What has some enthralled, some perplexed, and every color under the sun (and a few more)?

Video games.

To me, about as difficult as making a sandwich. Take items A and B, use them with item C, done. peanut butter(A) and jelly(B) on the bread(C); steal the ring(A), plant the ring(B) on Brand-Shei(C). However, today I will talk about a different game than Skyrim - Clash of Clans. For those who have read my previous entries, these names might sound familiar. If not, I advise you to go and read the entry here before continuing with this one.

Now, disclaimer. It will seem like I'm writing this because I needed SOMETHING to write about, and I couldn't come up with anything. That's partially true. I had an awesome topic to write about, and when I went to do some research on it, I determined it would take more time than I had today. At the end, I will explain how this game (and games like it) can significantly help a developing mind.

So, what is Clash of Clans? It's an online multiplayer strategy game. But the only time you ever see proof of another player is when you are in a chat. Starting off, after the tutorial, you've got a Town Hall, one each of Gold Mine, Gold Storage, Elixir Collector, and Elixir Storage, a Barracks, an Army Camp, and that's it.

Skipping ahead in time, say you've maxed out your level 6 Town Hall, and just completed the upgrade to level 7. That means, you upgraded every building and wall, and researched everything available, for Town Hall level 6 and then did the level 7 upgrade. Now, you get to max out your base...for the 7th time of the 11 times currently possible.

Here are the upgrades, time, and cost for each building.

Key: d=day(s), h=hour(s), m=minute(s).

• 168,000 elixir - Gold Mine Level 11 - 4d - x6
• 168,000 gold - Elixir Collector Level 11 - 4d - x6
• 500,000 elixir - Gold Storage Level 11 - 2d - x2
• 500,000 gold - Elixir Storage Level 11 - 2d - x2
• 600,000 elixir - Dark Elixir Storage Level 1(Build the Storage) - 1d - x1
• 1,200,000 elixir - Dark Elixir Storage Level 2 - 2d - x1
• 1,038,700 elixir to build and upgrade new barracks - 4d 10h 16m x1
• 1,500,000 elixir - Barracks Level 9 - 4d - x4
• 750,000 elixir - Dark Barracks Level 1 (Build) - 3d - x1
• 1,250,000 elixir - Dark Barracks Level 2 - 5d - x1
• 500,000 elixir - Lab Level 5 - 2d - x1
• 800,000 elixir - Spell Factory Level 3 - 4d - x1
• A total of 742,500 gold to build and upgrade the 2 new cannons to match the others. This takes 1 day, 21 hours, and 1 minute - each. 
• 400,000 gold - Cannon Level 8 - 2d - x5
• 648,000 gold to upgrade the new Archer Tower to match the rest. This takes a total of 89 1/2 hours - just under three days
• 720,000 gold - Archer Tower Level 8 - 3d - x4
• A grand total of 6,060,000 gold to build and upgrade the 50 newly unlocked wall segments to match the rest of the walls at level 6. No time requirement
• 200,000 gold - Wall Level 7 - Instant - x175
• 1,112,750 elixir - build and upgrade Army Camps to match the rest - 4d 12h 5m x1
• 560,000 gold to build and upgrade new Mortar to match the other two
• 800,000 gold - Mortar Level 5 - 4d - x3
• 11,400 gold to build and upgrade two new Bombs - 2h 15m
• 100,000 gold - Bomb Level 4 - 8h - x6
• 1,280,000 gold - Wizard Tower Level 4 - 3d - x2
• 1,000,000 gold - Build Hidden Tesla - 2d - x2
• 1,250,000 gold - Upgrade to Level 2 - 4d - x2
• 1,500,000 gold - Upgrade to Level 3 - 6d - x2
• 922,500 - Build and Upgrade new Air Defense to match old - 9d 5h - x1
• 1,080,000 - Air Defense Level 5 - 6d - x2
  
  
  
• Within the lab, Upgrade
• Level 4 Barbarians - 500,000 elixir - 3d
• Level 4 Archers - 750,000 elixir - 3d
• Level 4 Goblins - 750,000 elixir - 3d
• Level 4 Giants - 750,000 elixir - 3d
• Level 4 Wall Breakers - 750,000 elixir - 3d
• Level 4 Ballons - 1,350,000 elixir - 3d
• Level 4 Wizards - 1,350,000 elixir - 3d
• Level 2 Healer - 750,000 elixir - 3d
• Level 2 Dragon - 2,000,000 elixir - 7d
• Level 4 Healing Spell - 1,200,000 elixir - 3d
• Levels 2-4 Rage Spell - 3,150,000 elixir - 10d
• Levels 2 Minion - 10,000 Dark Elixir - 5d 
• Levels 2 Hog Rider - 20,000 Dark Elixir - 8d
  
• After everything else, 2,000,000 gold to upgrade to Town Hall level 8

*Also unlocked at Town Hall 7 is the Barbarian King, which has a cumulative cost of 75,000 Dark Elixir and 5d to train (max of level 5 with a Level 5 Town Hall)

 

That would be a total of 365,746,300 gold, 29,489,450 elixir, and 30,000 dark elixir. Time wise, I cannot say, because there can be multiple upgrades occurring simultaneously (with the exception of lab research). You start with 2 builders, but can have up to 5. Therefor, the time to max out varies.

Note: At Town Hall Level 7, when maxed out you can store up to 4,001,000 each of gold and elixir, and 20,000 Dark Elixir.

 
 Doesn't seem so simple now, eh?

 

But, there are lessons in this game. People Skills, because you must cooperate with up to 49 other players within your clan (and more if you have a family of clans). Resource Management, from having to make sure you have the funds to start the next upgrade. Time Management, because there is an optimal range of breaks to take, between attacks. Strategy, with attacking other bases. Organization Skills, because a base should be as secure as possible. Just to make that a little harder, different buildings take different space, and defensive buildings have a set range (Mortars also have a blind spot). Oh, and Patience, because there are stagnant times where all builders are busy ad all you can do is raid other players.

 

So, this entry has two points. One, to illustrate that video games are really not that bad, despite getting a bad rap for encouraging violence. After all, Harvest Moon didn't make me a farmer, so why should playing a game where 'I' kill people make me more likely to murder someone? I digress - I'll save that for another day. The second point of this entry is to show that these games are much more complex than they get credit for. I've not said anything about the different kinds of attacks, defenses, and penalties/bonuses from raids.