How Safe Are Our Neopoints?

When we play Trouble at the National Neopian, we become a cashier. We are, in effect, an employee of the National Neopian Bank, at least for the short time while we are playing. It is always a busy day at the bank no matter what time of day or night you play the game, there are always customers wanting to come in to deposit their NP’s at the bank and carry out other various transactions. Various friendly Neopian characters come in to deposit their own hard-earned NP’s, just as you or I do on a normal day. Some characters appear quite regularly, others, less frequently, and new ones pop up the higher the level you go. Each one seems to bring in the same amount of NP’s each time to deposit.

Our job as a cashier when we play, is to work the security system to allow the legitimate cash-carrying customers in; to turn all those NP’s into gold bars; and to keep all those nasty bandits out! Our salary, as it were, is based on how many gold bars we manage to collect and the stray NP’s left over when all our lives are used up. With this kind of wonderful compensation package for its cashiers, it is a wonder that more people don’t take advantage of this opportunity to earn NP’s and to be doing a service for the National Neopian Bank at the same time!

The security system seems somewhat primitive but very effective. There is above each door a portcullis, which is a mediaeval heavy iron-barred gate, which slams down when we activate a button at our cashier’s station. We can lose a life each time we accidently turn a legitimate customer away by slamming the bars down in front of them instead of allowing them to enter and make their deposit. We also lose a life if we are too slow in activating the security system to keep the bank robbers out and from stealing NP’s.

We are given very sketchy details about these robbers; old-style wanted posters. It is from these posters alone, and with no further details, that we are to recognize the bad guys and keep them out before they make off with Neopoints! We are also told that there is a new mystery criminal, recently escaped from jail, who is on the loose. We are to recognize him sight unseen! And can anyone tell me why these bad guys only steal half of the NP’s available? I take it that none of them is too bright which is probably why they try to steal NP’s rather than earn them the hard way as all of the rest of us do.

Take some time to really look at the wanted posters. The posters are printed in black and white; there is hardly enough of the picture there to truly recognize each of these desperados. Now look even more closely at the poster. You’ll also see that printed on each poster in bold type, hardly any smaller than the word WANTED, is the word REWARD without any indication of an amount. We have to presume that the reward is for information leading to the arrest and capture of each of the bad guys. Maybe we need another game played in conjunction to Trouble at the National Neopian, where we capture these robbers and collect the reward for more NP’s? We could say, “I was just playing Trouble at the National Neopian and saw so and so”. Or maybe we need a new button that we can press to alert the police to let them know that we have just seen one of the bad guys pictured in the Wanted Poster? Which brings me to another comment I have about the game.

As cashier at the National Neopian, I’d like to get to know each of the customers by name, so I’m not saying to myself as I play, “the dumpy one who only deposits 3 NP at a time, the bouncy Blumaroo who brings in 10 NP, the mail guy who brings in 7 NP,” etc. I want to know their names! After all, I am greeted very politely by the banking Skeith at the National Neopian each day when I collect my interest, deposit extra NP’s or need to make a withdrawal to purchase an item I desperately want. I think it would also be a help to name these desperados at the same time. Then as I’m merrily using the keyboard controls to keep the bad guys out; the space bar to cash in the NP’s for gold bars; I can politely greet each of the customers and yell for the police to let them know that I’ve spotted one of the bad guys and then I can tell them which one!

Well, I’m still hoping that there is an excellent player of Trouble at the National Neopian each time I go to the National Neopian Bank to deposit my own NP’s and carry out my other banking transactions. I’m not sure if the National Neopian shouldn’t be requiring each of its banking customers to use a passbook or password to safeguard our accounts. But for now, we continue on in trust that the Bank is secure. I, for one, enjoy all the benefits that the Bank affords, especially for that fierce looking Skeith who so courteously greets me each time I enter the Bank. I’m sure none of those none-too-bright bad guys would ever dare to grab half my NP’s I’m trying to deposit while the Skeith is there! Thanks, National Neopian, for having such a wonderful guardian when I’m not always able to protect the bank as a cashier myself!