“It has been nearly 14 years since I first became the leader of the Army of Club Penguin, in an era of time marred by turmoil and controversy”. In this post, KingFunks4 looks at the events that preceded and followed the collapse of one of the most dominant armies in Club Penguin army history, and how these events shaped both his own future in the community and had a wider knock-on impact.
Designed by MasterDS
Setting the Context
The Army of Club Penguin in the original era of Club Penguin armies undoubtably go down as the greatest army to have existed. They were the first army to have been created, they dominated the top ten for years beyond their conception on CP Army Central and were the first home to numerous CP Army legends. As is well established already, the ACP was founded in 2006, during the Color Wars with regular conflicts against the Underground Mafias Army. It didn’t take long for the ACP to be established as the dominant force, way before my time joining the army in 2009.
Between 2007 and 2009, the ACP and its coalition with the Rebel Penguin Federation managed to defeat UMA and then subsequently dominate the top ten, almost always being ranked first and rarely dropping below the second spot. The golden age truly hit in 2009, under the leadership of figureheads such as Boomer, as they saw off the threat of the Nachos and Ice Warriors, who had risen significantly. It was at this point I had been recruited on XAT by the Army of CP, and my personal journey to leadership had begun.
The Gap Created
Following this, the ACP remained the undisputed number one army under numerous leaderships, including Iasage, Mchappy, Flipper, and Kenneth. Whilst the gap between them and the challengers below them was narrowing, they remained dominant in the Top Ten and in wider conflicts. This leadership worked particularly well as there was a UK/US split in the leadership, and it was one of the first joint leaderships that the ACP had. They were one of the longest serving leaderships in the history of the army, leading for around a year, largely across 2011. Their retirement hit the army hard, but under the leadership of Mchappy, they were able to continue to dominate the community, although the gap continued to narrow. At this point, I had reached the ownership line under the rank of Third-In-Command, whilst running Club Penguin Army Central as Chief Executive Officer for the first time.
The Cracks Appear
It was at this point that the cracks in dominance began. Slider was due to take over from the leadership of Kenneth and Flipper, but in a complete shock, he would immediately abdicate his role as leader within the day and retire. The three most influential cogs in the ACP ownership had suddenly left, and this had left a gaping hole in the leadership structure. Mchappy would take over and do an amazing job at stabilising the ship. He goes down as one of the greatest leaders the army has ever had, and rightly so. He has undoubtedly earned his legend status to show for this.
However, at this point in time, Mchappy had gone spontaneously missing, and I declared myself temporary ACP leader for a few weeks. Eventually, he would announce his surprise retirement, and I was appointed to the role on a permanent basis. It had been a turbulent time in the army leading up to this appointment.
This was therefore left to me to take the mantle, resigning from my position at CPA Central in the process. Looking back, I know that I was not ready for the position. I had little leadership experience, only leading a handful of medium armies and recently being part of the ACP ownership. To compound the issues, I would then be going on a two week holiday away from the army, leaving the army in the hands of Ek and Capncook.
The Collapse
It is without a doubt that both of my leaderships of the ACP, this and the one that followed in 2013, were the hardest in my time in the community. Without being present for two weeks, the army fell into chaos as it was the latest in a string of leaders to have gone missing. Whilst the army was still ranked second in the top ten before my holiday, it is clear there had been a slump in performance.
My lack of experience at the time, as well as being the first sole UK leader of the army in an army that had traditionally been US based, meant that it was more difficult. Whilst I was away, there were calls for me to be removed from the leadership. Ek, who was one of my long standing partners in the army, backed me, but Capncook took the chance to make a plot for the leadership, and he started to call for my removal. Below are some quotes from the time of my return from significant figures within the army.
Twingy: On the whole couping situation While you were away, there did seem to be, rising throughout the weeks, support for your coup. Capncook began to openly talk about one. However, Ek made a post which seemed to calm down the ACP. Of course, there was a lot of support for Ek in it because that’s who they trusted at the time, but there was also a lot of support for you in it. That seemed to be the end of matters for me. 2 days later, Boomer and Shab returned to coup. I’m not a great fan of Shaboomer coups/control/godfather-ship on the whole, especially one which was unfair and unnecessary.
Splashy: I agree, your leadership was poor. It had it’s advantages at time, but generally, it wasn’t fantastic. You aren’t the worst leader ever, that’ll probably go to someone else (I would name others but I wasn’t there).
Galaxie3: It was Capn who started the c***. He was the one who started the Coup D’etate, what left us bleeding. We would’ve been fine if you would’ve stayed as leader, because the leadership crises would end. But Capn was power hungry and planned with Shab and Boomer a Coup. After that Capn retired for no reason at all and and they placed Ek as leader. It isn’t Ek’s fault that you lost your leadership, he was completely on your side and didn’t support the coup at all.
Below are the words from Bluesockwa2, CPA Central CEO, on my removal from the leadership:
The Falloff
At this time, the ACP had a shock drop to sixth in the Top Ten, dropping out of the top five for the first time. Sizes had dropped to under 30, and the army was in need of stability and growth. I would drop down to Second-In-Command, and then the next year return as leader. Ultimately, after two spells as leader, my time in the army had become untenable. I had lost the trust of the people within the army to achieve sustained success, and the Nachos took full advantage of this in 2013 by forcing my retirement as part of their war treaty terms. It was hard to come back from these setbacks, but I know that these two leadership spells early on in my journey helped me to build the foundations for my success later down the line.
The Lessons Learned and How they Shaped The Future
There is no doubt that my leadership of the Army of CP was unsuccessful, but it went on to shape who I was within the community, as I had learned the ropes of leadership in the most dominant army. Following this removal, it allowed me to go back to CP Army Central to take over again as Chief Executive Officer, something I had the opportunity to do four times. The experience of dealing with the challenges caused in the ACP allowed me to build up resilience.
Being in charge of the main news organisation, even today at Club Penguin Armies, requires a lot of resilience to manage the fires that come from different directions. In terms of my leadership, I had learnt how to manage people around me and to draw on the experience of the wider team. I would use this to go on to lead the Ice Warriors twice, winning the Legends Cup, and then to take the Water Vikings to world power status, contributing to their continued success through the last decade or so. I would go on to do other things in the community, but these two armies defined who I was.
Clearing the Name
There was a time when my name was just associated with the Army of CP and “the cause of its death”. Whilst I knew this was a course the ACP was going to be heading down with or without me, it was hard to take. It took a long time to remove this reputation, and the only way to do so was to come back stronger. It was this drive to prove people wrong that I could, in fact, lead an army successfully. With time and experience, this could become possible. Now I am glad that my name is associated with other parts of the community and not this spell within the ACP. It is possible that I would never have joined the Water Vikings, Ice Warriors, or returned to the community at all in 2020, without this time.
Personal Words on the Army Community
In a separate point, I wanted to take the time to finish my post with a few personal words about the army community today. It is remarkable that CP Armies have been around for two decades. There have been numerous times when people proclaimed that the community would die out, and believe me, they were stronger claims than anyone saying that today. Particularly in 2012, at the time when this post was referring to, people were adamant that armies only had years to go before they would eventually die out. We have faced many challenges, no more than Club Penguin itself closing. At this point, I could not see a way for the community to survive – I thought that was it. However, even this massive hurdle did not spell the end, and there has been another decade of incredible memories and successes for CP armies.
The Current Situation
I can clearly see that CP armies are in a good way at the moment, as shown by the recent March Madness finals, in which both armies combined maxed well in advance of 200. This is incredible from two armies alone and shows that there is plenty of life left for many years to come. I truly believe that CP Armies will be around for a third decade. Even the armies below these two are performing well, especially for the time of year, which is traditionally more challenging, showing the depth of the armies.
It would be easy for me to sit here and say that armies aren’t what they used to be. However, in a way, I am going to say that. I am not the first person to call for increased warfare and competition between armies, for the excitement of wars and battles, but I do think that competition is vital for making this era be seen as a golden one. But when I reflect upon this statement, I don’t believe this is something that will change. Armies do not want to battle each other ten times a week anymore. It isn’t the same format that was seen in the old era.
How to Improve
This is why I have called in the last 5 years for a structured ‘league table’ format, where armies earn points from playing each other in a ‘Premier League style’ league. The idea probably wouldn’t go down well with a lot of people who call for ‘less leagues’ and ‘more freedom’, but I do believe this is the perfect solution for stimulating battles and conflicts outside of the traditional four big tournaments.
The people in charge may not like my suggestion, and that is fine. People have different ideas and opinions on how things should be, but when it comes to armies, all I call for is for you to make things as enjoyable and exciting as you can. At Club Penguin Army Headquarters, the mission was always for innovation, to make new ideas for armies such as Project: Conquest. Continue to innovate and come up with new ideas. Do not let things stagnate, as this is how the community will go into decline. If you get a setback, as I did with my time at the Army of CP, remember that things can get better if you put your mind to it.
Kingfunks4
CP Army Legend
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