The BlogFather – Other Uses for Pokémon Go and the Like

It feels odd posting about Pokémon Go.  Everyone went nuts when it launched.  Myself and Seren included.  I was banned from it because of supposed cheating despite me being one of the few people I knew who wasn’t using the various hacks available and they went unpunished whilst I was penalised for playing honestly.  So, needless to say, that soured my view of the game and I never bothered with it since.

Seren had a new phone for Christmas so, naturally, she wanted Pokémon Go on it to pick up where she left off after my old Galaxy S6 that she was using was smashed.  I wasn’t going to let my crappy experience affect her – if she wants to play it, rock on.

Last night and today, we have walked about Merthyr and I discovered a handy use for the game.  She has a rough idea where the Pokémon and Pokéstops are and she was asking questions about the locations and trying to figure out where the exact locations were.  So, not being from Merthyr myself, I have found that Pokémon Go has catapulted me into being a local history and geography teacher.

Whereas everyone looked at the game as being an “excuse to go out” and caused somewhat of an uproar, there is an element of truth to that – it’s a good reason to go out and explore what’s right on your doorstep and appreciate much that is overlooked or ignored due to the hustle and bustle of day to day life.  I’m not saying that one should only go out just to play the game but, as a parent who is trying to lose weight and who generally enjoys walking, it’s something to add to the experience.  I’m getting my daily step count while Seren can keep me company and stave off boredom by exercising whilst playing a game thus tricking her mind into seeing it as a fun activity as opposed to a chore PLUS we can have a conversation and share a learning experience while we do so!

It could get old but there are plenty of places to walk to and explore – many of which we probably haven’t been to or paid much attention to which is criminal considering they’re right outside our door and we have been here for years,

What has Pokémon Go (or any other geocache/augmented reality game) given you the inadvertent benefit of?

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