With the most recent update to Clash Royale, SuperCell ‘fixed’ Tournaments by… basically replacing them with the arena system from Hearthstone (as all things Blizzard, I’m sure HS wasn’t the first game to introduce such a system, but you know what I mean).

On the one hand, the arena system is fine. Lose 3 you are out, top prize is after 12 wins, tourney rules, etc etc. Its a good addition to the game, especially because the costs to enter are 10 gems (basically nothing) and 100 gems. Sure the rewards aren’t great, but if you are looking to play some extra games of CR, this isn’t a bad option.

What is unfortunate is that they didn’t fix tournaments. There was a ton of hoopla around emotes (you can now mute people), and how for so long SC kept them on to ‘evoke strong emotions’, yet tourneys did just that. You saw the names of the people you were against, you knew their position, and you knew when you were in an important match against someone up high. All of that, IMO, was very important, and made tourneys feel different from grinding out chest crowns.

The other big addition were cash shop changes, with the game now more directly selling you epics and legendaries via new chests. Its an example of what F2P forces developers to do when the money starts slowing down, as it was for CR. It’s not a ‘game is dead’ addition, in fact its perfectly fine IMO, but its not one that happens if CR was able to continue making money as steadily as CoC or BB. Problem is I just don’t see CR having that kind of shelf life or sustainability, so changes to get people back and paying will happen.

For me right now CR is my 3^rd game, behind Clash of Clans and Boom Beach. Its fun to play a game or two, but more than that it feels like too much of a grind a lot of days, which is a bad sign considering CR is the newest game of the three, by more than a full year.

Recruitment reminder: We have a couple spots in both Boom Beach and Clash of Clans (search for “Supreme Cream!”), so if you are interested in joining our merry band of misfits, apply and mention the blog. New players welcome, we will train you up!