Club Penguin Armies attracts many users of all ages, boosting our community’s thriving environment.  But there’s been a lot of turmoil and scepticism regarding the need for an age limit to maximise the growth of our community.

Designed By MasterDS

Why An Age Limit?

Realistically, given the 2025 Census that came out in October, a lot of people joined Club Penguin in 2009-2012, while the second closest is 2023-2025. If you do the math…

Most kids who joined in 2009-2012 were typically 7–12 years old at the time it was first released.

Estimating, if someone was:

• 8 years old in 2009 → they would be 24 in 2025

• 10 years old in 2011 → they would be 24 in 2025

• 12 years old in 2012 → they would be 25 in 2025

Analysing the Census of 2025, the “average” long-term member is somewhere between 23 and 28 years old, or even in the 30s. The real question becomes: Why are so many fully developed adults debating, creating, and working for armies on a penguin platform? Individuals in their mid-20s and beyond now make up the core support of today’s staff. The question is not whether this is impressive; it’s whether this is sustainable for our community. As a boomer myself, working for this community is absolutely not worth it if you want to keep your sanity, especially when we’re not even being paid for it. The only compensation we’re receiving is multi-coloured roles, prestige, toxicity, and, once in a while, victory. However, in my opinion, we shouldn’t have a limit, as I believe this community has welcomed everyone regardless of age, and why start to discriminate?

The Supporting Perspective

Some may argue that some balance is important for the long-term goals of the community. Few may also believe this creates an imbalance where veteran members dominate leadership positions, leaving fewer opportunities for newer and younger participants. As well as some who are concerned about the safety of younger people, given previous events in CPA history. From this perspective, introducing an age threshold or perhaps a generational turnover could help increase engagement and creativity. Since the original game was designed for young audiences, the community should also reflect a similar demographic range. Most of the visible leadership consists of adults; younger recruits may feel intimidated or disconnected from the environment, potentially discouraging them from becoming active participants. Finally, they argue that it could encourage less toxic participation. As members grow older and their responsibilities increase, maintaining a demanding level of involvement can become stressful.

Ugly and Silv discussing the age gaps in CPA

Bryce in 2022, assuming the actions of half of the CPA Leaders

Reasons to reject this

An age limit would harm the community, as those veterans, the community disses on, have spent years building the competitive structure that exists today. Although there are some issues, most lives started with Club Penguin and communicating through Discord or Xat. The continued presence of older members is a sign of stability and dedication rather than a problem to be solved. Having an age limit could alienate long-time contributors who helped sustain the community through multiple eras. Instead of encouraging growth, it may create a division by excluding the individuals who provide mentorship and leadership experience. We have never been defined as a community by age but by shared interest and dedication. Rather than restricting older people, personally, I argue that the focus should instead be on encouraging newer members to take initiative while allowing veterans to remain active contributors.

Click to Enlarge (Old people in CPA for Nostalgic Purposes)

A reddit convo reminiscing and playing Club Penguin Journey

To learn more about this, Club Penguin Armies reached out to several people for an exclusive interview.

Do you believe the community currently has a healthy balance between older and younger members? Why or why not?

Runa: Is it currently a healthy balance? Yes and no. The league’s demographics are a bit askew, not on an even playing field. There’s a stark difference between the community, say, 6 years ago, and today. Over the years, the games have changed, and so has the community. Then, it was made up of mostly late teenagers and early adults, but as time has passed, it’s inevitably changed. You’ll see more adults when recruiting or interacting daily; however, that doesn’t eliminate the high ratio of tweens and early teens. As an adult, you’ll have to monitor others’ actions, including your own, to avoid mishaps with those younger than you. However, when has that not been the case? Overall, it’s just how communities shift; this doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a bad or good thing.
Pranav: I don’t think the community has a healthy balance between older and younger members. If we are referring to active staff and HCOM only, that could mean something else, but a lot of recruits are on the younger side with a lot of staff being adults. It seems like adults are putting time aside from their real life to try and take care of Discord servers in an effort to gain more kids as members and then proceed to essentially take care of the kids. Right now, as someone in college and only 21, I can still comfortably feel like I am kind of an older brother or tutoring middle / high school students. But once I reach an age of almost 25, it’s a different dynamic when I have to moderate 13 year olds. Already, it feels different moderating Dark Warriors as opposed to moderating Fire Warriors five years ago. And finally, everyone knows all the controversies that arise as a result of adults and children in the same community. This is one that is impossible to avoid on Discord, but one that could be helped with age limits and much stricter restrictions placed against those that commit such actions as well as those who know about it.
Lia: it’s no elderly home but it’s getting close to being one, i think the older members do help keep the community alive and without a lot of them there wouldn’t be as much interest in armies but we do need to start letting the younger generation take the reigns eventually !!
Leo: Well, I’m not sure, I see some people in their 20s and 30s and i also see lots of young people around 13-15 y old, but what do we really know about them
Thalia: Is there a healthy balance? Maybe, maybe not. That is gonna change when the new Discord requirements come into play anyway.
Znation: I believe the community does have an healthy balance of older and younger people as armies consist of many people of different ages and both young and old people provide their own benefits and when mixed together provide a healthy balance. Without the balance the community might become too chaotic or die out with lack of new people.

Fun X Time: Lately, yes! As armies continue to recruit, younger people are increasingly joining the army community. In fact, the new generation has been inclusive in the army community, with young leaders taking over leadership roles in many armies. As long as adults and teenagers cooperate with each other and don’t end up in scandals, the army community has a healthy balance.

Should there be an age limit for leadership or active participation, and what impact might it have on the community?

Runa: There isn’t a yes or no answer to this. As a leader, you’ll be tasked with multiple responsibilities, for which you don’t need to be a specific age, just as long as you can handle them. Now, participation is a different concept, because that’s just being active in the community. For that, I don’t think there should be. If you enjoy it, go for it.
Pranav: I think there should be an age limit of 22-23, and it should stay the same. Past that, I feel like they can poke their heads in but they should not be involved in army affairs, or at the very least, day-to-day business. Kids and young adults should take care of themselves. In terms of an impact, it will be a large loss to those armies with this dynamic, but it is for the better, and can lead to servers that are more understanding of the age group that flows in.
Lia: i don’t think there should be a age limit for leadership or participation in the league but it’s important we r mindful that this is a kids game and that there’s a responsibility to keep minors in the community safe, if we did impose a leadership it would discourage a lot of the community and isn’t sustainable.
Leo: I think there should be an age limit but I also don’t, maybe it isnt really needed because I see no problem with people on their 20s and 30s on cpa, but I don’t doubt that some find it weird, it would have consequences, some good, others could be not so good, but what can we do
Thalia: I don’t think it’s a question of there being an age limit if I’m honest. I think primarily it’s a question about safety and also about respect. In terms of the first point- if someone is problematic and poses a safety risk you remove them. In terms of the latter… You get old gens insisting their way of leading CPA is correct and newgens who disregard oldgens.
Znation: i believe there should be no age limit for leadership or active participation, as with a age limit people who are more than capable of leadership status might be rejected for simply being too young or old which shouldn’t matter.
Fun X Time: I don’t feel that an age limit is needed! The original Club Penguin was designed keeping kids as the priority, and many older people today who were kids back then continue to play the game’s recreations. Every person has an inner child in them, even when they grow older, so they have a tendency to relive the fun they had. It’s not wrong for an adult to belong to the army community, no matter what age they are, as long as they keep child safety in mind.

Runa: A huge part of this would be nostalgia. For a lot of people, it’s what they grew up with, a beloved game with fond memories. Another part I would say is the community. I’ve met great people that I would argue I wouldn’t have met without the league. Is it sustainable? I’d say so. You’ll have people who’ll grow out of it, of course, and following right after them is another who’ll gladly take over.
Pranav: It is definitely due to some nostalgia and some desire to leave a mark on the community. It is beyond unsustainable if people continue this, especially as some may get older and not step away. It is important everyone (and this does not include breaks only) finds a way to exit this community for good one day to allow the next generation of people to rise in their own right and introduce their own principles without the older generation watching over them. A passing of the torch is fine, but staying in the community, especially with an older age, can weird some kids out as the years progress and reduce the new recruits that come in. This could be even more unsustainable once Discord’s age verification system eventually becomes a thing. It’s too hard to predict such a thing, though. We can only wait and see while making the choices best for us and those around us.
Lia: nostalgia and community (speaking as an older member of the community) i don’t necessarily care about the armies aspect of this anymore and more so focus on having fun ,the community can be really important for some people!! i don’t think it harms the community in any way as long as we don’t let the older members completely take the reigns and harm the community ( e.g not letting younger members hold leadership positions etc )
Leo: I’d say unemployment, but most of them say they are employed, I think it’s just a way to remind themselves of what they used to live some years ago, when some didn’t even exist yet
Thalia: tbh? People staying into their 20s and 30s is either usually down to nostalgia or it being hobbyist. If it’s something more than that, they get yeeted.

Znation: i believe many people will remain active into their 20s and 30s and in my opinion it is sustainable for the community in the long term as it would just be the cycle repeating of old members teaching the new members so armies are in new more capable hands. If old members like the community there should be no reason for them to quit

FunXTime: Being in the army community is easy, but leaving it is difficult. The competitiveness in the army community usually keeps the energy of growing people unhindered, which is why many people find it difficult to quit armies when they enter adulthood. When they’re in their 20s or 30s, they might get busier, but their enthusiasm kicks in sometimes! The presence of such people is sustainable for the league in the long run because it only makes the community more diverse. It helps keep community veterans around, closer to troops who’re hoping to get the same position as them in the future. Even if it’s in a virtual world. Armies are all about fun; it’s nothing deep!

And with that, ultimately the need for an age limit revolves around the reasons of safety and the overwhelming amount of old folks in leadership positions such as Advisor or Staff, in which they lead by what they learned in the older generations. This can be rather ineffective as newer generations are more adapted to the needs of the people in terms of modern aspects of Club Penguin. Regardless, an age limit would surely shake things up if enforced since most old people are here for nostalgic purposes, the social interactions with others, as well as advising/leading armies. What is your opinion on having a maximum age limit? How might armies run after a sudden enforcement of a age limit?

Lucifer
Associate Editor

More Information

Luci

Writer, 3IC for Help Force, Zesty Club Penguin Addict, Father, Gym Freak.