At first, they were farming, then they were battling one another with mythical creatures, now they are solving various word puzzles.
The world of mobile games has taken the OVS community by storm. Hayday, Clash Royale, and Wordle, to name a few. Each of the games, aside from Wordle and the New York Times Crossword, in the OVS gaming world have an in-game community or “clan”. All of these communities are OVS-specific groups made by OVS students.
Alex Alvarez, an OVS senior, was one of the first students to join the neighborhood for Hayday, a game where players get to run their own farm.
“It almost feels productive,” Alex said. “I love getting to feed the animals.”
The games have not only been adopted by students but also by the teachers. Currently in the Hayday “OVS Hood,” OVS Spanish teacher Gretchen Wachter has leveled up faster than any student.
“It’s really relaxing,” Ms. Wachter said. “I probably play at least an hour a day.”
After the Hayday neighborhood became popular, Max Kwon, an OVS Sophomore, invited all of the OVS students, via email, to the Clash Royale clan, a game where players use mythical armies to fight one another.
“It’s a game where you have to use your head to win,” Max said. “It’s really entertaining and enjoyable.”
Hayday and Clash Royale are not the only games with clans. Wordscapes, a word puzzle game, has also been brought to the OVS gaming world with a clan named the ‘Ovs Hood’ that has approximately 50 members.
“A lot of people in OVS play Wordscapes, so we thought we’d just make a group for it,” OVS Sophomore Ben Manning said. “Plus when you’re in a group you can send each other hints and stuff.”
Of course, there are some games that do not have group features like these; Wordle and The New York Times Crossword do not support these features.
But that does not stop the OVS community from coming together and playing together.
OVS junior Ella Schuette, who is widely considered to be the first to bring Wordle to the OVS community, plays these games daily.
“They make me feel smart,” Ella says. “Sometimes I do them as a warmup for school in the morning.”
Mobile games spread through the OVS community like wildfire. First, it was Hayday, then Clash Royale, and now Wordle. What will it be next?