game. There are a few mini-games that you can play with other players, but those are easily avoided if you prefer to focus on the larger campaigns. This game is light in tone, but some of the puzzles will be at least a little challenging to adults. And one of the best parts about Poptropica is that it is currently being supported. There's a team constantly developing new islands, and they give previews to new islands through the blog. Compare that to many kid-oriented sites that the creators just seem to abandon and forget to turn out the lights. Now, some drawbacks: Yes there is sometimes advertising in the frame around the game window, and certain islands have corporate sponsorship. But from what I've seen so far, those ads are always in the background and never impact the story. And this is definitely a puzzle game first and an educational tool second. Most worlds are based around some sort of educational goal (history, culture, art), but the factoids kids might learn are incidental to the game play. Since there is absolutely no sound in the game, you do need to be a pretty secure reader in order to understand the rules and goals of each game. Otherwise, younger players will just find themselves clicking about randomly. And it is a bandwidth hog. If you're running an older machine, this game will make it slow to a crawl, which will definitely impact some of the more action-oriented puzzles. Two responses to other reviews I've seen here. I've played through all the worlds available for free at the time, and I saw nothing referring to the Christian creation story. On the other hand, Poptropica rotates in new adventures every few weeks, so that particular island may have been removed. And anyone who thinks they're not allowed to save their game hasn't seen the big blue button in the corner of the game screen that reads "SAVE." Poptropica is just a diversion, really. It's not as involved or violent as World of Warcraft or another MMO, but kids who are too advanced or not advanced enough may become bored quickly. Perhaps the biggest benefit of the game is that you can introduce some deeper discussions about the islands' various themes, to see if your child has developed an interest in them worth furthering.

love it it is cool you should play it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Its a real fun game its like collecting clues to help and island.

love it

I Absolutely LOVE helping my 6+ play this game! The more we play, the more I like it. The problem solving skills gained from this are excellent. With every action you do, you learn a little more and have to adjust your strategies accordingly. I have to hold back tell my child what to do, but it is so worth it when she figures it out. Such a sense of accomplishment with little success rewards all along the way in the way they gain pieces and clues to their mystery/quest. It's just great. I have to read along while my daughter plays. I love seeing her little brain working to figure out best strategies. Remembering past conquests helps you with future ones. Your have to pay attention and remember where things are. I love the cry of excitement when she accomplishes a task. Biggest problem - its hard to stop playing the game. My daughter is a little more advanced then most her age. I think much younger and they would be losing out on the strategy building benefits of the game. There are some parts I have had to help her passed. Great strategy game. Learn some history, science, simple physics along the way. The game definitely has good guys and bad guys - but I don't view it as terribly violent. Most "attacks" are characters bumping into each other and causing character to fall. But no blood, Characters remain intact - not swished or anything. Even a shark just bumps character out of the water. Good thing is that in this game you learn to use "attacks" to your advantage to accomplish your goals.

Irate this iffy because some kids can look like on another because you can "cutumize" a character with a bra on at Nabooti , an island. Also you can "cutomize" a person with a bikini on in the well of Early Poptropica well. That way you have underwear on. Also some people are frilting with one an other because they go really close and say "I like chatting" and other stuff while the girl is in under wear.

I highly recommend this site! It does have some ads, but they are easily ignored and my 8 year old LOVES this game... she would give it 5 stars :-)

AMAZING! Poptropica...wow...my neice discovered it a few years ago; back when there were only 2 islands! she recommended it for my youngest child, who, at the time was 5. I thoroughly checked it for anything that worried me, and found nothing! I always set a limit for all my kids on the internet; so every day, he would come home from school, do his homework, [I used it as a reward, if he completed his homework neatly and without whining.] I would set him up at the computer with a snack, and sit close by, and he loved it! the first few islands are fairly easy, but they get harder and harder! I am in my 30s and I can't get past some of the islands! (Yes, I became a huge fan of poptropica, and play it regularly!) my teen loves it, as well. I have noticed a big change in my son's performance in school since he began playing poptopica. teachers have started telling me that he has gotten better at problem solving and general thinking. it even helps ME with trying to figure out all options before acting. it seems like everything on the internet has a negative...but poptropica doesnt! Overall, i say ABSOLUTELY! (:

It is perfect for kids 8-13.My two kids love it