How to Play Neopets Online for Free
Chances are good that you have heard of Neopets. Since its inception in April of 2000 it has grown to become one of the world’s most popular online games. With over 90 million user accounts and an estimated 30 million actual members, it is truly an Internet sensation.
Neopets is at its core a virtual pet game, in the line of Tamagotchi and its many copycats. But to see Neopets as just another Tamagotchi clone is to completely miss just why Neopets is so amazingly popular. Neopets is a fully realized fantasy world, with many unique characters, advanced storylines, and a vast number of games and activities for Neopets members to take part in.
Want to test your Neopet’s mettle against other Neopets? Interested in roleplaying games? Neopets has it. Action, adventure, puzzle games? Neopets has it. Banking, stamp collecting, coin collecting, playing the stock market, opening up your own virtual Neopets store: all of these and more are offered in the expansive Neopets universe. With so much to hold your attention, it is no wonder that it has proven so addictive to so many.
Getting Started with Neopets
All of that said, the core of Neopets is still its virtual pets. When you first sign up for a free Neopets account, you will be directed to adopt your very own virtual pet. There are numerous fantastical pets to choose from, from the catlike Acara to the lionish Yurble. You name your Neopet, choose its color and help to customize its personality. You will also be able to roll for its basic statistics (which will be of great importance if you intend to take your Neopet into the Battledome to compete against other players’ Neopets).
There is no special software required to play Neopets. There are no required CDs or DVD-ROM’s, no downloads. The game is entirely internet based, so you can log on and start playing from any internet connected computer.
Once your pet is created, the imaginary world of Neopia is your oyster. Like any virtual pets game, you will need to cover the basics of virtual pet survival. Feeding your pet (Neopets offers a grand variety of all sorts of food you can feed your pet), buying it medicine when it gets sick, playing with it, etc.
Playing Neopets
Getting Money
So you’ve got your account, you’ve got your Neopet, now it is time to really start playing. One of the most important parts of the game of Neopets is the monetary system. (Money is called Neopoints). Neopoints are key in buying food for your pets, toys, books, weapons, armor, medicine, building your Neohome, etc.
The basic method of acquiring Neopoints, at least in the beginning of your time in the world of Neopia, is by playing the multitude of games that Neopets has to offer. All games offer Neopoints for playing, although you are only allowed to play any single game three times in a single day.
Every day there is a different featured game. These featured games offer double Neopoints, meaning that when you play them you will receive double the Neopoints you usually would. Keep in mind that there is a strict 1,000 Neopoint limit from any single game you play, and this includes the double Neopoints offered by the featured game.
Playing the featured game can be a good way to increase your Neopoints, but not always. If you are not very good at the game (say you would normally only get 100 Neopoints from it), playing it when it is featured will get you 200 Neopoints, but you would be better to spend your time playing a game that you are good at where you can get, say, 500 or 1,000 Neopoints.
Once you have built yourself a good amount of Neopoints, you have the ability to start acquiring money in other ways. Storing your money in the Neopian Bank, for example, will earn you interest, the more money you have in the bank the higher the rate of return is. This is a fairly slow method, however.
You can also play the Neopian Stock Market. How exactly the market works is somewhat of a mystery, however if you get lucky it can be a rapid method of increasing your income. Finding cheap items then selling them at high markups in your own virtual Neopets store is also a popular way of earning Neopoints.
What to do with my Neopoints?
Once you have acquired a goodly number of Neopoints, the question becomes: what to do with them? Here Neopets has quite a bit to offer, depending on your interests. For example, if you are interested in battling other Neopets in one of the many Battledomes, you would be best to spend your money training your virtual pet, purchasing it weapons and equipment and going into the Battledome for practice bouts.
Neopets also offers virtual homes, where you can build the Neopian house of your dreams. With all of the items out there you have numerous opportunities for various collecting, including the popular stamp and coin collecting.
If none of this interests you, then you can just keep on playing the games, which are immense fun in and of themselves. Regardless of your likes and tastes, most likely Neopets has something to offer for you in its massive, fully-realized fantasy world.
