After initially released in July 2016, Pokemon GO quickly became a worldwide phenomenon and was one of the most used mobile games. Due to its popularity, their server was under heavy load and the game occasionally crashed or failed to load. Some updates of the game later broke one of the most useful feature: its built-in tracking feature became useless. Because of the lack of Pokemon tracking, some third-party apps emerged to help users to find Pokemon but later Niantic, the company who developed the game, disabled those apps. Many users were upset by the lack of Pokemon tracking and eventually left the game, and I was one of them.

Fortunately, Niantic finally fixed the tracking feature and made it even better, and also introduced daily bonus features to try to get users back. I decided a month ago to give it anther try and I was convinced by the new features so I am back now. If you are one of the users who left the game, I recommend you to give it another try just like I did, and I believe you will like it again. If you have never played Pokemon GO, I urge you to start playing. Here are 4 reasons you should play Pokemon GO:

1. It is a cute and fun game

Niantic has done a wonderful job on digitally creating each Pokemon creature. Just take a look at the following Pokemon species, don’t you agree they are cute?

And during special days of the year, Niantic will release limited-time Pokemon species, such as this Santa Pikachu for this Christmas:

Don’t you want to catch these cute little creatures?

2. It helps you to bond with your kids

If you have young kids, are you concerned that they have spent too much time on games instead of going outside? Well, Pokemon GO requires you to walk around to catch those cute little creatures. But it might not be safe for your kids to walk around outside your house, so you will need to go with them and help them to find and catch Pokemon. I remember when Pokemon was first released in July, it was too hot to play Pokemon outside for long, so I offered my kids to drive them to different neighborhoods to visit Poke Stops and catch Pokemon, and we had lots of fun together. Now my high school son does not play much any more, but he still remembers the fun time we spent together. About two months ago when I was dropping my son to my friend’s house early in the morning, I saw a dad and his son, about 4 or 5 years old, walking in the neighborhood wearing PJ’s in the chili weather, and the boy was holding a phone. I could definitely see that he was playing Pokemon GO and the dad was patiently walking with him. I bet the boy will never forget that morning when his dad was willing to sacrifice his sleep to spend time with him catching Pokemon.

3. It can reward you with good health and little money

It is obvious that playing Pokemon GO is good for your health because you will need to walk (or run if you prefer) a lot, but you probably are not aware how you can also get paid while playing Pokemon GO.  Well, to clarify, you will not get paid directly, but with two mobile apps as below you can earn rewards while playing Pokemon GO. Here are the steps:

First, install Google Fit on your Android phone (sorry I am an Android fan so I use Google Fit), or pick and install an iPhone health app from this list: https://www.walgreens.com/steps/appmarket.jsp. If you have a health device such as Fitbit, you can skip this step or use both.

Second, install Walgreens mobile app from Google Play store or iPhone App Store. Then log into your Walgreens account or register one if you don’t have an account. Finally, follow three simple steps in the video on this page to connect Walgreens account with your health app, in my case, Google Fit. https://www.walgreens.com/topic/help/steps-balance-rewards.jsp#Device

Now you are all set. Just launch your Pokemon GO and start walking and catching Pokemon. Google Fit will track your physical activity such as how many miles and steps you have walked in a day, and the data will be sent to Walgreens and be converted to Walgreens Balance Rewards points. You can earn 20 points per mile (or per 2000 steps) up to 1000 points per month. 1000 Walgreens Balance Rewards points equal to $1, so indirectly you earn a little extra money by playing Pokemon GO each day and converting your calories into cash, right?

4. Help your social life

Forget about your SnapChat, Instagram, or Twitter, I mean real social. Hang out with your friends outdoor and walk around to catch Pokemon or capture a Pokemon Gym together, besides it is safer to play Pokemon as a group especially at night. Then you can brag about it on your Instagram.

Do you play Pokemon GO? What are your reasons of playing this game? Or what are your reasons of not playing this game? You can share them in your comments.