The New Rise of Old Games

Mobile games come and go with the popularity trends. Clash Royale, Candy Crush, and Subway Surfers, among many others, have dominated high schools since mobile phones have existed. Every couple of months, a new game rises to claim the crown. Right now, Pokémon GO and chess are shining in the spotlight. Glancing around the classroom at any time, it’s almost a guarantee that you’ll see somebody passing their time playing these games. None of these games are new, yet, at B-CC, they are seeing the popularity of their glory days.

Pokémon GO

Pokémon GO peaked in 2016 with over 200 million active daily users. Since then, it’s seen its popularity plummet, but that doesn’t stop it from creating fierce rivalries within the B-CC community. In recent months, it has returned and regained popularity, albeit nowhere near its peak. Surrounding the school, there are two Pokémon “gyms,” or places where users can battle it out with other users for control. Pokémon has three teams that users pick from, red, blue, and yellow, and players can team up with other members of their team in order to exert their control over the gym. B-CC senior and Pokémon GO enthusiast Alec Rubin notes, “There is definitely some [animosity] between the three teams…It’s difficult for any team to hold a gym for more than a few school periods because people are constantly battling in it.” Fellow Pokémon GO playing B-CC senior Graham LeBlanc adds, “Despite the constant competition [in the gyms], we’ve been able to build a strong community at B-CC and that’s what I love the most about the game.”

Chess.com

Chess.com has been popular for a long time, but its recent explosion back into the spotlight is larger than it’s ever seen before. Chess.com has a rating system where a player’s skill is given a number, with a higher number equating to a higher skill level, and it gets adjusted up or down after every match depending on if you won or lost. Junior Seth Weaver says, “I think the ELO [rating] is what makes it so addicting. Most of the time when I’m playing chess in school, it’s because I’m trying to get my rating up. Whenever I see it drop, it makes me wanna play as much as I can to get it back.” This explosion in chess is not just seen at B-CC, as Chess.com, the most popular chess website, has grown massively, increasing from 7 to 10 million users in just the start of 2023.

Clash Royale

Clash Royale has been a classic mobile game ever since it came out, never really fading out of the spotlight since. The game has many unique and exciting features, including short matches, a robust social system that allows friends to play with and against each other, form clans, and trade in-game goods. Another interesting part of the game is the card system, where players select eight cards to use in each battle out of over 100 available cards. B-CC Junior and Clash Royale player Hunter Whitten says, “My favorite part of the game is all the cards because there are so many unique combinations those cards can make.” Just like Chess.com, Clash Royale has a rating system of its own, known as trophies, which functions very similarly to chess rating. Players are matched up against each other based on their rating, and it drops or rises based on wins or losses.