Cartoon Orbit facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Cartoon Orbit

Cartoon Orbit's front page from 2000-2002
Type of site	Children's digital collectible card game
Available in	English
Owner	Turner Broadcasting System
Created by	Sam Register
Commercial	Yes
Registration	Closed
Launched	October 2000; 24 years ago (2000-10)
Current status	Closed

Cartoon Orbit was a fun online game for kids. It was made by Turner Online to help promote their TV shows and partners. Cartoon Orbit started in October 2000 as part of the Cartoon Network website.

The most exciting part of the game was collecting "cToons." These were like virtual trading cards. They often showed pictures from Cartoon Network shows. Sometimes, they were also ads. In October 2002, a popular strategy game called gToons was added.

Sadly, the game didn't get updated much after 2005. So, on October 16, 2006, Cartoon Network closed Cartoon Orbit. Players received a "Thank You" certificate.

What Could Players Do in Cartoon Orbit?

Players earned points to buy special stickers called cToons. They bought these from the game's store, called the cMart. You could also get cToons, gToons, and cRings in other ways. This included using special codes, joining events, trading with friends, or buying them in auctions.

cToons had many cool features. Some were just pictures. Others were animated or played sounds. Some cToons even had mini-games when you clicked them. For example, a Dexter's Laboratory cToon would count down to Albert Einstein's birthday!

Players also got their own special areas called cZones. You could decorate your cZone with your favorite cards. You could even change your cZone's background.

What Were the Main Collectibles?

There were three main types of collectibles in Cartoon Orbit: cToons, cRings, and gToons.

• cToons: These were the main items to collect. "cToon" was short for Cartoon, like "eMail" is short for Electronic Mail. Think of them as digital trading cards or stickers. You could display them on your cZone. Some cToons were plain, while others moved or made sounds. Some were part of special sets, like:
  • Golden cToons: These cToons were gold and often very rare.
  • Ad cToons: These were sponsored by advertisers. You usually got them with a code. Some disappeared after the promotion ended.
  • Code cToons: You could only get these by entering a special code. Codes were shown during Cartoon Network commercials or on partner websites.
  • Game cToons: When you clicked these on your cZone, a small flash game would open. Sometimes, winning the game gave you a prize code for another cToon.
  • Checklist cToons: Clicking these let you print a list of new cToons coming out that month. New checklists were made from November 2001 to June 2003.
  • Sticker cToons: These were like regular stickers, often with quotes from characters. Most sticker cToons came out in 2001.
  • Holiday cToons: These first appeared at Christmas in 2001 and became very popular. In 2002 and 2003, players could give inexpensive Holiday presents to others. After Christmas, these presents turned into real cToons.
  • Auction Only cToons: You could only buy these cToons from the Orbit Auctions.

• cRings: These were like webrings. They connected players who shared a common interest. Early on, clicking a cRing would take you to another player's cZone that had the same cRing.
  • Blue Back cRings: These were very rare cRings with a blue background.

• gToons: These were cards used to play the gToons game.
  • Slam gToons: A rare type of gToon with special powers in the game.

What Was the gToons Game?

The gToons logo.

gToons was Cartoon Orbit's own digital collectible card game. It launched on October 14, 2002. Over 250,000 players joined in the first month! More than 400,000 were playing after two months. gToons closed with Cartoon Orbit on October 16, 2006. There was talk that it might come back later as a separate game.

In December 2007, gToons did return as "Action Packs" for Transformers: Animated. A Ben 10: Alien Force version followed in April 2008. These new versions were only single-player. But their rules and design were almost the same as the original game.

How Did You Play gToons?

Players built decks of 12 cards each. The cards showed characters, places, and items from Cartoon Network shows. Each card had a color, a value, and sometimes a special effect. This effect could change the value of other cards.

A game of gToons usually lasted about three minutes. Two players used seven gToons at a time. The goal was to get the most points by the end of the game. Two colors (from the bottom card of each player's deck) were "goal colors." If both were "neutral" colors (black or silver), the player with the higher total points won. If one goal color was not neutral (like blue, red, yellow, green, or purple), the player with more cards of that color got a 15-point bonus. If neither goal color was neutral, a player could win by having more of each color than their opponent. Otherwise, the higher total value won. Five new sets of gToons were released between 2003 and 2006.

What Were the Different Areas in Cartoon Orbit?

• Challenge Zone: Here, players could challenge others to a game of gToons.
• cMart: This was the store where players bought cards. You could sort cards by show, character, price, or type. Most cToons sold out quickly!
• cZone: This was your personal space on the Cartoon Orbit site. You could decorate it with your cards, like a gallery or sticker book.
• cZone Directory: This helped you find other players' cZones. You could search by username or letter. There was also a "cZone Spotlight" that showed off cool cZones.
• Showcase cZone: This area showed new cToons and updates. It was also the main place for live trading.
• My Collection: Here, players could see all their cards. You could sort them by show or type. You could also hide cards from trading or even delete them.
• Auctions: This worked like a regular auction. Players could sell their cToons. The highest bidder got the cToon, and the seller received the points (minus a small fee). Auctions started in August 2002.
• My Favorites: You could add other players to a "Buddy List" here. This let you see if your friends were online. If they were, you could "follow" them to the part of the website they were visiting.
• Team Orbit: This was a group of 100 Cartoon Orbit users chosen to give ideas about the game. Team Orbit lasted only a few months in 2001. Fan sites later took over giving ideas.
• ToonFlash Newsletter: Cartoon Orbit sent this newsletter to users by email from time to time.