Augmentred reality games, or AR games for short, have come into the forefront of the public eye in recent years. Thanks primarily to the advancements in smartphone technology. Previously, AR games were limited to web browsers and involved sifting through different cryptic clues, messages, and videos hidden on various web pages and social media sites.

These days AR games are a lot more advanced. And more focused on getting the players out and about. Using various different gadgets to track your progress. The most common form of AR games these days use your phone’s camera to superimpose a virtual world on the real one. Others use tracking gadgets like FitBits or smart watches to monitor progress.

AR games are a fantastic way to integrate gaming into your daily exercise. To that end we have hand selected the best AR games that are certain to get you moving!

Pokemon GO

The game that started the AR revolution. Pokemon GO might not have been the first AR game. But it is the one that made the smartphone virtual overlay system so popular. The game follows the idea of any Pokemon game. You find Pokemon. Catch them. And battle others. But to find the Pokemon you have to go out exploring the real world.

Various locations within your local area will be marked as Gyms or Pokestops. Players can battle for control of these locations or use them to restock their items. As you move through the real world you will encounter new Pokemon. The game uses your step count to level up and evolve your Pokemon as well. Encouraging you to walk as much as possible.

RideEvery Tile

A lot of AR games are more focused on walking around. But RideEvery Tile puts cycling into the limelight. The game itself is hosted on a website where you upload your cycling data after a ride. The game has split the entire globe into a grid system. The idea is to ride through as many of these grids as possible.

The game has a small but active community. Players can upload notes and stories about their routes alongside their statistics. Even those without a bike can use their cities electric bikes for commuting to get in on the fun. As long as you have a phone you’re good to go.

There seem to be no plans to create a dedicated app for the game as of yet. But we hope that, as it becomes more popular, the creators will consider it.

Pikmin Bloom

This is perhaps the most tranquil of the AR games out there. Based on the popular Nintendo series, Pikmin Bloom puts the focus on enjoying your walks and making the world a more beautiful place. Creating memories and spending time with your Pikmin. The game doesn’t feature any competitive elements. It is more focused on the spirit of exercise and cooperation.

The main goal in Pikmin Bloom is to grow flowers. As you walk through the world you will leave a trail of flower seeds behind you. Over time these flowers will bloom into beautiful gardens. Walking also helps grow your Pikmin. The virtual overlay lets you take pictures of your Pikmin enjoying the gardens you created. You can see the work other players have done as well and share in your success.

Ingress

If you are looking for a competitive AR game with a global scope then Ingress is the one for you. Perhaps the most ambitious AR game out there, Ingress puts two teams against one another for control of the globe. In a similar vein to the Gyms in Pokemon Go, players need to fight for control of key areas on their local map.

The game offers a lot more complexity than Pokemon Go though. Once a player has achieved control of an area they can link it up with two other controlled areas to form a triangular ‘Area Of Control.’ These control areas designate a section of the world under that faction’s control. The areas can be as small as a few streets to the entire country.

Zombies, Run!

Released way back in 2012, ‘Zombies, Run!’ is one of the best fitness AR games out there. It elevates your running to the next level. The premise is simple. You play as a character trying to outrun a horde of zombies while collecting supplies for your camp and uncovering clues about the zombie pandemic.

The game does this through audio narration. As you run the story unfolds around you. You find supplies and are told when you need to speed up or are free to slow down. The game lets you customize your workout session. Using interval training to create a fully immersive and amazing workout regime.

When you think of gaming the first thing that pops into your mind is probably video games. The reality is that while this is the most popular form of gaming, we have currently there has been a massive spike in interest when it comes to tabletop games. Whether you’re talking about Settlers of Catan, dungeons, and Dragons, or Connect Four these are all types of tabletop games that have earned a name for themselves over many decades. With this spike there is an increasing demand for people can sell those games since more often than not they are pretty hard to come by. If you are both interested in gaming and in potentially taking advantage of this lack of offer you might be thinking about starting your very own gaming store. Well, 2024 is the best time ever to do so. So let’s take a look at why and how you can go about making your business a success once you decide if you want to do it or not.

The State of Gaming in 2024

First and foremost it’s important to address the fact that table talks while being very popular are still very much in niche hobby compared to video games. That much becomes even more apparent when you look at the actual numbers. My number is we are of course talking about the sales figures and the estimated growth of each industry year by year. While board games are estimated to become an around $3 billion industry by 2027 the video game industry is currently at around 190 billion in 2024 with numbers rising every year even with the post-COVID negative numbers. Despite these very big sales figures it’s important to understand that both industries are currently facing a bit of a culture shift as many people are starting to focus their attention on independent products because of the behavior of massive companies. This is especially positive when you think about the fact that independent companies offer products of generally greater quality for lower prices which can be a great place to start when opening a store.

The Logistics

When we talk about opening a store, we are not necessarily talking about opening a physical store by itself. Generally, the best way to do it especially when you are planning to sell things that are appealing to obvious who are generally well-connected to the online culture is to simply open an online store and have your merchandise stored in a storage unit. This not only allows you to sell easily online but you can also avoid having merchandise piled up in your apartment. Storing your product in a storage unit also is a cheaper and safer way to keep your goods all in the same place. This way you have less risk of your merchandise getting damaged or stolen since most storage companies have security cameras and can monitor units using a web based self storage software. If you are looking to build a business online the best way to do it is of course to have the least number of things to pay so you can make as much money as possible from your sales of online products.

As you can see running a gaming store in 2024 is a great way to make some profit for yourself and is also pretty easy once you figure out all the basics that you require. If you are obvious yourself, you will find some great opportunities to both enjoy your hobby as well as share it with people who are also interested in said hobby. It is even easier than ever considering that many platforms exist to help beginners create their online stores as well as learn the basics of marketing when it comes to starting a company. So don’t be afraid to take a risk and do something that you enjoy that could potentially bring you a lot of great opportunities business-wise.