Pokémon GO - First Time for Everything

If you haven't heard of Pokémon GO in the last week you might be living under a rock. Pokémon GO is a free to play, location based AR (augmented reality) mobile game. It was developed by Niantic and published by The Pokémon Company and released almost world-wide on July 6, 2016. 

Now. That was a whole lotta words to describe a mobile game so let's break it down a bit. 

• Free to play: just means the app is free but there are in-app purchases.
• Location Based: gameplay evolves and progresses based on your location, typically using the built in GPS on your phone. 
• Augmented Reality (AR): is defined as "a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. Graham, M., Zook, M., and Boulton, A. "Augmented reality in urban places: contested content and the duplicity of code." Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-5661.2012.00539.x 2012.

Basically you're entire environment is now teeming with Pokémon 

and with your phone you're able to see them and catch them. 

Your dog is no longer barking at nothing, it's probably a Bulbasaur by your grill. That bump-in-the-night you heard coming from your closet could be a Rhyhorn.

My first two Pokémon: Bulbasaur and Rhyhorn.

Pokémon was never a game I played. It was a game I bought my kids to play and a cartoon I half paid attention to while they were enthralled and packs and packs of Pokémon cards they begged for me to buy them at Target. As they grew older though, their infatuation with Pokémon dwindled. Nintendo DSs didn't get played with anymore. Pokémon cards were given to younger cousins.

Jump to July 6, 2016 and Pokémon is resurrected in the Burns house! To be honest, my youngest (15) spent a few days pretending to be too cool for Pokémon GO but finally succumbed thanks to his friends persistence and it's been Pokémon hunting ever since. Living in Arizona and without a pool, it's hard to be that "Go outside and do something!" Mom because, really, they could die. But now, not only are we outside (at night of course), we're running (walking for me), spending time together, creating a common ground with strangers in our neighborhood, and having a blast. Yes, it's my first time playing a Pokémon game and I'm enjoying every minute of it.

What about you?  Are you playing?  What's your favorite Pokémon you've gotten so far? Let me know in the comments below!