Hunting for the Mystery Picture

First off, the picture you saw. This is a small section of a Neopets image that has been zoomed in on, hence why the pixels of the image can be clearly defined. The aim of the game is to find out what image this small section comes from. Sounds simple? With millions of images in the Neopets database, this quest is not for the faint hearted!

So where do you start on this mammoth hunt? I advise that you don’t just click around randomly and hope to spot the image out of pure luck, but, instead, devise a method of searching.

To start, take a copy of the Mystery Picture and open it in a drawing program that allows you to zoom into images. This will allow an easy comparison between the Mystery Picture and any possible answer you find when the need arises. After all, without being able to zoom in, making a guess that you are sure about will be extremely difficult, almost impossible.

You say that it is not possible? It’s not worth the hassle? I beg to differ. Each winner takes a share of the 2,000,000 neopoint prize fund, with the first 200 correct answers receiving a special item as well! If you’re the only one to get the correct answer (believe me, it has happened), you’ll win yourself a whopping 2,000,000 neopoints, all to yourself! Worth the effort, I’m sure you’ll agree.

Now you’re all set to go. You have the image you’re hunting for, and the entire Neopets database to hunt through. So, where to start? There is no set method for the hunt; you just have to devise your own system and stick with it. If you begin searching through shopkeepers, search through them all. You’d be very angry if the next on the list was the answer you needed, and you’d gotten bored and gone to look somewhere else instead.

A good place to begin your search is the Neopedia. Yes, the whole Neopedia. This may seem like a tough task, but a relatively high percentage of past pictures have been taken from Neopedia articles. Remember the colours of the picture you are searching for, and browse through every page of the Neopedia. If the colours are way off, simply click past the images on that page. If the colours are close, examine the picture more closely. If you think you have a possible match, take a copy of the full image, paste it into your drawing program, and zoom in on the picture. Then search for a section that is identical to the smaller Mystery Pic.

Important note: remember to search through the image thoroughly if you think that it could be a match. Again, missing an early match and then continuing to search through the entire site would be a huge waste of your time.

If you’ve finished searching through the Neopedia, and you haven’t found a match, I suggest moving onto shops and shopkeepers. Browse through every Neopian shop, checking the colours of the shopkeeper and the header. If you find a possible match, repeat the process of copying the image, zooming in, and examining closely. And you never know, you might end up getting lucky and seeing an unbuyable item restock whilst you’re checking the shops. This hunt has more than one benefit, it seems!

If you haven’t found it yet, I guess you’re getting stressed out? Don’t worry, take a short break, and continue hunting later on. This is meant to be a challenge, yes, but not a punishment. You want to get some enjoyment from it.

The next area of the site I suggest hunting in is the games room. Each and every game has an icon as well as numerous screenshots of the game, all of which could be the answer. Searching may take a while but, once again, looking at the colours and quickly deciding that some have no chance of matching will reduce the time you need to spend here. And as you’re at the games room, why not relax every now and again and actually play some of the games? Remember, the Mystery Pic is not a punishment!

You still haven’t found it? Looks like it’s an uncommon one this time! There’s still plenty more areas of the site to search through, though. There’s hundreds of Neopets backgrounds, and it could be any one of them. Collectable cards are often a favourite choice, as are Neogreetings. You’ll have to search through your own shop as well, looking at possible shopkeepers and shop blogs.

It’s still not been found? This one is really tough then! It’s time to check all neopets, and all petpets. Yes, it’s going to take you a while. Avatars are another possibility, but there’s plenty of lists out there that show you all of the avatar images, making searching for each and every one much easier.

Don’t give up if you still haven’t found it. There is still hope. Now, as there are so many images on Neopets, some can’t be grouped so easily. Therefore, it seems like the answer is either an item from the site or a random image found somewhere else on the site. Finding these will be hard, very hard, but if the image is harder to find, then less people are likely to find it, meaning a larger portion of the prize for you when you do find it! There’s no set way to find thesem though, but there are databases of Neopets items that you can search for and compare with the Mystery Pic.

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And that’s it, simple right? You’ve, hopefully, found the Mystery Picture, and won a fantastic prize for all of your effort! But if you haven’t, here’s a few hints for you:

1. If the Mystery Pic has only just been released in new features, take a trip to the Games Neoboard. There’s often a board up of people working together, hunting for the image. This will save you a lot of time, as you only have to search through one area of the site rather than all of those listed above.

2. Check, check and check again! Don’t dismiss things too quickly, and make sure you check all of the images in one grouping before moving onto another.

3. Look again at the two images, side by side, before you enter your final answer. You only have one chance, and you don’t want to waste it! Also, make sure your answer clearly says what the final image is. “Shop Header” is not specific enough, you need to say which shop the header is from.

Even with this guide, you may not be able to find the answer. Don’t despair, however; just try again with the next contest! With extra practice, you’ll only get better at spotting what is right and what is most definitely wrong! Good luck!!