Tip: You can print out anything on this site that you want to. I've found that it's sometimes faster to find a physical piece of paper that I've left in a notebook by my computer than hunt down a page on a website.
General advice for all Games:
Write down your username and password so that you don't forget them! I usually write down the site's address, my username, and my password on a slip of paper and put it in a safe place. This "safe place" could be your diary, a special notebook, or inside a book about the type of animal you're raising.
Start with a small number of animals. In a game like Showdog.com or Horseland, it's tempting to acquire every pet you've ever dreamed of owning. But it's much better to start small and only take on animals that you have the in-game resources to care for and improve. Study the help files for each game to apply this strategy; how animals gain points and how breeding works will be large factors.
Since most games let the owners of male animals offer them as studs, my strategy is usually to start with a female of my favorite breed and improve her as much as possible --- then breed her to the top male in the game. By the second or third generation, my animals are able to compete with people who've been in the game a long time.
Patience, patience, patience! Time is a huge component in most online games. There are things that will help you if done every day, and there are often things that can only be done a limited number of times a day or week. If you stick with it, you will always be able to catch up with the "big dogs" in the game a lot faster than you imagine!
If you've exhausted all of the content on a site for the day, seek out human interaction on the message boards, or go do something else in the real world so that you're sure you'll have time to visit the site the next day. Or, if you're as crazy as I am, keep joining sites until all your time is filled. ;)
It may seem tempting to give your username and password to someone so that they can take care of your animals while you're away from the computer for several days, but it's not a good idea! This is the most widespread way of stealing account information, and your new friend may just want to take your pets, items, or money.
It's only fake money. There is no reason to accumulate money just for the sake of having it, especially if it isn't even real, so spend it on your animals! It is pretty easy to get more money in most online games by either playing games or waiting for "payday" (or, on Neopets, visiting advertisers... but that's just low!).
Early to bed and early to rise makes a player healthy, wealthy, and wise! - Because of server speed, you can accomplish much more early in the morning (when few people are on) than you can late at night (when a huge number of people may be online). There are usually additional advantages on games where some resources are scarce --- you won't be competing with other players as much when fewer people are online. So go to bed and set your alarm clock a little earlier. Coffee and computers go great together! And trust me, it will make your parents happy!
Use a calendar! There are a lot of dates to keep track of, especially if you play more than one game. How long is my virtual cow entered in shows? When is that litter due? When does my dog retire? Devote a calendar just to your artificial life pets! (Trust me, your family will laugh at you if you start writing these things on your main calendar.) There are many places on the internet that will let you print out a calendar page for the current month. Just search Google for "printable calendar." I especially like http://www.printablecalendar.ca/ !
Multiple Accounts
Some online games let the same player open multiple accounts. Be sure to check the site's Terms of Service before you open another account. Many sites have restrictions on how many accounts you can open and whether you can transfer things between them. (These are listed in each game's profile on this site.)
If it's allowed, serious players in a game almost always have multiple accounts. Just be sure that you have the time to manage all of them --- accounts that aren't logged into often are usually deleted! Also, don't just duplicate your first account; try a different breed or career so that you can experience a different aspect of the game.
Caution: Some games limit how many accounts a single player can have by checking IP numbers or email accounts. If you have a family member who also wants an account, talk with them and the site's webmaster to make sure that you won't appear to be violating the rules. (This especially applies if you use the same computer and have an "always-on" Internet connection.)
Scams and Hackers
There is one rule that will protect you from almost everything out there:
Never give your password to anyone!
It may be someone who says that they will watch your account while you're on vacation... it may be a website that promises to give you something like an object... it may even be an email that claims to be from a site administrator... but if someone asks for your name and password, they are probably trying to steal your account.
- Site administrators will NEVER need to ask for your password, especially over in-game messages or in a chat room. The person who is really running the site will be able to look it up your password in their database (this is how they can tell you your password if you lose it) and does not need the password to make changes to an account.
- Giving someone your password so that they can share, borrow, or babysit your account should only be done if they are really, really trusted. Be very wary if you do not know this person from anywhere outside of the game, or if they approach you instead of the other way around.
- Never enter your name and password on a site that is not the official game site! This site is either manipulating your account using computer scripts (considered cheating on most sites) or it is collecting names and passwords for a hacker. If an offer for free money or items is legitamite, it will be promoted on the official site.
And as on any site that you log into, be sure to log out if you are on a computer that other people use or have access to. If you don't, the next person who logs in might be able to access your account. Make sure that you have software installed to protect you from viruses and spyware; some of these can moniter keystrokes that would give them your account information (although serious hackers are usually interested in ruining your life in other ways).
Be password-smart!
Use letters and numbers in your password, and don't use a word that can be found in the dictionary. This will make it much harder for software to crack it.
Change your passwords every once in a while, especially if you are afraid that you gave your password to someone who shouldn't have it!
Be extremely suspicious of any buying, selling, trading or gift-giving that is taking place outside of the official way that the game does these things. Moderators will not have any details about the deal that you made and will not be able to restore things to you if you are cheated.
If you are new to a site, be sure to look for scam warnings while you are browsing around. Big sites like Horseland and Neopets will usually post warnings if they are aware of someone using a particular strategy to steal or hack accounts.
Pictures
Many games let you choose a picture for your animal. Check the help files on each site to see if this is possible and how you do it. There are two main points to keep in mind:
Make sure that you have permission to use the picture that you choose! Copyright law protects photographs and artwork as soon as they are created. You cannot just search the Internet for a picture to use for your animal or to use in an image collage for your page.
- Clip art is artwork that you can use for free or for a small fee. The name comes from big books of pictures that could be reproduced --- before computers, newspapers and magazines had to "clip" them out. Just search Google for "free clip art" and whatever animal you need. As an example, here's a search for dog clip art.
- If you want to use a photograph that you find, contact the site owner and ask for their permission. Real animal breeders are usually glad to encourage anyone who is interested in their animals. Just be sure to ask politely and link back to their site if they say yes!
- You can sometimes find an artist on a site to draw a picture for you to use in exchange for in-game money or items.
- Some images are so old that the copyright on them has expired! Just remember that the reproduction of a piece of artwork may be copyrighted, especially if it is a famous piece of artwork.
Make sure that you have a place to put it! You need a server that allows "direct linking" of images. This means that you upload the picture to your account on a server, and it will be willing to show just the picture to any other computer. It is work for that server every time that it has to send out that image, so you should not link to an image on someone else's server; you are stealing resourses that they are probably paying for.
Many free servers do not allow direct linking because if you just look at a picture instead of a webpage you do not see their advertising, and the income from that is paying to run the server. You should look for a free image hosting service. But first, check with the company that you are paying for your Internet connection! You probably already have some space on their servers that you are paying for as part of your account. Contact their tech support and/or your parents to find out how to upload a picture and find out its address.
Congratulations! If you read this far then I am sure that you are going to be a wonderful player in whatever website game you join! :)