Discover the Wee Toon’s Pokestops
Some of the town’s places of worship have also become Pokestops
GAMERS are going Pokémon potty playing the latest viral smartphone app.
UNTIL last week, Campbeltown’s Linda McCartney Memorial Garden was a destination for Beatles fans. Now it is also a Pokestop.
The Wee Toon has not been immune to the computer gaming viral sensation, Pokémon Go (PG), which has captivated the nation’s gamers on their smartphones.
With the app on a mobile, players walk around towns and cities hunting monsters in reallife locations – and the memorial is just one of many gamers’ pit stops.
Problems
Already, though, there have been problems with people glued to their mobiles not watch- ing the ground – and in California a man fell off a cliff.
Pokestops are places of note or interest in a town which players visit to collect items necessary to advance in the game.
Pokestops discovered so far by the Courier are as follows: Campbeltown Town Hall, Scottish Episcopal Church, the Rotary Club Stone, the Cross of Ivar MacEachern, Victoria Hall, the Old Gaelic Church of Lochhead, Glengyle Distillery, Saint Kieran’s Catholic Church, Campbeltown Old Post Office and the George Armour of Chicago Monument.
Players who have reached level five or above will also be able to access so-called gyms across the town, where they can battle other players’ Pokemon.
Those who feel that the site of any Pokestop is disrespectful or disruptive can contact Niantic, the company responsible for the game’s creation.
Kathleen McMillan, vice-chairperson of Kintyre Youth Enquiry Services (KYES) said she’d like to see the KYES building become a Pokestop.
She said: ‘I think if it was a Pokestop we’d get loads of kids in. The town hall’s a Pokestop and I saw about 20 kids standing outside there.’
Some of the town’s places of worship have also become Pokestops, in keeping with a nationwide trend.
The Courier spoke to the newly-arrived Campbeltown Salvation Army (SA) captains, Ruth and Bob Russell, about the possibility of the SA becoming involved with the game.
Mr Russell said that discussions would need to be had with the SA community.
Mrs Russell said that turning the SA Hall into a Pokestop was ‘something that we could do’ but emphasised that the decision was not entirely theirs to make.
Several churches have successfully attracted young people to their buildings after applying to become a Pokestop.
Although most Pokestops are chosen by game developers, now businesses and community leaders can request the installation of a stop.
When asked if being a Pokestop would bring youth to the SA, Mrs Russell said: ‘I’d imagine we would do. It’s such a new thing just now.
‘I’ve heard bad reports and I’ve heard good reports about it – like the mother who said it really helped her autistic child.
‘I just don’t know enough about it at the moment.’
Welcome
Lorne and Lowland Church on the Longrow is not currently a Pokestop, but its minister, the Reverend Phillip Wallace, said: ‘I would welcome Pokemon to the church. If it gets people out and about to places they would not normally go, it has got to be a good thing.’