Trouble at the National Neopian

Introduction

Do you ever wonder why the National Neopian has never reported a robbery or a theft? That's because of you, yes you, the cashier up front who also doubles as the security guard.

Controls & Instructions

There are six doors where the customers, and the thieves, can enter in order to go inside the bank. Each door, however, has a security system connected to it which is accessible by your keyboard.

The six keys are S, D, F, J, K, L and are home keys, making them relatively easy to remember. The J and the F keys have bumps on them anyway, so you can find them even without looking at your keyboard.

Customers will make a deposit and the thieves will try to get their money from you. Thwart them by pressing the key connected to the door they're entering (left-most door is connected to the S key and so on).

If the thieves are successful, however, they'll be able to get half of the deposited and take one of your three lives in the process.

Not to worry though. Every once in a while, look at the upper portion of the game's screen and see if the amount of onhand Neopoints is equivalent to 100NP or more. If that is the case, press the spacebar to turn the money into a bar of gold which the thieves can't steal.

Tips & Strategy

This game needs total and complete concentration, that cannot be stressed enough. That is key in order to getting a good score to send for Neopoints, concentration.

It's easy to memorize the six keys for the game so train yourself to be able to press the correct key on impulse when you see a thief in the doorway. The few nanoseconds saved from looking up at the screen and then to your keyboard will save you more times than you think.

Do not confuse the customers and the thieves, which can happen as the levels grow higher and they come and go even faster. This will cost you a life and ten Neopoints if you jail a paying customer.

Here's a description of the four thieves who will enter the bank and try to steal the Neopoints which the customers have deposited.

THE THIEVES:

• Meerca Brothers - Heermeedjet and Merouladen also make an appearance in this game, stealing like they always do. Heermeedjet is the one with the goggles and Meerouladen is the one with the sock cap.
• Scorchio - A Red Scorchio will try to steal from the bank, wearing a Zorro-like mask and a black-and-white horizontal striped shirt.
• Usul - An Usul wearing a green suit and having blue eyes will try to steal from the bank as well. He's pretty hard not to miss.
• Techo - A Red Techo wearing a dark gray sweater and dark gray sweats will also try to steal from the bank. This is the mystery criminal talked about in the game's page.

Sometimes, if you're really lucky, you will find The Phantom Orange Shirt Guy (TPOSG, or Olliver) posing as a customer. Make sure you watch out for him, as he will reward you with 25 NPs! (Thanks, Jenn!)

Conclusion

This is a fairly easy game to play. With enough concentration and just a few minutes of your time, you can earn about 400NP on average, even if you're not a good player! Too bad there's no avatar to make this game even more fun to play.