Pokemon “Gym” Beside the Powder Magazine

I realized yesterday that there were some young men walking through the park focused completely on their smartphones. Curious, I thought.

And then my teenage son mentioned that Pokemon Go had just been released. The action in the game is tied to locations in the real world. (This is possible, of course, because smartphones have GPSes—they know where they are.) The locations where the important virtual battles occur are called “gyms,” though, I should point out that the game is pretty cute, with imaginary creatures, and not violent.

The Powder Magazine is a “gym” for Pokemon Go.

At this time the Blue Mystic Team controls the “gym” beside the Powder Magazine. Gregg, an MIT student, was out fighting for his team’s domination at 7:45am today). Just a few days after the game’s debut, he was at an impressive level 15. (He had caught a LOT of Pokemon.) I met Dan (at level 17) and Danielle (at level 5) at the terrace today. Dan couldn’t sleep last night and had been catching Pokemon all over town. Watch out for these “Pokemon trainers,” their eyes glued to their screen, on your next walk in the park.

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