“Dad, play Clash Royale with me!”

“Dad, play Clash Royale with me!”

I’m not exactly sure when it was that Diego, my oldest son (12), started playing Clash Royale. I’d say it was almost inevitable, considering that since its launch in January, the game quickly climbed to the top of the popularity rankings, with millions of people having battles in the Arenas worldwide.

Available for Android y iOS, Clash Royale is one of the most popular mobile games nowadays.

As it had happened with other games, Diego told me about their progress periodically:

“I finally got to the Arena 5!”

“My friend Mati got a legendary card!”

“Dad, I finally got the epic card I wanted!”

“I won a game with three crowns and my King tower was left with only 15 points!”

“Dad, try it, you’ll like it!”

I heard him telling me those things and, frankly, I did not understand that much. It was obvious that Diego really enjoyed the game, either playing alone or sharing battles with his friends. It was also pretty clear that he was making progress and that he was deeply proud of it.

And of course, Diego wanted me to play, but I refused and gave him strong reasons:

“Diego, I do not like such games”

“I like games with a story, games that you play, then you are finished and period. I do not like to get stuck in a game.”

“That cards thing seems very boring. And the chests, just luck.”

“I do not see the fun there; it looks boring”

“It’s not that I think it’s a bad game, I know many people play it. It’s just not the kind of game I like”

My son was right

Until one day in early May, just to please him, I installed Clash Royale on my phone.

More reluctant than curious, I played the seven tutorial matches and I realized it was not as boring as I imagined. Then I tried a couple of battles in the first Arena and I won my first 30 trophies. I decided to play two other matches, then a couple more, and more…

Two months later, I must confess that I have played over a thousand games (I have won around 650, the last one five minutes ago), and I’m already in the Arena 6, with 1754 trophies (my best was reaching 1943!)

After two months, I’ve managed to get to Arena 6, with 1754 trophies.

Additionally, I belong to a clan with several friends from my job Behaviour and also from other companies in the industry, and I’ve played many friendly matches with my son, who is also part of the same clan.

Diego has taught me the best way to play my cards and he has become my personal Clash Royale coach. I hope he feels proud of my progress, because I think I’ve learned quite fast.

I must admit that I was wrong: Clash Royale is a great game and I have really enjoyed it.

More importantly, the experience of sharing many hours with my son in a game that he likes a lot, and having him guiding and teaching me, has been very rewarding. Thank you a lot Diego for giving me those moments.

Have you had a similar experience? Have you felt that a game looked boring and then, after playing it, did you get engaged and you enjoyed it?