All About Neopets

Neopets is its own little fantasy world, which means you aren't going to see regular old dogs, cats, fish, reptiles, or rodents available for adoption. Instead, Neopets has a bunch of imaginary creatures to choose from. However, you'll often run across a Neopet that looks an awful lot like a penguin, a dog, or a squirrel of some kind.

Some pets are cute and fuzzy. Some of them look like dragons, dinosaurs, or even insects.

Not only that, but they also have different personality traits. The unicorn-like Uni is prissy and vain; the llama-ish Gnorbu is good-natured and kind; little fuzzy JubJubs are secretive and shy; dinosaur-like Grarrls get big and ferocious. With over 50 different critters to choose from, there's a pet for everyone.

JubJub Blue by neopets
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Although the pets themselves are colorful and cute, they're not as interactive as they could be. Since there's no pet animation whatsoever, you can't watch your pet Lutari swim around in a pool or eat a pepperoni omelet. However, the picture of your pet will change depending on her mood. If she's sad, she'll look sad; if she's upset, you'll see it. Sometimes you'll see messages about your pet, and your pet will say things in response to things like being fed or played with.

You CAN change the appearance of your pet. One way to do that is to acquire a magic paintbrush that will change your pet's color. It could be a solid color like pink or black, or it might be something really outstanding, like star or cloud patterns. You can also buy wearable clothing items for your pet.

Many people like to collect items on Neopets and show them off in a gallery. They might collect rare books, plushies, or certain types of food.

Probably the best thing about Neopets is the games. Some of them are basically Neopets-flavored versions of familiar games like hangman, mahjong, solitaire, and minesweeper. There are puzzles, arcade-style games, card games, games of luck, and more. Not only are many of these games addictive, they're also a fun way to earn Neopoints, a kind of currency you use to buy things for your pet.

Shoyru Starry by neopets
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Neopets is a kid-friendly site that's monitored by its staff 24/7. It's as safe as any popular website can be, but as always, you have to be careful. Millions of people log into this site, children and grownups alike, so you need to make sure your child understands basic online safety, won't give out personal information, etc.

Above all else, I recommend trying it out for yourself so you know exactly what your kids will find here. You might enjoy it too!

Eyrie Cloud by neopets
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You can put your wallet away, because Neopets is free to play. All you have to do is put up with the advertisements.

More recently, however, Neopets decided to add a secondary form of currency called NeoCash, or NC for short. You buy these points with real cash using a credit card or a PayPal account. You can use NC to customize your pet's appearance with clothing items, accessories, etc. You can also buy furniture and other things you won't find elsewhere on the site.

Buying Neocash isn't necessary to enjoy Neopets, though. Besides, there are gobs and gobs of other things you can get with plain old Neopoints, which can be earned just by playing games and interacting with the site.

Kougra Red by neopets
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