How to Play Neopets for Free Online!

With more and more people gaining access to the Internet daily it's become easier to find people to play games with. Whether you're into Scrabble or Go, Texas Hold'em Poker or Backgammon there's a variety of websites out there waiting for you to sign up and play with people from around the world. But one site allows you to not only play games but to enter a virtual world where your imaginary pet waits for you. Welcome to the world of Neopets!

Neopets is one of the hottest Internet sites right now for a variety of reasons, least of that is the ease with which you can slip into this virtual world and enjoy yourself at no cost at all. Let's take a fast tour and see if you or your family might want to come on over and stay for a bit with your new Neopet friends!

Your arrival point will be the home page where you can see the newest headlines or newsflashes about the going ons in this imaginary land. The newsflashes will highlight some of the newest additions to the site as well as alerting members to new games, new contests and of course new events happening in this wonderful world!

In Neopets you are allowed to create and own up to four imaginary pets. Far from the usual cat and dog, Neopets come in a variety of strange but lovable forms from Scorchios that resemble small dragons to Bruces that remind one of penguins to Kau, that look like… well, cows! You can create your own pet or adopt one that has been abandoned by his or her owner at the Adoption Agency. Most people prefer to create their own, however, so that they can model their new friend after their own likes and dislikes.

The World of Neopia is vast and allows you to do an amazing variety of things with your pets. By clicking on the "Explore" option on the left side of the screen you'll see the number of areas that are open to exploration by you and your Neopet, from dark dangerous woods to desert sands to even a space station! Each section opens up to allow you to play games distinctive to that area alone.

And are the games fun! From simple games that test your memory skills to intense poker to intellectual mindbenders there's games here for kids of all ages. Each game has a colored star indicating whether the game is Easy, Medium or Hard, allowing you to choose where to spend your time. You can also access the games by heading to the "Games" section on the left side of the page as well, revealing the three catagories - Puzzles, Action and Luck/Chance. A fourth category highlights the Game of the Day, for which you get double Neopoints.

And what are Neopoints? Well, Neopoints are the virtual money that makes Neopia go around - and you can earn them for free and spend them on a dizzying number of items!

Your Neopet needs to eat, so you'll have to purchase food for it at the "Shops", available through the button on the left side of the screen. But don't just stop there; you can pick up books for your new friend to read and toys for him or her to play with. In fact, there's literally thousands of stores for you to shop through with your newly won Neopoints!

The "official" shops in the Marketplace offer you items such as a Neohotel room for your pet, if you plan to be going away for a few days and want to give your friend a vacation. But as a Neopet owner you also have the option of opening up your own Neoshop and selling your own items to other Neopet owners! Of course it has to be something that others will want to buy and at a reasonable price, so you'll have to buy and sell with an eye on the buying public, but it's a great deal of fun when you're not playing games.

But it's not all about you, the owner. Your Neopet can also go into the Battledome and fight other Neopets, getting stronger with each battle and with equipment you can purchase in the Marketplace you can create a stronger, tougher Neopet! Special training centers placed strategically in Neopia allow you to train your Neopet in certain areas so that they have a better chance of winning in battle.

But if you want to just have a quiet, stay-at-home Neopet there's nothing wrong with buying books to read to your Neopet, or maybe even purchasing him or her their own pet - a Petpet! Yes, you can spend a few Neopoints and buy a Feepit or maybe a Weewoo to keep your Neopet company when you're not available to play.

The world of Neopia is so large that it's almost impossible to list all the activities you can become involved in, and all for free - but let's try!

You can not only play games and win Neopoints, but you can also battle other Neopets with your own. You can submit articles for the Neopian Times from short stories to artwork. You can join guilds and trade items back and forth to make your Neopet experience the most fun that it can be for you - and because there's so many options you can never have the same fun twice!

Build a Neohome for you and your Neopets; auction items off at the Auction for others to bid on, open up your own Neoshop or just have fun playing the free games - there's no limit as to how much fun you can have in Neopia!

But the fun doesn't end there! Even though it's free to have an account on the Neopets site there's plenty of merchandise to purchase if you wish to take your Neopet experience one step further out of the virtual world and into ours. T-shirts, plushies and notebooks are only a few of the many items available for sale for those wanting to take their Neopet experience to the next level. Two computer games are now on the market, "The Wand of Wishing" for the PSP or Playstation Portable and "The Darkest Faerie" for the Playstation 2 or PS2. Both offer hours of fun and enjoyment away from the Neopets website.

Many big companies sponsor games on the Neopet website, from McDonald's to big-budget movies seeking wider exposure to Cartoon Network shows wanting to expand their audience. All these games are child-friendly and free for the playing!

Registering a free account for Neopets takes only a few minutes and doesn't require a credit card. Bulletin boards are available to help new players and the site is rarely ever unaccessible.

Neopets is a great way for children and adults to enjoy free games and to explore a virtual world. Earning Neopoints allows you to actually get something back for your hard work, be it playing Minesweeper or Pyramids or Bumper Cars. And whether you're a whiz at Word Pyramid or at the Carnival Of Terror, it's a great way to spend some time online without having to break your pocketbook!

Why spend money on virtual pets that can break or disappear when the battery runs out when there's Neopets? Fun to play with and needing little maintenance, Neopets allow everyone to have fun and play games for free with the added attraction of having a great time in the virtual world of Neopia - and being able to buy and sell to boot! Why not drop on by and see if Neopets is the right place for you to spend a little time… for free!