Now that the year has concluded, let’s dig up and uncover the Time Capsules that we buried throughout the year. This is the column where we ask community members questions about their goals and predictions for the year.

Following a discussion between two Editor-in-Chiefs at the time, Disha and Mchappy came to the conclusion that Club Penguin Armies could benefit from some weekly columns. There was much discussion between the editing team on what sort of content the community would want to digest. On February 24, among the first batch of columns to be introduced was Time Capsule.

Time Capsule was presented as a column where a brief interview would be conducted with community members to see where they are now, how they feel about their current situation, and what they hope to accomplish within the year. Eventually, the goal was to revisit these interviews and see if they were able to follow through with their plans, and how much things can change over the course of time. It is a fun take on the traditional interview process.

The very first Time Capsule was released on March 22 with its final edition releasing on September 15. Ultimately, the column lasted roughly six months; additionally, the column only missed roughly five weeks during its run. Therefore, since we’re entering the New Year, it’s time to revisit some of the 19 Time Capsule columns that were shared.

what does the community want to see?

Mabel, Water Vikings Leader: Honestly it’d be nice to see some older faces in the community finally retire. Not like they’re doing anything wrong, but it’ll finally be a relief to see some newer faces pop up in different armies as the older ones finally take a step back.

Maddie, Templars Leader: One thing I would like to see change by the end of the year from the community is more people from gen z running armies or helping around. Even though there are many adults in the community I feel like it would be the best if most of us are at least the same age as each other.

Rye, Penguins of Madagascar Leader: I would love to see some map changes! I really think the map should be utilized more, since it gives armies something to physically aim for. Armies can create their own nation [instead of calling land “servers”] to protect, or an army can only invade land adjacent to them, to give a more realistic feel.

In the very first edition of the column, these three community members imagined some big changes in the year.  Both Mabel and Maddie predicted that the younger generation would step up and take more of a lead in the community. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be case as the largest age pool in armies is above 21, according to the Census. It would certainly be refreshing to see fresher faces taking more responsibilities in the community.

Additionally, Rye mentioned that she would like to see some changes to the server map. In fact, the server map has been on pause as the Army Board voted to change it, including adding new rules to the shiny, new map.

can we judge the future?

Popcorny, Head Judge: I believe the community will be quite similar to how it is now, a couple armies might pop up and another major might fall to the wayside; however, with enough people sticking around and barring a major event, I think it carries on the slow decline.

Spotty, Head Judge: I think that it’ll look less active that as of right now. At this point in time summer is incoming and the holidays are near. However, by December, we would be back into the full jist of education having said farewell to multiple other individuals as more people out-grow this community.

Yvng Baller, Head Judge: By that time, I believe the community will be on a slight decline compared to today. Armies have been slowly dying for the last two years now, and I believe that trend will continue with sizes slightly going down for armies and maybe one or two army shutdowns.

On April 11, the Head Judges were interviewed in the second edition of Time Capsule. This time, the question they were posed was much more difficult to answer. They were asked how the community would look in December (2023), eight months in the future. All of them predicted the decline of armies, along with the decline of sizes. However, in a recent post, it was discovered there has been an increase in maxes throughout the year. Therefore, while there may have been 15 armies in the community in April, in comparison to the ten there are now, armies haven’t been in decline. In fact, armies were more competitive and active this year than last year according to Club Penguin Army Judges (CPAJ) review.

returning administrator?

Mchad: None. I think we deserve a team that can help the community look towards the future, instead of relying continuously on the past. I am grateful for all of the hard work previous administrators have done in creating a strong site such as this one. I consider this to be the second chapter of Club Penguin Armies (the website) and I am excited to see what we have in store for everyone.

Wynn: I doubt anyone will. It’s not my goal either to bring anyone back, if we want a successful organization with a sustainable future, we need to train new people, which was being neglected in the past months.

Disha: None that come to my mind. I think all of the Admins have had their fair share of learning and experiences, whilst leading this organization, and I am grateful to each one of them for their incredible work here. There is so much that I personally have learned from them, and as a current Admin, I hope to live up to their expectations and fill their shoes to the best ability that I can.

On April 26, the Time Capsule chose to center around its newly promoted administration team and their goals and/or predictions for the year. They were asked whether or not they believed in a former administration coming back to the administration team. All three of them agreed that it was time to get new faces into the administration; and while Wynn has stepped down, it has yet to be seen who will eventually be joining Disha and Mchappy. If this is the second chapter of Club Penguin Armies, then we turn the page to chapter three as we usher in 2024.

who were the top armies?

Sweater: Penguins of Madagascar seek to claim a spot in the top three before the end of the year, possibly number one. Outside of the Top Ten, we would like to start battling more armies. I’d like to be able to say that Penguins of Madagascar successfully defeated every alive army in battle at least once.

In the fourth edition of Time Capsule, Sweater spoke about the goals he had in the army he was currently leading, Penguins of Madagascar. However, despite these big ambitions, only one has come true. Since this interview, Sweater has left POM and he eventually ended up in the People’s Imperial Confederation‘s leadership, where he remains to this day. Sweater has gone on to participate in many wars like World War IX but POM has also recently gotten involved in the Christmas Crusade, battling against the Elite Guardians (EGCP).

Thanks to the work of the Top Ten Committee Head, Dino, we were able to release a comprehensive list of the Top Ten Armies of the Year.

are armies competitive?

Sidie9: World War IX is a good sign for the future of armies. Though Special Weapons has been one of the only armies initiating one-on-one wars, this conflict might serve as an indicator for things to come.

In the seventh edition of Time Capsule, Sidie9 stated that World War IX was an indicator of things to come. Currently, there is an ongoing war between the United Front Alliance and the Elite Guardians. This war has brought a great amount of controversy around the Guardians. Not only this, but it has seen the community split once again, but this time there are some armies watching the fireworks. This isn’t the only war that has occurred either.

As Sidie9 suggested, World War IX saw the start of something much bigger. It led both the Army of Club Penguin and Guardians to collide, once again, on the battlefield after the World War. But it also led to many other wars being held, such as Dark Pirates versus POM and Elite Guardians versus Special Weapons and Tactics. There has definitely been a huge spike in the amount of wars this year in comparison to the last.

join the community committee?

Aubz: [To be honest,] I think that someone who I would enjoy working with on the community committee is Calgocubs21 or Mads. They are both really engaging and fun people and have done a lot of fun things for Army of Club Penguin (ACP) so I think working with them on a community event would be a lot of fun, however I don’t know if either of them would join. Calgocubs21 is running ACP and Mads is a wonderful reporter!

On June 21, Time Capsule engaged with the Community Committee. One question, in particular, they were asked about was who they like to see join the Committee. Aubz stated that they would love to work with Calgocubs21 or Mads. Both of these members were in the Army of Club Penguin at the time, whilst Mads also held a Reporter role. Fast-forwarding to today, both Calgo and Mads are on the Committee alongside Aubz, with even Calgocubs21 being inducted as one of the new Community Committee Heads. Congratulations!

What’s up with the Army Board?

Calgocubs21, Army of Club Penguin Representative: The only Board reform I see happening before the end of the year is the disbandment of the Army Board due to it no longer serving its intended purpose. If this happen no more Army Board reforms will be happening.

Legoman, Head Representative: The Army Board will either remain being dormant or dissolve entirely.

On July 26, the Time Capsule focused on members of the Army Board. They were tasked with predicting any changes that the Army Board may witness. Both of them stated that it could be dissolved, with Legoman also stating it could remain dormant. Despite their guesses, the board is still around today and has played a huge part in shaping the future of the league. One of the big things that it helped to shape was how the map would work in the future. However, we are yet to see the outcomes of this.

Tournament Champions?

Aaronstone42: Elite Guardians or Water Vikings win Christmas Chaos [XIII]. Book it.

August 15 saw the Time Capsule interview recently retired Head Moderator Aaronstone42 who was asked to make a big prediction. This prediction could have been anything from people retiring, a new league rising or a tournament winner. Aaronstone42 then decided to make a bold prediction: one of the two armies would win Christmas Chaos XIII. Similarly to his prediction, both of these armies made it to the Grand Finals of the tournament. It was the Water Vikings, his former army, who went on to win the trophy. We suggest he go buy a lottery ticket.

Biggest Army?

Nicky_3070, Templars: I feel like the two biggest contenders are Army of Club Penguin and Elite Guardians.

On August 22, in the edition of Time Capsule that focused on the Summer Awards, Nicky_3070 was questioned about the big contenders for the Summer Awards which were taking place. When considering the “Biggest Army,” category they predicted either ACP or EGCP would win as two of the biggest contenders. Fast forward to today, both of these armies have had a successful year in the community. They have consistently been battling for the top spot in the Top Tens. However, it was ACP who won the Biggest Army award (in the Winter Awards as well) followed by the Guardians in second place.

can the small-medium army scene survive?

Sidie9, People’s Imperial Confederation’s Leader and a S/M Army Legend: I think the only improvement from last year is the return of PIC. From what I remember, 2022 may have had a few more small/medium armies present. This isn’t the first time the small/medium community has been in this state, though (2015-17 comes to mind). I’m remaining cautiously optimistic, as should everyone else.

Mare, former Special Weapons and Tactics‘ Leader and a S/M Army Legend: I don’t think there’s been any actual improvement, it seems pretty consistent IMO. I wouldn’t also say things got worse, besides perhaps recruiting is way harder than it use to be so it can be hard gaining sizes with S/M armies but its still possible.

Hidcre, People’s Imperial Confederation’s Leader: honestly, the scene this year doesn’t look too hot, yeah we’ve had some tournaments here and there most notably the most recent one (beach brawl), but POM dropped out basically because they’re on the verge of shutting down, SWAT dropped down so s/m and their war isn’t looking so hot, PIC has been fluctuating but we’ve been doing good so far the past 2 weeks.

Toxic Storm, Tormentors’ Leader: Well last year wasn’t a good year for S/M armies, probably because not many armies existed and the lack of activity within that part of the community. This year there was an improvement due to more armies being created or revived, and the existence of the latest tournament did give life for the S/M community. With all said and done, the activity in the current and last year pale in comparison to the 2020 and 2021 period of the S/M army community.

In the last week of August, the Time Capsule column focused on the small-medium army community. Most of the leaders agreed there was not a big improvement compared to 2022. However, Toxic Storm did state there had been some improvement in the amount of armies being created and revived. Over the past year, we have seen many armies rise, such as the Penguins of Madagascar (POM) but we have also seen many new armies fall, like the Tormentors. With that in mind, the bad cancels out the good.

Despite this, Beach Brawl III earlier in the year and through war participation, the small-medium army community has been active. For example, Confederation (PIC) were just one of the armies that spearheaded the opposing alliance in World War IX against the Blue Sunset Alliance. Now, Coup Crusaders, PIC and POM, among others, find themselves tangled in a war against the Elite Guardians after declaring. So, whilst they are correct in assuming it may not have “improved,” the small-medium army scene certainly has become more present.

There are plans to cater tournament-wise more to small-medium armies in the future.

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Although we weren’t able to cover every single Time Capsule for the sake of our sanity, we hope that this post serves as a reminder of the amazing year we had. Going into the first half of the year, there seemed to be some doubt over whether or not the community would be able to continue sustained success. Together, I think we can continue to exceed our wildest expectations. What unpredictable events will happen in 2024?

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