A Veteran's Guide to Returning to Neopets

     On my quest for ultimate nostalgia I remembered Neopets and the way it consumed all my free time growing up, and boy do I have a lot more free time these days.

     Coming back to Neopets after years off (in my case 7) showed me while a lot of things look the same, things have certainly changed. So here is your guide on how to reap that sweet sweet nostalgia by returning to Neopets!

     1. Take a look at your Inventory/Safety Deposit Box

     It's been years since you've played who knows what kind of cool treasures you have stored in there? That random stamp you won from Lenny's Conundrum all those years back, maybe she's worth a lot now! That paintbrush you kept safe for a rainy day, maybe there's a new pet who looks very cute in that colour!

     2. Take full advantage of the Food Club

     Your account been sitting around getting old for the past few years? Well, good news that means you could probably make a good amount betting on the Food Club! With the maximum you're allowed to bet each round depending on your account age, you're in a great spot as a returning veteran!

     3. Hit that Games Room!

     SO many of your once favourite games are still available and completely unchanged (RIP KeyQuest). Now it's time to find out who's better at Meerca Chase, current you or younger you?

     4. Take a look at what avatars have released since you last played

     Maybe you were at a standstill on which avatars were attainable to you when you last played, but hey now there's a ton of new avatars for you to work towards! (I am looking at all the new Stamp avatars)

     5. Check your Stocks!

     The biggest part of playing the Stock Market is the waiting game, and you know what, however many years you've taken off from Neopets just made that waiting game a lot easier for you. Go ahead and see how your stocks are doing and hope you invested in the right ones all those years back. If you never invested nows a great time to start! Not only do you probably understand the market better now as an adult, but also it's a lot less risky than the real-life Stock Market.

     6. Stay up for those timed events

     Did you have a bedtime or curfew that made it hard to stay up for Count Von Roo's Deadly Dice as a kid? Well, chances are that won't be a problem now, so go ahead and play some dice with Count Von Roo! Or perhaps visit the Snowager at an hour that you possibly weren't able to in the past!

     7. Use your newfound budgeting skills to start saving up for something you really want

     As an adult you've definitely mastered the art of saving up and budgeting, at least better than childhood you, so use these skills to make a plan to realize your goal of getting whatever big fancy expensive item you want. Want to buy a Super Attack Pea? A Golden Shell? The entire set of laboratory map pieces? The options are limitless once you create a finance plan to help you get what you want!

     8. Check out the new wearables

     In the years you've been gone a whole bunch of new backgrounds, foregrounds, and wearables have been released! Take a look at all the snazzy new items you can adorn your pets with and get working on that new dreamie (or revamp and finish the dreamie you had before you stopped playing)

     9. Check out the NeoBoards or join a Guild

     You're definitely not the only veteran player returning to Neopets all of a sudden so why don't you head to the boards and get to talking and becoming friends with people in a similar situation, or better yet become friends with people in completely different situations and get to know about what brought them to Neopets! You can even join a guild to meet people with similar interests, hobbies, and goals as you and create your own perfect little Neopets community!

     10, Enter a contest/spotlight

     Chances are whatever skills you may have had as a child, whether it be art, writing, graphic design, etc. have probably improved with the years of practice and dedication you've given them and now's the time to show your talents to everyone in Neopia! Maybe all those years of sketching in your notebooks paid off and you're finally ready to enter the Beauty Contest. Or maybe all those years of being the funny friend is why you're definitely getting into the next Caption Contest! Maybe all those essays you wrote at school makes you the perfect candidate for the next issue of the Neopian Times (is this a self insert? perhaps). There are a ton of spotlights and contests here at Neopets where you can show off your skills, there's bound to be one that fits your talents!

     11. Check out the NC mall

     As an adult with hopefully some disposable income the NC mall is no longer off limits to you! Grab some NeoCash and check out the cute wearables you can buy, or if customization isn't your cup of tea check out all the different capsules and fortune cookies and see if any of those might make your new Neopets kick even more fun! (The faerie quest fortune cookie is a personal favourite of mine!)

     12. Remember why you played all those years back

     Really go in and relive your favourite memories on Neopets, this is all about you and what makes it fun for you. Whether it be because of playing games or collecting avatars, Neopets was once a big part of your life so whatever way you choose to spend your time here it'll be meaningful.