Gaming With GPS On Your Smartphone

Barence writes "If your handset doesn't get you out and about, tramping through mud, climbing around and hunting for hidden treasure, then something needs an upgrade. The iPhone, Blackberry's Storm and Bold lines, and many Symbian and Android handsets, now sport GPS, which makes your smartphone the ticket to join a global movement of outdoor games. These are outbound challenges that pit teams and solo players against themselves and each other in the search for hidden treasure, undiscovered landmarks, and hidden spots all over the world. This article delves into several of the best smartphone-friendly real-world games, each of which is a bridge between the online and offline worlds."

Comments

You mean 4 things....

[rat7307]

Travel bugs are a part of Geocaching, not some separate game. (To be even more specific, travel bugs are a part of geocaching.com's version of geocaching.....)

Love geocaching, not too sure about geodashing though, it's a bit too random for me!

GPS is old!

[Mad Merlin]

Phones with GPS are by no means a new phenomenon at all. Even the RAZR has GPS, and it's rapidly approaching 6 years old now.

Re:GPS is old!

[dfm3]

GPS is nothing new in phones, but sadly end-user access to GPS functionality is still being hindered by many phone manufacturers. My current phone ( a G'zOne) has a GPS receiver, but it's only useful for E911 purposes unless I buy an extra subscription for some sort of mapping service. Even then I still couldn't use the phone as a basic GPS receiver due to software limitations.

Real life Zork

[tangent3]

If camera is all dark and GPS is not receiving any signal, player is eaten by the Grue.

Please Rob Me

[naz404]

I love that GPS game where people broadcast to the entire web on Foursquare/Twitter that they're not home so you rob their houses blind! :D http://pleaserobme.com

Re:Please Rob Me

[ChiRaven]

On the other hand, my home security system has a real-time camera that will send pictures to my cell phone (or to my security company, if I choose) if anybody DOES try to break into my house while I'm gone. And yes, it DOES have substantial battery backup AND its own cell phone link, so cutting the wires to my house will NOT help the burglars one bit. Technology giveth as well as taketh away.

N5800

[Luckyo]

Nokia has published ovi maps racing, which is essentially micro machines in real world. Really fun game, you essentially create tracks based on real world maps stored on your phone, and can race on them. Brings a whole new level of fun to make a track around your neighbourhood and share it with friends. Real killer app for nokia and GPS has been their sports tracker though, which isn't a game. Sadly it became a pay application after its enourmous success as a free one.

Re:Dangerous

[MrNaz]

While I do agree that not all games have physics models that allow flight and underwater breathing, I'm pretty sure my twitch skills will allow me to take on even the scariest mobs.

Lame.

[Hurricane78]

I’ve tried these “games”. And while there are many out there, they are pretty lame. And GPS is way too inexact anyway. And it doesn’t work in buildings. Or between high buildings. Or in the woods. Or pretty much everywhere where it would be fun.

So it’s a lot of moving. In your everyday scenery.
Sorry, but this can’t beat alien 3D worlds and game physics.
Plus: What geek likes sports anyway? ;)