“POKEMAN GO” GAME LEADS TO INJURY, ROBBERIES

Last Wednesday saw the launch of “Pokemon Go,” a new smartphone game which layers gameplay onto the physical world. To play, you fire up the game and then start traveling to prominent local landmarks — represented in the game as “Pokestops” — where you can gather supplies such as Pokeballs. But the game has proved hazardous to one’s health. Players are reporting wiping out in a variety of ways as they wander the real world with their eyes glued to their smartphone screens.
– Mike Schultz, a 21-year-old communications graduate on Long Island, New York, took a spill on his skateboard as he stared at his phone while cruising for critters early Thursday. He cut his hand on the sidewalk.
– Kyrie Tompkins, a 22-year-old freelance web designer, fell on the sidewalk and twisted her ankle while wandering in downtown Waterville, Maine. “It vibrated to let me know there was something nearby and I looked up and just fell in a hole,” she says. Her parents had to drive her and her fiancé home.
– Lindsay Plunkett, a 23-year-old waitress in Asheville, North Carolina, tripped over a cinder block that had been used as a doorstop while walking down the street.
– But physical injury is only the beginning. Police in O’Fallon, Missouri say that four men have used the game to find players heading to a specific location, and then robbed them using a handgun. At least nine people have been robbed by four men over the past couple of days. The latest robbery occurred Sunday morning at around 2am. The suspects were finally by police. They told police that they used the Pokemon Go game to find their victims by anticipating where people might go through popular PokeStops.
– In Wyoming, a teen playing “Pokemon Go” discovered a body in a river Friday morning. Shayla Wiggens, 19, discovered the body when the game directed her to the bridge where it said there were resources. She was scouting the area to make sure no one else was around when she found the body face down in the water. Officials say the death appears to be accidental.
* The game should adopt a slogan, like “Pokemon Go: Enjoy the trip!”
* I can’t wait for the “Pokeman Go: Grand Canyon” version.
* This game sure puts NFL violence in perspective, doesn’t it?
* Physical injuries? Robberies? Are we having fun yet?
* Let’s hope the Pokemon Robbers will soon be in the pokey.
* “Pokey” means “prison” and the poker would be your cellmate.