Is Pokemon Go the greatest invention of the century?

Lil

Well-Known Member
I can't think of any game sillier than Pokémon.

But this game has done more to combat obesity in a week than Michelle Obama has in 8 years! LOL

Seriously, my son downloaded this and it's his newest obsession. And he goes OUTSIDE and WALKS AROUND! In the sunshine and fresh air! I see posts on Facebook from his gamer friends talking about "taking a walk later" and "want to get together and walk around?" He reconnected with a friend yesterday and they walked around for hours with some other guys catching Pokémon! Even he recognizes how weird this is. He said he'd never seen so many people out late - that there were 30 or 40 people around the capital building and on the streets - not drinking, not causing trouble...playing Pokémon! It requires you to walk a certain number of kilometers for things too. My son said he's walked 15 kilometers since he downloaded the game.

It's crazy...but it gets gamers off their butts and out of the house. :D
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
It was on the news this morning. Apparently some people are going out at 3am and pushing their boundaries with this game in unsafe ways. I am not familiar with the game at all but I'm not sure how this could be. But that's how I know about it. The news.
 

RN0441

100% better than I was but not at 100% yet
We were in the downtown area of our town yesterday walking and people watching and saw a bunch of kids looking at their phones, saying "I got him" etc. and figured there was some sort of game they were playing. When we got home my husband saw that it was Pokemon!

As a warning we saw on the news today that criminals somehow have hacked the game and have those that are playing go to locations that they somehow have set up and then they rob them. Leave it to some creeps to ruin things!
 

Lil

Well-Known Member
Basically, (if I understand it right) it's a more live-action version of the Pokémon game. They use GPS and actually show you a grid of the streets around you and there will be Pokémon hidden here and there - apparently they like churches and other public buildings lol - and you "catch" them virtually. Then you can level them up and stuff like that. You can find "eggs" that you have to "incubate" by walking so many kilometers. There are "stops" where you get more balls to catch with and "gyms" where you can battle your Pokémon. But instead of just sitting on your butt looking at the game on a screen, you literally have to go to the creatures and stops and gyms. For instance, my son knew there was a "gym" at Walgreen's a block from where he works. He can't quite get close enough to battle in that gym without physically walking to Walgreen's. Supposedly, you look at the street with your camera and it'll show you the Pokémon standing on it.

I heard, but didn't see the story, about people leading people into robberies with the game. Yes, you need to have a brain. I'd imagine that if you aren't careful of your surroundings, you're leaving yourself open to someone running up and snatching your phone, at a minimum. I understand that you can add a lure to get more players to come to you to battle or lure more Pokémon, which in turn will lure people. Plus, a robber could just hang out near a "stop" and wait for people.

Some people have to ruin things.

Found this story that explains it very well.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...nd-monsters-and-injuries-robberies-and-worse/
 

Kathy813

Well-Known Member
Staff member
My daughter mentioned it yesterday. She said she loves it. I did tell her about the online article I saw about some people being robbed playing the game.

~Kathy
 

Lil

Well-Known Member
I just am so impressed that it's getting kids (and adults) exercise! One story I watched a man said he'd walked 12 miles in 36 hours playing the game. I know in about 3 days, our son has walked 15 kilometers playing. One night he walked around our block like 13 times to incubate his egg. lol

I've had friends my age and older on Facebook playing it. I just find it so funny.
 

pasajes4

Well-Known Member
They had a story here about a girl playing the game. She did not find pokemon. She found a dead body under a bridge. I have friends who are playing it as a family and that seems awesome. There is always that segment of the population that will turn it into something sinister.
 

Lil

Well-Known Member
I read the dead body thing too. The death was unrelated to the game. She just happened to be playing when she found it.

Probably sucked all the fun out of the game for her though.
 

pasajes4

Well-Known Member
Probably sucked all the fun out of the game for her though.

That would do it for me. I love the idea of the game. I really like the idea of playing it as a family and their kids are older teens.............safety in numbers and all that business.
 

KTMom91

Well-Known Member
Hubby plays a game called Ingress. Same principle, you wander around in search of portals which then yield various treasures. I was always afraid he'd be arrested for his wandering and/or bizarre driving.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
husband and J and Tyler went to campus yesterday to walk around and catch Pokemon. He said he had never seen that many people on campus n a Sunday EVER! They were all catching Pokemon! A girl was with a friend in a car driving slowly and she looked guilty because she was driving and trying to get Pokemon.

If it gets them out and abut I am all for it!
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
I'll be honest, the active part of it has me intrigued. However... With a preschooler, I have to be more aware than the average gamer. So I might download it and just see what happens...
 

Lil

Well-Known Member
A little warning...there is a lot of stuff in the news right now about the app having access to ALL your google information, including being able to READ your email and even make changes.

SO...I'd make a fake Gmail account - one you don't plan to use as an actual email address - and use that to set up the app.
 

HMBgal

Well-Known Member
For us and Difficult Grandson, it has been a great motivator to get him to do what he needs to do. If he gets dressed, makes the bed, eats his breakfast, and brushes his teeth without being harangued every step of the way, he can go on a "Poke Walk" (his name for it) around the the neighborhood. Holy cow! He does it in record time, including picking up his dishes off the table, etc. It's like car keys to a 16 year old--magic! We do have a fake account and he's invisible to others. Yes, there's always a risk that someone with snatch the device (an old small tablet I have--not a phone, oh heck no), but he's just in the neighborhood and we live in a small town and everyone knows him around here (that's both bad and good), and we all look out for each other's kids. And if we go to a public place, we'll be with him.
 

AppleCori

Well-Known Member
My daughter loves the game, and so do I!

I don't play it, but I walk with my daughter, so I am getting more exercise than usual.

She never goes alone. I'm not comfortable with that, so I always go with her.

We have to go to different places to catch different Pokemon, so it has added some fun to our outings.

I have been trying to loose some extra weight anyway, so it is a motivator. I have lost about five pounds.
 
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