Staying Calm Amid Game Avatar Chaos

Discover your strengths

If you're just starting out, you might feel a little overwhelmed by the long list of colorful flashing squares waiting to be unlocked. Sampling a little of everything from Neopets' gigantic game library will tell you which of the many game avatars might be easier for you to obtain. My strength, for instance, is action games. I have a much easier time racking up the points needed for the Assignment 53 avatar than I do feeding Meepits in Meepit Juice Break. For a lot of other people, though, the opposite is true: they'd much rather connect the juice pipes than jump through an Alien Aisha war zone. Taking a little time to sit down and play a handful of avatar games for fun will help you figure out which ones you're already good at, and that will help you decide which avatars to go for first. It will also narrow down which ones will test your resolve and push you to your gaming limits.

Learn about the game

I don't mean just reading the instructions (although that will definitely help). Most of the websites in the Fan Site Directory have well-written guides dedicated to each and every game that could ever give you trouble. These should be any avatar collector's first stop on their quest. All sorts of tips, strategies, walkthroughs and TNT-approved cheat codes await those willing to spend an hour or two of preparation, and the tricks I learned in these guides were the difference between failure and success. They won't guarantee that you'll get your avatar right then and there, but knowing what you're walking into will help you see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Get into the zone

Half the battle of any game avatar is concentration, so it helps to create an environment that will allow you to focus on nothing but the game in front of you. Those of us a little farther along on our game avatar collection know that this can be similar to tackling a homework assignment. Think about how you like to sit while churning out those difficult math problems. Do you like to be in a stiff chair that will straighten out your back, or do you prefer to fluff up some pillows and lay down on your bed? Do you need natural light coming in through the window or just the warm glow of one lamp in your room? If you need any music to get you into the gaming groove, put it on, or play in silence if that's what helps you zero in on Sutek's Tomb combos. Do whatever you have to do to get pumped and ready to face your Flash-based challenges.

Play another game to warm up or cool off

If you're feeling like you're the worst Ultimate Bullseye player in the world and you can't possibly face it, do yourself a favor and play something you know you're good at. Having some stress-free game time can help you sharpen your reflexes and build your confidence. One of my go-to games is Turmac Roll: it's simple, has one goal (getting berries) and doesn't have an avatar attached to it. I can play it for as long as I want or as little as I want, and there's no pressure of having to reach a certain score looming over my head. Keeping yourself in good spirits is important; these are games, after all, and they should be fun as opposed to being chores.

Take a break (or two, or three)

You've been playing for hours and you just can't take another second of staring at dubloons in the ocean, you refuse to sort any more colors of plushie dye and you've had it with feeding Skeiths. This is the time to go outside and take a walk, talk to a friend, read a comic book, punch a punching bag, eat some tasty snacks. Treat yourself to something that will calm your nerves and bring you back down to Neopia Central. If you don't feel like getting up, you can always take a trip to the Neoboards; odds are there's at least one thread of people struggling with avatar games, and they may be the very same games plaguing you! Talking to other users who understand your plight can help reduce your anxiety and let you know that you aren't alone. It may also provide you with extra tips you can use to further increase your scores.

All play time is practice

Here's the best news of all: anytime you play a game, you're practicing it, which means you're already getting better! Remember the tricks you learned in the guides you read, and don't beat yourself up if you're seconds away from an avatar and lose it all. If you can get that close, then that means you possess the skills to reach your goal! Keep refining those skills by taking a deep breath and continuing to play. Even if you still don't get what you came for, you'll be walking away better at the game than you were when you started. Little steps make a big difference, and almost every high scoring player started at the bottom of the board.

Be patient

One of the avatars that really made me feel like I was clawing my way up a mountain was Destruct-o-Match. It took me at least five years to get that one, but not every day of those five years were spent playing the game. I'd get so frustrated that I wouldn't touch it again for months at a time, and that was okay, because exhausting myself wasn't going to help me get better. The point is that I always came back to it, again and again, until the stars and Multiplier Boulders aligned and I managed to finally get it. It may take you many, many, many attempts to get the avatar you want, but the worst thing you can do is give up completely. Try it again another day, or another week, or another month, it doesn't matter when. Just try it again! You may be pleasantly surprised by the places a little patience will take you, and those places might be right next to the avatars you thought you'd never get.

Game avatars can be tricky beasts, with a lot of them coming down to sheer willpower and luck, but none of them are impossible. If they were, how could they have been released in the first place?! Just remember to take it easy on yourself and keep at it, and then even the most elusive of game avatars will one day be yours.