Last year, the state of Indiana signed into law a ban on all cellular devices in classrooms. Many teachers put up phone pockets, but the rise in mobile gaming at schools has seen students spending their free time playing Clash Royale. Originally launching in 2016, Clash Royale did not become extremely popular until around 2021.
“I started playing before it got popular,” sophomore Ethan Crowe said. “Then, once everyone started playing it this year, I started playing it more than I used to.”
Clash Royale, or simply referred to as “Clash,” got its newfound popularity from the Twitch streamer “Jynxzi.” Jynxzi created content centered around Clash Royale and TikTok creators would repost the clips generated from the Twitch streams.
“Jynxzi’s Jynxzi, which made me want to be Jynxzi and play Clash Royale,” sophomore Karsyn Hirsch said.
Although Clash Royale has surged in popularity, some students at Gibson Southern have not yet downloaded and played the game.
“I don’t know much,” sophomore Nash Miller said. “I do hear Mega-Knight a lot, but I don’t know what that means – something about levels and cards, but that’s about it. It seems a little overrated. I’ve watched people play it, and it doesn’t look very fun. It just looks boring, I mean it’s got colors and stuff, but like it just looks like a card game.”
Not all students are against the wave, a small group of people at GSHS have taken the usually casual environment of a round of Clash Royale and turned it into a more competitive setting.
“I like upgrading my stuff so I can win more,” sophomore Izayah Shanks said. “If the opponent makes like one mistake, you can make fun of them for the rest of the game because they lose. I’d say if arenas were levels, then I’m on level 22. I’m very high on the ladder, but I’m like barely high on the ladder, like I’m in the 8,000 trophy range.”
It seems like the era of phones during class time is over, but for Clash Royale fans, the game has only begun.
