What "Clash of Clans" taught me?

Sometimes very trivial things provide such profound knowledge only if you observe them well. And that moment of truth can be very pleasant and enriching.

I am 35 and I hate to admit, I am a die-hard 'Clash of Clans' fan and I easily spend about 30-40 minutes everyday playing it since 2014. So, what is this game all about? and how did it even teach me anything? 

What is Clash of Clans?

Clash of Clans is a freemium mobile MMO strategy video game developed and published by Supercell. The game was released for iOS platforms on 2 August, 2012, and on Google Play for Android on 7 October, 2013. From rage--filled Barbarians with glorious mustaches to pyromaniac wizards, you can raise your own army and lead your clan to victory. You can build your village to fend off raiders, battle against millions of players worldwide, and forge a powerful clan with others to destroy enemy clans. It is free to download and play, however some game items can also be purchased for real money. (Source: Android Playstore)

For the more curious friends of mine, Supercell started developing games for mobile devices and has since then fully released four mobile games: Hay Day, Clash of Clans, Boom Beach, and Clash Royale, which are freemium games and have been very successful for the company, the first two generating revenue of $2.5 million a day in 2013. (Source: Wikipedia)

...and My Observations:

I felt a Clan is exactly like an Organization.

In the game, you can join a clan by building a clan castle in your village. And depending on the level of your castle, you can get troops from fellow clan-mates to help you either in your own personal wars against other villages or to help you during the clan wars. Over the last few months, I have been part of numerous clans and my observations are based on my in-clan experiences.

• First Clan: When I joined the first clan, I felt great - there were many folks in the clan who had higher ranks than I, higher walls, stronger defenses and there was a sense of aspiration in me that I would build such a strong village myself one day. The stronger the village, the greater the chances of successful defense. So more and more clans would want to take you in. (Clash of Clans allows you to upgrade each of your assets in the village, but each upgrade process takes time, sometimes in days and even weeks - just to make sure you get a real feel of waiting for the things you want. Of course, you can speed up the process by using gems, which you can either wait to receive every 3 weeks or buy using real-money!, and that's how Supercell makes those 2 million dollars everyday!) 

My first clan experience was similar to my first job (in real-life). I joined the organisation and was awestruck with the facilities, with people who got great accomplishments and I was learning all the while from everyone in some or the other way, by observing them, by speaking to them and by getting mentored by them. And then I quit one day because, I did not like the frequency at which they were going to war with other clans - I wanted it to be more frequent and they were too slow.

• Second Clan: When I joined a second clan, I chose the clan accordingly which valued the strength of my defenses. And it was a great experience because I gifted troops to fellow clan-mates and we attacked other clans and had fun together. Exactly how I felt while working with the 2nd, 3rd (and so on) companies. Every clan had some pros, some cons. Pros included great Clan-founders who always donated troops, guided clan mates to learn new strategies of attacks and so on. Cons included slow groups, without attacking anyone, without much action and where clan-chat feature (grooming in real-world) never happened.

One Fine Day:

And then one fine day, I decided that - Enough of this Clan business. I am tired of joining one clan and the other. I will have my own clan, my own rules. 

My Way.. Or the Highway. 

Clan castle is like an organization.. Let's say a Startup. No body on earth will fund you to create your clan castle. You have to bootstrap, pour in your savings and create one. A lot of us, including you, must have thought about starting up on your own one day and some of you would have already started.

I also had a lot of dreams - to start my own clan, invite warriors with very strong villages whose defenses can not be broken, who are cooperative and share their strategy and wisdom with other clan-mates, who are responsive and donate troops to others and who are responsive in the clan chats. I wanted to build the clan so that it will be a SuperClan - No defeats and All wins. No body quits the clan ever because I will invest in the folks joining the clan. 

Teach them enough so that they can leave but care for them enough that they won't want to.

The reality was very different. 

I did exactly what I thought - Created the Clan and invited folks. Out of 50 people I invited, only 1 or 2 joined the clan but they left after a few hours. Then I decided to lure them with rewards and to the new folks who joined, I started asking them if they needed troops and I gifted them troops, even dragons! They stayed a bit longer but then eventually left a day after. Then I decided to give them special recognition by promoting them as Elders. It looked like it worked.. but just for sometime and they quit. Then I decided to make them co-owners of the exercise and made them co-leaders in the clan, spoke to them in chat, gave them troops when they needed. And it worked for the longest period I ever saw - 2 days! And that's it. The co-leader left and I stopped inviting people to the clan. Today, I have not closed the clan to join another clan.. I still have the experiment running but without any activity. 

I am the last man standing, in the castle I so diligently created.

Startups and our thoughts about startups are exactly similar is what I perceived from this game.

1. I did this part-time. Playing clash of clans was a hobby for me and I was not giving it the 100% attention (I am not recommending it either). A startup requires full attention and without any other indulgences. It is as if your existence depends on it. Without this passion, startups won't fly because people would.
2. I underestimated human emotions. Even though the players in the game are mostly kids, the basic drivers of craving for attention, action and influence is something I overlooked. I was busy inviting folks to clan but never attacked any other clan (lack of action) because I was in the gestation period - I was getting my clan ready. For a startup, you need people who are ready to wait, who have the vision in their minds and who believe in it. People who are star performers in your previous companies (strong defenses in the game) may always not work out. You need folks who are hard working, loyal and who are ready to stay. And as founders, it is very important to identify such folks, appreciate them, give them a pie of the ownership and make them part of the growth story. 

Most of the times, you and I think about starting up our own ventures, getting away from the salaried culture, to be our own boss. All that is fine, but shit. If the only reason you want to move out of your current job is because you don't want anyone to give you orders, believe me - you are better off playing clash of clans and being the only one in your castle, rather than standing alone in real-world. 

Did it all make sense?

Cheers.