Key Quest, a Multi-player Game on Neopets

Key Quest is a multi-player board game on the Neopets website. The object of the game is moving your token around the board to collect the required number of keys to win virtual prizes and neopoints. The game may be played by two to four players and can be played with a requirement of two to five keys collected to win the game. There are also three main board layouts at this time for variety. Each player rolls a virtual dice to set their starting position and move around the board. The squares on the board award the player with keys, neopoints, "power ups", mini-games and other events, good or bad. The various "power ups' can be used to help yourself or annoy your opponents, depending on how they are played.

The game can be played by all ages and can be fun as just a simple board type game or a more in depth "chess type" game. Strategies can be very important in game results. Planning ahead or trying to out-think your opponents can make or break the game for you. The more times you play the better your understanding of the various "power ups" and random events that can occur. Some experience at the mini-games is also beneficial as the mini-games played during the course of the main game can also award keys and "power ups".

Unfortunate drawbacks:

Since this is an on-line multi-player game the speed of your computer and internet connection can be important in the mini-games. I play on an older, slower computer with a medium internet speed. Many times another player will have won the mini-game before my computer has completed loading it. This in itself is not the only way to win or lose as luck in dice rolling and strategy skills can overcome losses at mini-games.

The biggest problem with the mini-games and some other events is with glitches in the system. About half of the time I have found that my browser will disconnect and I will be knocked out of the game. Even worse is that most of the time this happens my entire computer will lock up and it will take several minutes for me to be able to reconnect to the internet or get my system to do most anything. Hopefully this is something that Neopets will eventually fix in their programming.

Cheaters:

Yes, unfortunately it is possible to cheat at this game which makes it rather unpleasant for the other players. I will not go into great detail as I do not wish to give cheaters any new ideas but some of the reported or noticed cheats are:

Skipping a turn after having a negative event played to avoid the negative effects. This is considered cheating by Neopets.

Purposely quitting the game right before another player wins. This can be harder to determine as glitches in the game can cause the quit or disconnect. Not an enjoyable experience or worth the quitters time as all players in the game do receive neopoints and virtual prizes at the end.

One person playing on two accounts or two people playing as a team. I have noticed this more frequently now. It becomes rather obvious in a three or four player game. If player number 1 is in a good winning position and players 2 and 3 both have less collected keys but player 2 uses all of their negative "power ups" on player 3 it gives you cause to wonder. Player 2 is obviously not trying to win and seems to be trying to be sure player 1 does.

Keys Quest is still a fun game even with these drawbacks. I enjoy the strategy aspect of the game but do wish there were less glitches.