Most people reading this already know about geocaching, but did you know there are a host of other GPS-enabled games? There is benchmark finding, the degree confluence project and GPS drawing, but the list is even longer than that.
I came across a post today at GIS Lounge that mentioned geodashing, which is defined here:
In each game, a large set of waypoints, called dashpoints, from all over the world is posted on the Web. Dashpoint locations are chosen at random by computer, with all the unpredictability that presents. Dashpoints might be in suburban neighborhoods or in the middle of
wilderness areas.
Then, the race is on to see who can reach the most dashpoints before the deadline.
Geodashing players can participate as individuals or as teams of up to five players to increase the number of dashpoints reached. The competition is friendly and teamwork helps to get high scores, so put your online acquaintances to good use.
Because the dashpoints are spread all over the world, it doesn’t matter where you live. Dashpoints are as likely to be near to you as to anyone else. It’s easy to start playing. Pick a dashpoint, visit it, report what you find.
Geodashing led me to geogames.org, where you can find even more GPS-enabled games. I also found this great resource on GPS game message forums there.
About Rich Owings
Geodashing would be a much better game if they put the points much closer together than spread them out on an average of 40 to 50 miles. They are often a far, far drive just to find one. They should have it every 4 to 5 miles instead.