Placing a Golem in the pocket is a contradictory strategy toward your admission to a college. It is not conventional for the average Andover student, amid all of our pressing commitments as scholars and athletes, to spend their valuable time in a digital arena instead of in more constructive pursuits. We are individuals taught how to use time efficiently, stay dedicated to growth, and remain disciplined. So what makes this game so appealing that we go out of our way to carve out time for it?
Clash Royale is a global phenomenon that should not be analyzed merely at its surface value as a mobile game. This battleground simulation has boomed in popularity since the fall of this year, its player count quadrupling in number from 10 million last November to 40 million this September. Students from every corner of the world are investing their valuable time and effort chasing validation from the number of trophies on their screen. This worldwide sensation has also taken root in our own microcosm of the global community here at Andover. Throughout campus, our peers can be seen pursuing digital rewards during lunch, on the way to a sports match, or in between their commitments. Of course, the app has experienced virality in the past as well: in 2016, the game reached its first peak, achieving a seemingly immovable monopoly over the industry. But it fell from glory almost as quickly as it had climbed to the top. The game’s structure had several flaws, from its design philosophy of forcing players to wait real hours to unlock rewards to a lack of communication with its players. Ultimately, its developers failed to keep up with the demands of their users. The app’s resurgence as a giant in the mobile game industry is a byproduct of a redesign in the game’s guiding principles.
The prominence of this competitive medium amongst students at Andover can first be attributed to its reflection of our school’s culture. As determined scholars, students tend to adopt a goal-oriented mentality toward all of their endeavors. Clash Royale acts as an enjoyable, stress-free medium through which we can focus our ambition to foster a sense of accomplishment within ourselves. The game mirrors our commitment to progress and climbing a perceived ladder of achievements. We are drawn toward the competition, each match being a condensed version of our larger pursuits. Counting elixir, innovating strategies, and assembling decks, we are comforted by an illusory sense of productivity. It reflects our school’s culture, one that more forgivingly tolerates shortcomings and instills validation. In a way, it serves as a forgiving alternative to our taxing routines, offering room for improvement while embodying the Andover spirit.
Additionally, Clash Royale is a source of stimulation. Players are supplied with immediate, tangible results to their efforts after each match in the form of trophies. They have an infinite number of opportunities to experiment with strategies, given the low-stakes nature of the game, allowing students to guarantee themselves quantifiable affirmation of their dedication. Andover students may often feel that they lack sources of external approval to ground their sense of self-worth. In the absence of consistent, frequent, and detailed feedback, we are left vulnerable to self-deprecation and self-doubt in our abilities as students. Each arena is not simply an escape from this reality, but an alternative avenue for self-recognition that is both instantaneous and entails minimal risk.
Perhaps the most obvious reason that Clash Royale once again reigns over the teenage demographic is that it functions as a common ground amongst us. It is a rare occurrence to see the vast majority of our generation unified through a single point of convergence: our shared interest in Clash Royale. As a Junior, one of my main strategies to connect with my peers was to utilize the popularity of the game as a point of conversation. Even in Korea, this strategy proved valid as I bonded with new friends over our shared pursuit of trophies. Andover’s transnational community contributes to the app’s success as a platform for socialization that transcends cultural differences.
More than a leisurely medium through which teenagers can burn time, Clash Royale has evolved into a cultural sensation among high school students throughout the world. To Andover students, the app fulfills their innate desires for validation while detaching them from strenuous realities. So why do we clash? We clash because sharing battles in the arena brings us closer together. We clash because the game of life has rules too vague and victories too slow. We clash because we need proof that pure effort is still enough.
