Computer games have become more and more popular over the years, and according to the ESRB, roughly 67% of all households play video games. In fact, video games have become so prolific, it can sometimes be hard to convince the kids (or even your spouse) to get off the couch and go enjoy the great outdoors–and that’s where Wherigo comes in.
Wherigo is a combination of GPS and video games and can be played using a handheld GPS or a Windows Pocket Computer outside in the great outdoors. Set up like an adventure game, Wherigo cartridges can be downloaded to your compatible device and once started, will react to players with messages and instructions based on their GPS coordinates. To further the game, players will have to physically move from place to place and ‘interact’ with a host of virtual characters located at specific coordinates or distances. Some games are geared towards specific locations while other games can be played anywhere—you just need a wide, open space such as a park.
The list of games is immense, and it is free to play. Wherigo comes pre-loaded on some GPS devices (such as the Garmin Colorado, the first Garmin to have Wherigo built-in), and is compatible with many others. If you can’t find something suitable for your tastes or location, then you can even build your own.
If games aren’t your style, Wherigo can also be used for a variety of other location-based services, such as walking tours, scavenger hunts, pub crawls, family reunions, or anything else you can dream of!
