How to play Popstar Online
Popstar Online is a life sim about making it in music and entertainment. You start with $5,000, a studio flat and nobody knowing your name. This guide walks you through your first hours, in the order things tend to happen.
1. Make your star
Press Play now on the front page and choose a stage name. The character creator opens straight away. You pick a face, hair, a top, a bottom, shoes and accessories, and you can set your height and build. Tap any part of the character to jump to its options, or press Shuffle for a random look and Undo if you don't like it. Nothing here is permanent: the Look button reopens the creator whenever you like, so don't spend long on it.
Your progress is saved in your browser as you play. If you want to carry on from a different phone or computer, sign in with Google or an email address from the account sheet, and your save is backed up so you can pick it up there.
2. Learn to get around
You arrive at Peach Records, the record label lobby. Tap the floor to walk there, and double-tap (or tap somewhere far away) to run. The pink rings on the floor are the exits. The Map button opens the whole city of Poppywood: tap a building's pin, pick a ride and you travel there. Your best car is how you arrive, and the bigger your name the bigger the crowd waiting outside.
New players get a short guided tour of the screen, and a First steps card that ticks itself off as you walk, earn, travel, say hi, buy something, go home and check your grade. If you skip the tour, the Help button can play it again.
3. Earn your first money with gigs
Gigs are the main way to earn. Each career is worked at its own place: singing at the Concert Arena, studio work at Starlight Studios, DJing and promoting at Velour, acting and modeling at the Backlot, label jobs at Peach Records and presenting at the Grand Hall. When you're at one of those places, its gigs appear as buttons in the place bar. One tap and the gig plays out in the room: your character runs to the stage or the mixing desk, picks up a mic or a guitar, and does the job.
Every rank has a quick gig and a long gig. Quick gigs pay less but come back sooner; long gigs pay several times more but rest for longer before you can do them again. Each gig costs energy. Energy tops out at 100 and comes back by itself, so a good rhythm is to do every gig you can at one place, then move on to the next career's place while the first ones rest.
Tip: you can do both gigs at your rank in every career back to back. Early on, the fastest money is to work the Stage, Studio and Nightlife ladders together instead of grinding one.
4. Get promoted and build your skills
Every career has six ranks. You move up once you have earned enough experience on that ladder and worked enough gigs at your current rank. Each career also runs on a skill (Vocals, Production, DJing, Acting, Modeling, Charisma or Business), and every gig you work teaches it a little. Higher ranks expect a higher skill level, so a skill that lags behind can hold back a promotion even when your experience is there.
Skill also decides how each gig goes. A gig can be a Flop, Solid, Great or a Standout. A Standout pays half as much again, gives double experience and a small boost to your fame. The careers guide has every rank, gig and payout.
5. Look after yourself
Your star has four needs: Health, Sleep, Hygiene and Bladder. They run down as game time passes. At home, the bed, kitchen, toilet and shower top them up. Ignore them and things go wrong: run out of sleep and you pass out and wake up at home hours later; run out of health and you spend half a day in hospital and come home with a bill. Low hygiene quietly makes people less likely to offer you work. See the needs guide for the details.
6. Get famous
Promotions, standout gigs, big arrivals, hit songs and films all add fame. Your fame decides your star grade, from unranked up through D, C, B and A to S, and the grade is shown on a star next to your name. Fame wears off over time, so a star who stops working slides back down. Tap your star in the corner of the screen to see what's keeping you famous and when each boost runs out. Read more in fame and star grades.
7. Meet people
The city is full of regulars and celebrities. Tap anyone to talk, take a photo together, send a message or a gift, or invite them over. Each real interaction moves you from stranger to acquainted, then friends, then close friends. Friends call with plans, bring work your way and can introduce you to bigger names. Read friends, dating and cliques before you go asking an S-grade star out on day one.
8. Spend it
Money buys furniture for your home, cars and bigger homes, from a $25,000 apartment to a $150M private island. Everything you own counts towards your net worth, which is what other players see on your profile. Bigger homes unlock star moves you can only do there, like studio sessions in the Hills mansion. The homes and cars guide lists every price.
9. Stay out of trouble (mostly)
Missing bookings, unpaid debts, cheating, partying too hard or driving too fast can all have consequences: fights, fines, lawsuits, arrest and court dates. The trouble and the law guide explains what sets each one off and how to get out of it.
10. Go abroad
Once Poppywood feels small, fly to Dubai, Tokyo, Mykonos, London or Paris from the map. Each city has venues and work of its own, and you'll need a hotel or a home there. See cities and travel.