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Vodcast: What Parents Need to Know About Pokemon GO

A Clinton is running for president and people all across the United States are going bananas over Pokemon. You’d be forgiven if you wondered for a moment whether or not you had accidentally traveled back in time to the 1990s.

Even if you’re not already trying to catch ‘em all yourself, you’ve likely heard something about the new Pokemon craze: Pokemon GO.

Since its arrival in app stores last week, the free-to-play phenomenon has captured the attention of our entire nation. Call it a fad, call it a timely (and, for many, welcome) distraction from emotionally draining headlines, or even call it late for dinner, Pokemon GO is dominating phones—and news cycles—everywhere.

It’s even invaded our offices here at Plugged In.

Adam and I (and a few others) have been checking out the game over the past few days in order to be able to give you our first-hand impressions here. There have been a lot of crazy Pokemon GO-related news items floating around, and we wanted to dive into just what, exactly, the game is… and what it is not.

Adam dove into Pokemon more fully for Focus on the Family, touching on some of the long-standing spiritual concerns that many have with the game.

Today, though, we wanted to break down what the game is, how it plays, and a few tips for parents and families who are trying to figure out the nuances and boundaries that come alongside this game that comes complete with fun buzzwords like “augmented reality.”

And for those looking for an audio link (maybe so they can listen to our vodcast while playing Pokemon GO), here it is.

Also, in addition to our run down and show-and-tell of the game here, we have created A Quick Pokemon Go Guide for Parents” that you can download here. It includes a brief breakdown of the game’s key elements as well as discussion points for parents who are letting their kids play—and for parents who have decided not to let their kids play.