Staying active can be difficult in the winter months. For those who are not so inclined to be on the hiking trails, here are a few other ways to keep busy.
There are many different forms of games that a person can play. But, according to ThinkMobiles.com the best ones to play on the go are Geolocation Augmented Reality, or AR. The website goes on to define geolocation AR games as games that, “use the real-world maps and locations as the gaming environment augmenting them with unique plot, fantastic creatures and amazing quests.” All of these games are within your reach and available on your smartphones at no charge. According to ThinkMobiles.com, the top two AR games are created by Niantic Labs.
The number two spot on ThinkMobiles.com is held by Ingress. Released by Niantic in 2012, Ingress uses the GPS location on your smartphone to bring you a new spin on the world around you. The slogan is “The world around you is not what it seems” and it takes that saying to a whole different level. In the game scientists have discovered dark matter. They give you two options, save mankind with it or enslave them. The two sides are known as The Resistance and The Enlightened. You choose the side and which one wins is up to you.
The number one spot on ThinkMobiles.com is held by none other than Pokémon GO. According to The Guinness Book of World Records, Pokémon GO holds a total of 5 world records, including most downloaded game in its first month and most revenue grossed by a mobile game in its first month.
Released by Niantic in July 2016 it has remained a highly played game. The game uses the GPS on your smartphone to show different factions of the game. To play you have to have the proper tools to catch all the Pokémon. These items are found at what is called a Pokéstop. As you near these stops the little orb turns into circles that you spin the middle of to collect items. The next and bigger part of the game is gyms. Once you have picked a team, either blue, red or yellow, you can play against the gym of an opposing team. If the gym is defeated then you can take the gym for your team color and leave Pokémon’s there to defend the gym. The gym also has a Pokéstop within it as well. Just spin it like any Pokéstop. The biggest piece to this experience are the raids. Raids allow you to capture any Pokémon that are not released into the wild or are rarely in the wild. They range from 1-star to legendary 5-star Pokémon, and as the slogan says, “Gotta catch ‘em all!”
What’s next for Niantic and AR games? On November 8th, 2017 Niantic made the following announcement “We’re thrilled to partner with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, and WB Games San Francisco’s development team to bring this magical and beloved series to life in a brand-new way. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite.”