I’ll be kinda-sorta breaking my rules today with this post by talking about a game on the ‘life’ section, but it will be justified. I won’t really be reviewing Pokemon: Go explicitly, I’ll just talk about things people should keep in mind when playing the game.

So it’s no surprise that after less than forty eight hours after launch, Pokemon: Go has already exploded to the point that the servers aren’t working very well. Driving through a parking lot today, I saw several groups on their phones playing it. It was actually sort of neat to see so many people outside! Pokemon: Go as a concept is awesome because it fulfills a fantasy and makes us do real world things to do it. I wouldn’t say the game feels like virtual reality so much as it requires using physical activity as a resource. It doesn’t feel like “Pokemon in real life”. It feels sort of like “Pokemon except now the map is the real world instead of some new ‘ridiculous name’ region”.As a side note, I think this game is a pretty well developed system for making exercise rewarding. For going on a walk today, you can maybe find that one pokemon you were looking for! The best part is, you don’t even have to be a Pokefan to enjoy the game. My mom even got the game, and she seems to be really enjoying it so far.

So when you’re going out, I think its important to note that a bunch of gamers probably aren’t used to exerting themselves. Walking around doesn’t sound like work, but for some people even a mile can be exhausting! So here’s a few things to keep in mind when playing.

First and foremost, don’t look at your phone while you’re walking. Sounds obvious, but staring at your avatar and trying to find that pokemon can make you lose track of where you are in the real world, and bad things can happen. Given the sheer number of people playing this game, I’m not surprised somebody has already been hit by a car because they were too focused on the game. Don’t let that be you!

Second, its important to stay hydrated. If you’re planning on going for a walk, or even if you’re lazy and are actually driving, either drink some water beforehand or being some with you. Preferably both. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve went on a walk, only to turn around thirty seconds later because my side was cramping from dehydration. Remember that just because its a drink doesn’t mean it dehydrates you. (I’ve heard that coffee and tea actually don’t dehydrate you because the caffeine and water content balance each other out, but if that’s even true they still don’t hydrate you.) If you don’t explicitly know whether or not a drink hydrates you, stick with water. Water is always good.

Next, depending where you life, it could be necessary to take precautions to stay safe. I like to take night walks (since I like cooler temperatures), so I sometimes bring a walking stick. Its actually a good deal more useful than you may expect, as long as you don’t mind carrying it. Its especially useful when walking at night because having a phone pouring light in your eyes constantly makes it so your eyes can’t adjust to the darkness, so its also for blindness!