CLASH of CLANS Bangladesh

Clash of Clans is a MMO Strategy game that is available for iOS and Android. The game was developed in 2012 by Supercell and has, since then, become the top grossing game on the mobile platforms, amassing a huge fan following of 8.5 million daily players who contribute to the whopping $5.15 million revenue per day. The game revolves around the idea of fortifying a base, defending it from invading players and their clans, and raiding the bases of others in order to gain resources and start the whole process over again. The game is super addictive because it is easy to pick up and play. Certain gameplay-boosting perks, upgrades and resources can be purchased for real life money which forms the core of the "freemium" model that the app follows. However that is not the sole reason for the game's immense success. The game actually organises conflict between clans (a group of players; not to be confused with one player) which instils a sense of community and ignites the fire of competition within them. Thus players are sucked in by the alluring prospect of victory over other clans and the strong ties they build with their clan members. 

Such factors also have given rise to a gargantuan community within our own country. Filled with passionate gamers who fit the hardcore and casual archetypes, the Clash of Clans community of Bangladesh has humble origins but it is now one of the biggest communities of the country. The community was co-founded by Shafayet Anowar and Arif Istiaq. The two friends shared the same dream that the community will house thousands of members one day, as the game was so addictive, and they wanted to unite all the Bangladeshi players under one banner. The community's members are evidently ardent about their favourite game as Shafayet says, "This game creates addiction and anyone who has started this game, is totally addicted to it. It is just so serious that, due to this small online virtual game, relationships are breaking even within the best of friends and also causing some big problems in real life. Apart from these bad points, it sure is a good game if you can control your addiction. This game helps you to learn unity and forces you to think out new strategies because in this game, you team up with your clan mates and apart from solo raids, you participate in cool clan wars. You can chat, help each other out and know other people via this. So it's pretty helpful in that way."

Such fervour does give rise to star players and clans and the Bangladeshi CoC community has them in droves. The top clans of Bangladesh include "Bangladeshi UTD," "Bangladesh '71," "Bangladeshelite," "Bangladesh4ever" etc. "Bangladesh UTD" is a clan formed for the sole reason of breaking into the global clan rankings. The top players of Bangladesh are currently members of this clan. Apart from group achievements, the community does recognise several key players who were instrumental in leading the way for the community. Zaved Iqbal Sarkar aka "Peace Frog" is currently the best player of Bangladesh. One such player who used to hold that title is Nagir Ahmed Apurbo who used to be ranked number 9 in the global leaderboards. Such accolades do require perseverance and skills to attain, as Nagir says, "Like most things in life, if you want to be good at something, you have to put in the time and effort. So, if someone wants to attain the top position globally, or even locally, he/she will need to spend a lot more time compared to someone who plays the game casually. Back when I began, I would constantly hear people complain about how it's not possible for a Bangladeshi to attain a decent world ranking in the game. All this negativity fuelled me to push even harder and prove a bunch of people wrong. So, I kept playing and eventually hit the number 1 spot in the country, and continued to push even further until I hit my personal best of number 9 in worldwide leaderboards."

My short time spent with the community has been immensely fun. Being an admin of League of Legends Bangladesh Community myself, I can safely conclude that managing a community of a massively popular game filled with passionate players is nothing short of a monumental task. The members are really fun to interact with and are some of the friendliest bunch of people I have ever come across. 

Now, we do live in a country which bears no facilities like the other developed countries, and making in-app purchases has been a challenge for us as we have to rely on buying gift cards at inflated prices. However, despite this challenge, many of the Bangladeshi members have spent a lot of money on this game as real money has to be spent if one has aspirations of one day reaching the top sections of the leaderboard. This is a testament to the level of dedication that these people have towards their game. 

The future prospects look immensely bright for the Clash of Clans community of Bangladesh. One day, we all hope to see the rising stars of the community in the top leaderboards, beating out international players. With grit and guile, the community members fight on, vying for victory and honour for their respective clans.