It's the first day of the holidays in Timaru and odd things are happening.
Groups of kids, from tweenies to twenties are roaming in packs, staring at screens, but outside in the open air. Parents are reporting that their teenagers are ASKING to go on trips around town, outside the house, away from their computer screens, twice in one day on some occasions!
Gadzooks!
It's been a long time coming but finally we are seeing the inter-weaving of TV, computer games and reality. Pokeman Go gets kids out and moving in the same way that Ingress, a well established program produced by the same company gets so called older geeks out and about.
Those Ingress pioneers, and I am one of them, have done the leg work, literally. The sites of 'interest' are the same in both games. For your budding trainer, gyms and Pokestops are near things like statues, museums, libraries, historical plaques and signs. Schools are generally off limits.
There are several ways to enjoy the game. Collecting all the different kinds of Pokeman is harmless enough, and the game is built to encourage walking. Eggs will hatch only if you pound the pavement for 2 or 5 kilometres.
The more controversial side of the game are the gyms. There are three teams who battle for 'ownership' of these sites, using creatures they have captured and trained. Ingress history tells us that this idea of 'ownership' is unhelpful as it is at best a temporary thing. The ownership of a gym is going to change and there is no point being too attached.
If you are in Timaru, Centennial Park is a great place to start. There are a bunch of sites near both main entrances and it is a great to place to be even after the batteries run out. The centre of town is also chock full of sites guaranteed to get wannabe trainers walking but there is traffic to contend with, so be careful. Perhaps the best place to start is Caroline Bay which has no vehicles to worry about and a ton of places to visit.
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