Pokemon Go

Pokemon Go is now out in Canada. So guess which nerd and wife duo have gotten in to it?

This is the first Pokemon game I played. Yeah, that might kill some nerd cred but it's true. The wife has been teaching me everything about this game and it's a bit odd for me but I'm enjoying it.

Pokemon Go is essentially the marriage of geocaching with video gaming. You wander the real world looking for Pokemon to catch. It's that simple. The game uses your GPS, as you approach Pokemon you get an alert. Then it uses the camera function so you can see the Pokemon. Swipe the screen to toss Pokeballs to catch 'em all.

The other part of the game involves visiting Pokestops, these are usually tied to points of interest: artworks, churches, monuments etc. When near one of these locations there will be a blue icon on the screen. Tap it to bring up the display. Swipe to spin the icon and it will release useful items.

Finally there are gyms. This is where you can battle with your Pokemon. I've only taken one gym so far. Oddly I ran in to a group of other players from the same team I chose and we took the gym easily. I chose team Valor because I always choose red when I can in games (it's the colour of the blood of my enemies)

I like how the game has got me off my backside and walking. I've become something of a fatty fatty fat Matt. I'm working getting healthier. For example I've switched from regular to grape NOS because that's got more fruit... right?

My work seems to be a dead zone. There are never Pokemon, Pokestops, or gyms nearby so I have to leave on my breaks. It's nice to have little breaks in the soul crushing monotony of my job. And with a kids hospital relatively near I can actually walk somewhere I can effectively catch Pokemon.

The game has done wonders for socialization as well. There are locations with significant density of Pokestops that draw in the crowds. You can go hang out and socialize with like minded people there. It's easy to spot other players (staring at their phones and yelling squirtle) and you can talk about what you've caught. My sickly cave tan is being slowly burned away by angry sky fire (the sun) because of this. As a note on these locations please take care of these places, they are nearby peoples homes. So please keep them clean and safe. Also these tend to be places of significance so take time to find out what the monuments the Pokestops are tied to mean.

Until next time, check out the rest of my posts. Gotta read 'em all.