When I was invited to a Community Bulbasaur hunt by my son and Grandson, I was honored and put-off; I was never much of a game player. I am, however, a good sport, and went along with the team, stopping at Pokestops (thank you Starbucks) and capturing Pokemon while traipsing across Queens (the Borough in NYC, not any royals).
I was very curious about the Pokemon GO game, and how it grew into a map based adventure. Unlike Pirates’ buried treasure maps of my youth, you can actually catch Pokemon overlaid on a moving map of the local terrain! And catch them we did, moving up levels and feeling like the great Pokemon hunters we had become! The Pokemon were successfully captured, and we rejoiced afterwards while feasting on sandwiches after the hunt.
It was weeks afterward, when I was googling around the internet, that I came across some fascinating articles:
These seniors are kicking ass in Pokemon Go – cnet
What can Pokémon Go do for the elderly ? – Silver Economy
‘This is what 73 looks like’: Seniors embracing Pokémon GO – Vancouver TV News
I learned that “Pokemon seduces people of all ages”; and “In the US, Pokémon Go invades retirement homes”. Interim Healthcare posted this article, “Pokemon Go offers health benefits to seniors” – specifically noting the ways Pokemon can help seniors get more exercise and fight depression with Pokemon. Perhaps the youngsters have gotten on to something. And now the experienced and mature seniors just might need to show those upstarts “how it is done”.
Senior tools for catching Pokemon:
Big Vision Magnifying glasses (for viewing small phone screens) – on Amazon