Let me start by saying that it has been about fifteen years since I really got into a game. The first game that I ever really fell in love with was the original Civilization (yes I’m old) and after that my favorite games were Warcraft II, Warcraft III and Starcraft.

I lost interest in Starcraft because I went to college, got incredibly busy, and honestly I don’t think my life has slowed down since then. Then, late last year I discovered Clash of Clans, it brought me right back to 1999 and to the genre of game I used to love.

I started playing and I was instantly hooked. First let me be clear, I wasn’t playing Clash of Clans for long periods of time because frankly, you can’t unless you’re a millionaire. Instead I was playing 5-10 minutes a day and I stayed on as an engaged user for about six-months until literally it was impossible for me to play any more without spending a small fortune.

So now I’m back to my normal non-gaming self, but I did learn how Supercell (the company that makes Clash of Clans) created such an incredible money-printing machine. It comes down to one thing they do from the very beginning — they teach you to be impatient.

Of course a picture is worth a thousand words, so here it goes. When you start Clash of Clans they have a “tutorial” that teaches you the basics of the game. From literally the first minute they push you to spend gems (things you end-up having to pay for in the game) right-away and actually encourage you to be a less patient person. Don’t wait a minute for something to complete, that’s way too long, spend a gem!

Take a look at this screenshot from the initial tutorial. The Cannon will be built in a minute, heck there’s only 40 seconds left, but look at what your “teacher” is telling you:

“Now’s not the time to be stingy. Spent some green gems to speed things up!”

But of course, who has 40 seconds to spare? This behavior continues throughout the entire tutorial, you build things, and then they push you to pay to finish construction because, well, you want to speed things up don’t you?

How could I wait a whopping 56 more seconds for my Elixir Collector to be finished? A big orange arrow makes it clear that I’m just not that patient, I want it now!

It is absolutely brilliant, and it works. Here are a few stats about the success of Supercell:

• Supercell currently brings in $2.4M/day in revenue (source — Forbes)
• Supercell made $829M in 2013 (source — Forbes)
• Clash of Clans was the most lucrative gaming app of 2013 (source — The Guardian)
• New players can spend $1,000 or more in their first month of gameplay (Source — Wired)
• Some people get so hooked they play on multiple iPads (Source — Venturebeat)

So while Clash of Clans may have lost me as a player, there are plenty of people like me who spend thousands of dollars a month on the game…and to be honest, if I was a millionaire I might just do the same.

It’s a brilliant move by Supercell, and while many give the credit to “in-app” purchases (which is without a doubt the end result), it all starts with one simple thing, teaching the user to be impatient.