The views expressed by this post do not necessarily represent the views held by the Water Vikings, or its leadership.
FROSTBITE, Pjayo’s Pizzeria — The year is 2025. Five years ago, the COVID-19 Pandemic ground the world to a halt. But, in that silence, Club Penguin Armies thrived in ways never seen before or since. With many hitting 70 online regularly, with dozens of armies alive and well, it’s hard to believe just how dire things had been three years prior. In 2017, Disney’s Club Penguin would go offline, never to return. The brand image was in tatters, the userbase rapidly shrinking, and there were seemingly bots everywhere on the island. Amazingly, things were even rougher for those who operated the bots. Armies had been in a slow decline since the highs of 2013, both in size and culture, but would completely nosedive in 2015. Cheating became rampant, actual community size tumbled and once great armies were rapidly running out of steam. It’s entirely within reason to say that the 2015-2017 stretch was the single worst era in Club Penguin Army history, and that recovery would seem impossible.
Yet despite everything, 2020 would roll around, and would grant the community what seemed to be a second chance. This time, we can keep this little game of ours alive. There were problems, yes, but it seemed the community had grabbed onto a third golden age. Fast forward to 2022. Another case for the worst era in CPA history, where the amount of active armies seemed to dwindle to eight, wars were hardly fought, and if they were, it was a match to see who would blink and break the increasingly ludicrous amount of rules first. Tournaments barely functioned, with claims of collusion with the judges coming from all corners, sizes were what could be deemed a historical average, if not in a mild slump. This time, barring a second world ending pandemic, it seemed that the end was truly drawing near for the black sheep of Club Penguin.
The year is 2025. Club Penguin Armies seem as healthy as ever. A thriving media landscape, very healthy sizes, a dynamic army scene, with more than enough armies to fill out a top ten. Seemingly out of nowhere, armies have made a full recovery from what seemed like one of the lowest points in its history. Yes, it might finally be time to declare 2025 the fourth golden age, following in the footsteps of 2009, 2013, and 2020.
Or, that would be the case, if there wasn’t something missing. Something that is seemingly on the minds of every great thinker in this community, from every army, and from every rank within the media and judging wings. Arguably the single most important part of this game, the very backbone of its creation. Where the hell are all the wars?
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