There are games I play because I am personally interested in them. And there are other games I try just because I want to know what the fuzz is about. So since it is Free2Play and one of the most profitable games on the iPad, I decided to try out Clash of Clans. Only problem is, I still don't understand what the fuzz is about. I don't remember ever having played a game with so few available actions per session. I log on, collect my gold and elixir, build or upgrade two buildings, and that's it most of the time. Once in a while I have an army ready for a short attack, but there I just place my units around the enemy village and the battle then runs on automatic. But that seems to be awfully little gameplay compared to hours of waiting for your next building to be ready.

I can only imagine that the people who like the game are not in it for the gameplay, but for the meta-game: Joining clans, inter-clan politics, clan warfare and the like. A bit like the board game Diplomacy or the MMORPG EVE Online, where the political interaction between real humans is a lot more interesting than the observable gameplay. But even if I had the time to invest in a long, political game, I would want that game to be a little more complicated than Clash of Clans appears to be. And in consequence I would want gameplay sessions to be longer between waiting periods.

But then, I'm not likely to ever find a "multiplayer strategy" game I like. I tend to get annoyed at the sheer randomness of whether I am or I am not being attacked by others. And in games like Clash of Clans I am not happy about the rather blatant Pay2Win aspects: For example the reason I can only build or upgrade 2 buildings at a time is because I didn't spend $5 on a third builder, $10 for a fourth, or $20 for a fifth. Put enough money in the game and you don't ever have to wait for things to get built or upgraded, and you can get all the resources you need. While there is apparently some skill involved in designing the layout of your defenses (if you don't copy them from somewhere) and placing your attackers, Clash of Clans appears mostly to be about gathering resources. So if you buy those resources you win easily.

So I can't really understand why Clash of Clans has 4.5 million daily players. Supercell's other big hit game, Hay Day, is equally profitable, but as it is a more elaborate and less annoying version of Farmville, I can understand that more easily. But I can't understand the guy spending $7,000 a month of Clash of Clans. The fact that you *can* win the game by using money makes winning the game unattractive to me. I would like to play a strategy game, and not Clash of Bank Statements.