that Clash of Clans is a strategic action game that pits players against both artificial-intelligence characters and real-world opponents. The app’s license agreement requires all players to be at least 13; teens 13 to 17 are supposed to have a guardian agree to the terms, but it’s on the honor system. There are frequent battles with explosions and the cries of defeated soldiers, but there is no graphic violence. The game’s core component is its multiplayer mode, wherein players can attack the villages of other players (and defend their own), but they don’t communicate with each other directly when these attacks occur — though there is a global chat functionality when players are in their own villages. Fortifying a village and building an army cost money, and the game uses in-app purchases to help players buy in-game currency to upgrade quicker
Parent Reviews
- Unable to keep people from entering closed games
by MOMS WITH APPS
When my 5th grade daughter came home from school, mentioning that many boys in her class often talk about Clash of Clans, we decided to investigate why the app was so popular. Even though I’m hesitant about “addictive games“, I do feel it is important she has enough literacy to contribute to hot topics of conversation. So together, along with her younger sister, we discussed the pros and cons of video games, and brainstormed how we could incorporate Clash of Clans without disrupting our family’s priorities.
With our boundaries and expectations set, we sat together on the couch and downloaded the app. It’s been about three weeks since that day, and so far I have to say: WE LIKE IT!
Being a video-game-loving, ten-year-old son of mine brings with it a few privileges. For one thing, because dad is on the games-reviewer mailing list, you have ALL the latest games (some before release) and all the platforms to play them on. You also get to meet Bajo and Hex from Good Game and, not too long ago, got to go to the Halo 4 pre-release launch and play the game before any other kid in the country AND meet the main character, Master Chief, in person.
On the other hand, there’s very little that you can get away with. Is there any chance you can con dad into playing an age-inappropriate game? Buckley’s chance. Can you playCall of Duty because all of your friends are playing it? Hell no! And not just because I’m busy playing it myself.
But now Mr 10 and I are in a strange place.
We’ve been playing a seemingly-inoffensive “Real Time Strategy” game lately called, Clash of the Clans. It’s his game but when he’s not around I take over. The game has clans where the kids form teams and this brings with it clan chat and messages. One morning I turned on the iPad and saw this from someone in the same grade….
It’s the social media component of Clash — a private messaging board, essentially, where clan members can talk to one another — that presents a troublesome issue if you’re the parent of an 8-year-old like my son, Ichiro. I may be a negligent-enough parent to let my kid commandeer the iPad so he can murder little cartoon archers who sigh mournfully when they expire, but I wasn’t going to let him talk to strangers without supervision. And so it was decided that I would build a village and join the game, too.
Eventually, Ichi landed us in a clan called Loyalty, whose 40-odd members were scattered around the globe. Before dinner, I might donate a few battle-ready troops to a clan member in Australia who was just then going off to work, and the next morning some teenager in Abu Dhabi might do the same for me.