SNOW STORM, Guinz’s Cozy Corner – Glad to see you are back for another edition of Dear Guinzy! While being in a Club Penguin army, have you ever wondered what armies are the oldest around? Will we solve the mystery today?
Shortly after the previous post about meme armies was published, I received a question that caught my eye. Having been in armies for a year now, I’ve had pondered the very same question but never actually gotten around to find out.
Question sent by A Curious Army Member
The Club Penguin game we love was first launched on 24th October 2005. Although there were fewer games and functionalities then, one feature that existed was the ability to throw snowballs. (Queue snowball fight time.) Little did anyone know, these snowball fights would spark the creation of what we know today as Club Penguin armies…
Being online and behind a screen, there’s no harm in throwing a snowball or two. Once you get started though, it can be really amusing to just spam throw snowballs at someone just for fun or to annoy them. While many little groups formed from this, the most recognizable is the Silver Surfers. They had an interesting past – an unknown creator. In the beginning, they weren’t really an army, they were more of a clan, an unorganized team of people under a specific uniform or color. People would carry the silver surfboard and gather at Mammoth Dojo. With no proper leader then, Omega39 stepped up and was hence credited as the first Silver Surfers leader. Despite losing their first war to the Army of Club Penguin, they gained popularity. However, throughout the years, the army witnessed numerous revivals and closures, with their last closure in 2016.
Silver Surfers with their Silver Surfboards in battle.
These groups of penguins needed leaders. This led to people creating websites to disseminate information and news about their armies. Most communication took place away from the game. These were normally on forums such as Xat or Discord, but even on an armies own website! Together, they got creative with the game’s style catalog to put together uniforms and created ranks for their members. When there are minimally 5 active members in the group and at least 5 of them attend a hosted event, they can be recognized as an army.
Armies can host a whole flurry of events, such as battles, game tournaments, and helping one another to achieve stamps. Just like real-life armies, Club Penguin armies may choose to go to war with another army or form Alliances with like-minded armies. Despite the shutdown of the original Club Penguin game in 2017, many armies still exist today.
A post-war image announcing RPF’s Victory against UMA in 2007.
Among the armies listed in our Top Ten, many armies were created in 2010 or later. The armies created before 2010 include Army of Club Penguin, Fire Warriors, Ice Warriors, Rebel Penguin Federation, and Special Weapons and Tactics. Even non-active armies in 2021 like the Night Warriors, Nachos, and Dark Warriors were created before 2010. Congratulations to these armies for existing more than a decade!
Here are the results… Among the five active armies, SWAT is the newest army, having been created in 2009. The Fire Warriors, Ice Warriors, and Rebel Penguin Federation were all created in 2007 within a span of 4 months (August, June and May respectively). So that leaves us with the Army of Club Penguin being founded on September 29th, 2006, by army legend Oagalthorp on Miniclip forms.
Members of ACP gathering in town to do a Clover tactic.
It is amazing how far armies have come! Some have withstood the test of time and still exist today while others have faded away days after creation. The question is though, what can armies do to ensure their existence for another decade?
What do YOU think? Will armies continue to thrive or fade away with time? Let us know YOUR thoughts in the CPAN discord! Also, feel free to drop your questions here if you have anything to ask!
Guinz
CP Army Network Reporter
