Pokemon Go fun for the Summer

During this holiday the app Pokemon Go has dominated my children's time.  Having discussed it with them I realised that the appeal in this game is based on the desire to collect the best, highest rating and rarest Pokemon. If they felt I was going to try and make it educational they would soon switch it off and find something different.
It has however provided plenty of opportunities for discussion and has developed certain skills.
I have seen a number of negative articles and a number of articles that suggest how Pokemon Go can be used in education.  I do not intend to suggest ways it can be used in education, instead I have some reasons why it is a positive app for children to be playing on.

There are a number of crucial elements to this game that children and adults have to understand in order to succeed:

1. You have a choice of starter Pokemon and the all three, plus Pikachu are quite hard to find.  
2. Depending on where you live, you may have difficulty finding interesting Pokemon, unless you leave the house and walk around.
3. The best places to find lots of Pokemon are parks.
4. The higher the level you are on the higher the combat power (CP) of some of the Pokemon you catch.  
5. In order to progress you need to catch a lot of Pokemon as you get more XP for one that isn't in your Pokedex.
6. You need to catch lots of the same to evolve your Pokemon as you need to gain enough candy of each type to evolve them.
7. You can train in gyms controlled by the same team as you, you have to fight in gyms controlled by other teams.  
8. If you gain control of a gym you are rewarded with Pokemon coins.  (you will need these if you run out of Pokeballs.)
9. If you visit 10 different Pokestops in 30 minutes you get a bonus.
10. You have to walk or ride a bike slowly to hatch your eggs.

From my 15 year old to my 10 year old, all are playing on Pokemon Go.  Rather than sitting in front of screens they have left the house and walked around searching for the rare Pokemon.  We have walked along beaches, the Thames, through parks and theme parks searching for Pokemon.  Discussions have involved how many magikarp are needed to evolve if you get 3 candy per magikarp and need 400 candy to evolve.  They also have walked and walked to hatch their eggs.

The reason I like this app so much is that it has got my children out and about, talking to each other about what they have caught and seen.  We have visited places that they would have protested about in the past including some beautiful parks in London.  You can even catch one or two on the London Eye.