50 Fun Facts About Neopets

Neopets has been described as an online cross between Tamagotchi and which monster-collecting Japanese franchise?

Pokémon and Tamagotchi were the usual comparison, but a neglected Neopet never dies: it only goes hungry and falls ill until its owner returns.

Which penguin-like Neopet species began as a pet made from a tinted photograph of a real-life TV host?

Bruce started out as the Bruce-Forsyth, modelled on entertainer Bruce Forsyth, and the name was cut down for legal reasons.

Which fast-food chain's 2004 cross-promotion with Neopets set off an Australian TV controversy over games of chance?

McDonald's was the partner when Today Tonight aired a boy's complaint, and Neopets then barred under-13s from its casino-style games.

Which browser plug-in, retired at the end of 2020, ran most classic Neopets games and left many unplayable for years?

Flash games returned in July 2023, when Neopets plugged in the Ruffle emulator and restored most of the originals.

The Altador Cup, the yearly Neopets team tournament, began in 2006 to coincide with which international sporting event?

The FIFA World Cup tie-in paid off: the first Altador Cup drew 10.4 million participants.

Neopets was created by Adam Powell and Donna Williams in which country before the company moved to the United States?

Britain left its mark: the pair's first office was in Guildford, and Neopets kept its British spellings after the move to America.

Which American media giant bought Neopets for $160 million in June 2005?

Viacom paid $160 million for the site, and founders Adam Powell and Donna Williams left soon afterwards over creative differences.

In Neopets lore, which land floated among the clouds until a storyline sent the whole city crashing to the ground?

Faerieland fell from the sky at the end of the Faeries' Ruin plot, and the rebuilt city now lies in a crater.

Which Neopets villain enslaved a planet of alien Grundos and built the Virtupets Space Station?

Dr. Sloth is one of the earliest villains on the site, and his arch-nemesis is the Space Faerie.

Which tropical Neopets land could be reached only through a paid mobile phone service and was cut off when it closed?

Lutari Island opened in 2006 with Neopets Mobile, and when the service was discontinued on 30 June 2009 the island became completely inaccessible.

Which long-reigning queen of the Neopets faeries imprisoned the Darkest Faerie beneath the sea for a thousand years?

Fyora also runs the Hidden Tower in Faerie City, a shop whose weapons and toys are all very rare and expensive.

Which company released the Neopets Trading Card Game in 2003?

Wizards of the Coast kept the cards in print until 2006, and the game picked up two Toy of the Year nominations along the way.

Neopets: The Darkest Faerie, a 2005 adventure starring a Lupe farm boy named Tor, was released only on which console?

PlayStation 2 was a late switch: the game was first announced for the original PlayStation, and it only ever came out in North America.

In which Neopets arena can pets fight other players' pets or computer-controlled challengers without ever dying?

The Battledome lets a pet carry up to eight weapons into a fight, and whoever reaches zero hit points first loses.

Which weekly Neopets newspaper is written largely by players, who send in its stories, comics and articles?

The Neopian Times has a White Weewoo as its mascot, adopted after writers kept slipping the bird into their submissions.

Which Neopets currency, launched in 2007, is bought with real money rather than earned by playing games?

Neocash is spent mainly in the NC Mall, mostly on clothes and other wearable items for pets.

The in-game clock of Neopets follows the local time, daylight saving included, of which American state?

California is where the company has its headquarters, so Neopia runs on Pacific Time and even changes its clocks for daylight saving.

Which giant ice worm sleeps on a hoard of treasure in the Ice Caves of Terror Mountain in Neopets?

The Snowager guards its hoard except when it sleeps, when players can try to steal an item and risk an icy blast if it wakes.

Where in Neopia Central do Neopets players take a Paint Brush to change the colour of a pet?

The Rainbow Pool only works with a Paint Brush in the player's inventory, and each brush disappears after a single use.

Which team beat Darigan Citadel in the 2006 final to become the first champions of the Neopets Altador Cup?

Haunted Woods could not repeat the feat a year later, finishing seventh while Darigan Citadel lifted the second cup.

Which hidden land, which the Neopets Team has claimed does not exist, supplies the practice team for the Altador Cup?

Jelly World fields a side made up entirely of Jelly Chias, who only turn out before the tournament and on bye days.

Which Altador Cup team from Neopia's moon sat out the second tournament, blaming a faulty gravity generator?

Kreludor's Derlyn Fonnet said the broken generator had cut the players' muscle and bone density, and newcomers Shenkuu took the spare place.

In Yooyuball at the Neopets Altador Cup, which type of Yooyu behaves like a different type on every throw?

Mutant Yooyus keep teams guessing: one throw may curve like a Faerie Yooyu and the next may crawl like a Snow one.

According to Neopets lore, what is a Zafara believed to bring to an owner who treats it kindly?

Good luck is the Zafara's calling card, though its first design was a four-legged pet with a body like a Chinese dragon.

Which Zafara witch sets Neopets players quests to fetch the spell ingredients she needs in her tower?

Edna was drawn as a human witch in the site's early days, and her change into a Neopet was explained as a spell gone wrong.

Which winged Neopet species debuted as the Fleye, a pet whose entire body was a single eye?

Buzz replaced the Fleye in July 2000, only months after the eyeball pet had won the site's 1999 Christmas Pet Competition.

Which giant sleeping creature in Meridell, known as the King of Petpets, may eat a Neopets player's Petpet when woken?

The Turmaculus is a giant Turmac who sleeps most of the day and can be woken during only one random hour.

Which grumpy Skeith king of Meridell is the brother and rival of King Hagan of Brightvale in Neopets?

Skarl is the Grumpy Old King of a daily game in which players build a joke from menus and try to make him laugh.

At which Neopia Central landmark can Neopets players leave unwanted items and Neopoints for anyone to grab for free?

The Money Tree also takes gifts from famous Neopians such as Balthazar, who donates a few bottled faeries every Wednesday.

In which Neopets land can players take a free slice of the Giant Omelette, watched over by a Lupe named Sabre-X?

Tyrannia's omelette is said to come from a gigantic dinosaur egg that split open and has been baking in the sun ever since.

Neopets has been praised for teaching children which web language, which they could use to edit their own pages?

HTML and CSS can both be used to restyle a player's profile, and reviewers counted that among the site's educational content.

Which Neopets food is sold for tokens at a shop run by the faerie Kari and gives allergic Tonus the Neezles?

Neggs are Neopia's answer to eggs, and the ones from Kari's Neggery can make a pet ill or even dispense other items.

Which Neopets earth faerie hands out quests from her Meridell glade and is the arch-nemesis of the dark faerie Jhudora?

Illusen rewards players who bring her ingredients with faerie artifacts, and no one is quite sure what she needs them for.

Which Usul adventurer, once a Krawk Island tavern serving girl, stars in Neopets games set in pirate and ice caves?

Hannah found an old book revealing where the pirate caves were hidden, and she now styles herself Hannah the Brave.

Which JubJub in the Neopia Central marketplace searches Neopets players' stores to find the best price for an item?

The Shop Wizard looks through a different section of the market on every search, so repeating a search can turn up a cheaper price.

Which evil Neopets character runs around Neopia stealing players' items unless they are stored in a shop or deposit box?

The Pant Devil is rumoured to prefer one decoy item, the Pant Devil Attractor, to anything else a player is carrying.

Which dragon-like Neopet species is mainly obtained by hatching a rare egg at a nest in Meridell?

Draik is a restricted species that cannot be made on the Create a Pet page, and its eggs restock only very rarely at Merifoods.

Which catlike Neopet species normally has four ears, while its Alien variety is drawn with six?

Aisha ears come in fours, and the six-eared Alien Aishas are best known for running a vending machine that takes Nerkmids.

Which items do Neopets players hand over as payment to train a pet at the Mystery Island Training School?

Codestones come in two kinds: tan ones for the regular school and rarer red ones for the Secret Ninja Training School.

Which children's educational games company acquired Neopets in March 2014 and announced its own closure in June 2023?

JumpStart's era began with glitches and site lag after a server move, and much of the remaining Neopets team was laid off in March 2015.

Which Hollywood studio had a Neopets feature film in production in 2005 before the project was cancelled?

Warner Bros. had Rob Lieber writing the script, with Dylan Sellers and John A. Davis producing, before the film was dropped.

Battles in Neopets Puzzle Adventure, a 2008 Capcom release, are fought through a board game resembling which classic?

Reversi replaced the gem-matching battles of Puzzle Quest, the earlier game from the same developer that this one loosely follows.

Doug Dohring, who led Neopets until its 2005 sale, later launched which early-learning website for young children?

ABCmouse launched in 2010 and, unlike free-to-play Neopets, earns its money by charging families a subscription.

Before outside intellectual property was removed, one early Neopet was a cartoon version of which American singer?

Macy Gray was one of several pop culture references on the early site, which was first built to keep university students entertained.

What trademarked term did Neopets use for working sponsors' brands into its games and items instead of banner ads?

Immersive advertising supplied about 60% of the site's revenue before the NC Mall arrived, from sponsors that included Disney.

Which Korean games company partnered with Neopets to launch the NC Mall in 2007?

Nexon helped open the NC Mall on 17 July 2007, letting players pay real money for exclusive virtual items.

In Neopets: The Darkest Faerie, which Acara sorceress, a niece of King Hagan, shares the lead with the knight Tor?

Roberta fights with magic while Tor swings a sword, and the story the pair follow was written by Neopets founder Adam Powell.

Which Zafara potion-maker in Neopets helped save Meridell from Lord Kass with a brew that made Turtum Petpets gigantic?

Kayla now runs the Potion Shop inside Meridell Castle, having first proved her skill to the king with that giant-Turtum potion.

Which Neopets character lures players into his game Deadly Dice with the chance to raise a pet's level?

Count Von Roo comes from Roo Island and is drawn as an orange Blumaroo with glowing red eyes, sharp fangs and a black cape.

Which Neopets device, unlocked by collecting all nine pieces of a secret map, can zap a pet with changes once a day?

The Lab Ray sits in a Secret Laboratory deep in the Neopian sea, where a mad scientist Scorchio runs the machine.