Pokemon-mad gamers are out to catch ’em all

App craze helping people get healthy and make new friends

The virtual world of Pokemon Go has landed in Ashford, to the delight of enthusiastic gamers.

The craze officially launched in Europe on Wednesday last week in the form of a mobile phone app.

Based on the popular 1990s video game and film franchise, the game allows players to “catch” mythical creatures on their smart phone screens as if they are there in real life using the phone camera.

Players can then train and battle them against others, allowing residents to explore their towns.

The Kentish Express has been out and about talking to players of the game, whose slogan is “gotta catch ’em all”.

Serge Goldenburg, 29, said: “Despite the competitive aspect to it, there are a lot of like-minded people of all age groups out there right now getting active and playing together in groups. That is cool.” He has already made two friends through playing the game.

He said: “Yesterday I was talking to a woman in her 60s or maybe even older about the game and she revealed to me that she was level nine and loving it.”

Fan Coral McGovern, 21, said: “It allows me to escape and just wander around and admire the beauty around me.”

Devi Moore, 21, from Kennington, who suffers with Type 1 diabetes, said the game has been great for her and Ollie, her assistance dog.

She said: “Pokemon Go has helped me a lot in the past week. I used to hate going out without a destination clearly in mind. With Pokemon Go, it’s easier to decide to go for a half-hour walk with no real place in mind, just to walk for the sake of it. Walking also helps regulate my blood sugars.”

Twitter user @ Jedi_ Fish posted: “In the past nine days I have walked 82km thanks to Pokemon Go. I’ve just been told that’s pretty much from Ashford to Calais. #PokemonGO”

Laura Morgan, 21, from Kingsnorth, said: “It gets people out of their houses and gets them walking, and if you go into town and talk to people who work in game stores or phone stores, they are most likely all talking about it and you can just join in.”

Tim Hall, manager of XPress Games in Ashford town centre, said: “There seems to be a lot more people out and about and it’s got a lot of people talking about it. It’s gone beyond just Pokemon Go as well. A lot of other Pokemon products have sold quite well since it’s launch.”

The game has already had more than 30 million downloads.

‘It allows me to escape and just wander around and admire the beauty around me’

What do you think of Pokemon Go? Write to Kentish Express, 34-36 North Street, Ashford TN24 8JR or email kentishexpress@ thekmgroup.co.uk

Serge, left, and his new Pokemon-playing friend John in Victoria Park