Surviving April Fools Day - Tricks of the Trade

Oh, April Fool’s Day — the classic time of the year where mischief is in the air. Have you ever been pranked by one of your friends? Left with a black ink circle around your eye? Shocked by a hand (or paw!) buzzer? Or been a victim of Bug Eye McGee? With April Fool’s Day having just passed by, you don’t have to fret next year because here is a collection of ideas and suggestions to keep you ahead of the game next time around.

Books to Help You Prepare

First off, you should always equip yourself with advice from experts in the field. After all, knowledge is power! The many books available in Neopia make a great starting point in becoming a master jokester. Shocking Pranks, JubJub Jokes, and Quiggle Joke Book are some basic must-reads this season. Other pricier (but still good!) solutions include books like Practical Jokes, Court Jester Jokes, and Situational Gravity Pranks. Of course, none of those books could ever compare to the all-mighty Bagatelle Joke Book — an exclusive item only attainable through the game Bagatelle in the Deserted Fairground.

Classic Pranks

Stuck on ideas to use on your friends? If even reading books all about jokes and pranks doesn’t help, then maybe this will. Provided for you is a list of some timeless tricks that you may try.

- Use a Hand Buzzer Gag to shock your friends when you shake hands (or paws!).

- Hide Fake Barf in your friend’s Neohome.

- Give your friends Fake Gum to eat turn their tongues blue.

- Shake hands with your friends using Fake Hand and make it seem like your hand fell off.

- Wear a Fake Nail over your head to make it seem like there’s a real nail through your head.

...And last but not least, you could always try simply scaring your friends with a loud “Boo!” and sneak up on them from behind!

Learn from the Experts

While reading books and learning pranks will help you to understand the concepts and complex theories to the art of pranking, they unfortunately do not offer the benefits of actual hands-on experience. Observing some of these pranksters and their respective complicated techniques will give you a better understanding of this fine art.

Here are two exemplars of good specialists in this field:

The Pant Devil — He is notoriously famous for his evil acts, which include spooking the life out of innocent, unsuspecting strangers to stealing from them. As you can see in Mission 1 of Defenders of Neopia (Series 1), the Pant Devil cleverly sneaks up on Ginny the Acara while in the woods. He then proceeds to scare her at the right time and takes off with her red bicycle.

Mr. Chuckles — Who better to use as an example than a clown? He can be seen throwing pies into the faces of poor and unfortunate civilians in the comic of Mission 1 of Defenders of Neopia (Series 2). Note how he manages to strategically aim the pies while spinning in a dizzying tornado. His spinning technique confuses his soon-to-be victims and keeps their attention until their faces are splattered with slimy custard.

Many other Neopians are good role models to follow for studying their pranking styles like the Ghost Lupe, the Chia Clown, or the Blumaroo Court Jester. You might even have a friend who’s a pro prankster!

Look the Part

You can’t expect anyone to believe that you’re a real joker unless if you actually look like one. Learning the techniques is simply half of the process of becoming one. Now it’s time for you to dress like a real prankster.

For Blumaroos, there is a species-specific clothing set that is available. The items are: Blumaroo Jester Bow Hat, Blumaroo Jester Dress (for the ladies), Blumaroo Jester Hat, Blumaroo Jester Mock Sceptre, Blumaroo Jester Sandals, Blumaroo Jester Shirt, Blumaroo Jester Shoes, and Blumaroo Jester Trousers.

If you’re looking to shop for a Ruki, here is also a jester-themed species-specific clothing set available: Ruki Jester Gloves, Ruki Jester Wand, Ruki Jester Trousers, Ruki Jester Jacket, and Ruki Jester Hat.

Kacheeks can dress up as a clown with the following clothing set: Clown Kacheek Shirt, Clown Kacheek Shoes, Clown Kacheek Trousers, and Clown Kacheek Wig.

For Scorchios, you can wear this clown set: Clown Scorchio Shirt, Clown Scorchio Shoes, Clown Scorchio Trousers, and Clown Scorchio Wig and Facepaint.

Currently there is no official clothing set for pranksters to wear if you’re looking for a Neopoint clothing set that can be worn on different species. Despite this, we’re come up with many items that will work well to create a nice joker theme. The items are: Vintage Roo Island Altador Cup Jersey, Pant Devil Pants, Hot Dog Mascot With Mustard, Snow Wurm Socks, Squid Scarf, Novelty Glasses, Carnival of Terror Clown Hand Puppet, Tiny Umbrella, Paint Splatter and Slorg Hat. Because there is no official set, the key is to create a look that is as silly as possible.

The items listed above are all available for purchase in Neopoints at the Unis Clothing Shop or from other players. They all give a very good first impression for an aspiring master prankster, but you should first check the items before purchasing since not all of them can be worn at the same time.

Other Ways to Show Your Inner Prankster

There are infinitely many other things you can do to master being a jokester. Have a Halloween Gallion as a petpet, for example. Or you could send a Meridell Cheer NeoGreeting! You can also keep an April Fool’s Day gallery, complete with all books related to pranking, novelty items, and wearable clothing. If you ever happen to get bored of pranking for whatever reasons, you can always pass on your experience to young hopeful prankster so that this sacred art will never be lost and will survive many more generations.

In the end, we hope that this comprehensive guide to April Fool’s Day will benefit your goals of finally pranking someone else and not be the person pranked.