If you or your kids are Pokémon fans, you’ve probably either played or heard of the new game, Pokémon Go. Or have seen people wandering around with their phones looking around for Pokémon! It’s the new hottest craze, and it’s growing quickly!
It can be a bit confusing for parents or non Pokémon players, so here are some tips from my 10 year old since she’s the one who’s teaching us how to play 🙂
First of all, you need to download the game. It’s technically not available here yet, but all the kids are getting it by either changing their location or through this site – a word of warning, since you’re not supposed to be downloading it from there they say they might ban Pokémon accounts.
Make your account and you’re ready to start finding Pokémon. Put on your comfy walking shoes as you might end up far from home. Walk around and keep the screen open – make sure to look for obstacles, cars etc! Very important! When you find a Pokémon it shows on 
your map – tap on it and the Pokémon appears on your screen. To catch the Pokémon swipe the Pokeball up – try to aim for the Pokémon. Once you catch it, the stats for that Pokémon appear on your screen. You also earn experience points for every Pokémon you catch. Those points help you level up – which is important since you have to be at level 5 to battle other players and battle gyms. Gyms are set locations where you can join a team – either Instinct, Valor or Mystic. Make sure to read their descriptions before you pick your team. If you beat a gym leader, the gym becomes yours, which leads to more people wanting to battle you.
Pokestops are certain places where if you tap on them on your map you earn free items, like pokeballs, eggs, and more. Pokestops are blue symbols on your screen.
There’s a lot to the game, leveling up, evolving etc. and we can cover those later. 🙂
Those are the basics to get you started – the game is still quite glitchy so be prepared to be patient with it. I’m sure it will improve soon. It’s a fun way to get out as a family – free activity and lots of exercise. Great way to explore new areas too.
Just remember to be aware of your surroundings and to where you’re wandering onto during your search. Have fun, and remember, you gotta catch ’em all!
And if you have any questions, ask away and I will ask my daughter 🙂