By Kaitlin Fochesato, The Columbus Dispatch
COLUMBUS – As three people ate their lunch Downtown on the Statehouse steps Monday, a man walked up and pointed his iPhone in their direction. A few seconds later, he quickly swiped the screen with his index finger.
Then he pumped his fist. He got it. He had captured a Pokemon.
Columbus, don’t be alarmed. Across central Ohio — and the world, for that matter — people are walking for miles as if they were zombies, pointing their phones at you, your car, your office, your house in order to capture cartoon creatures that aren’t really there.
READ MORE: In The Columbus Dispatch
It’s a game, an app you download to your phone called Pokemon GO. The game uses your phone’s camera and GPS, allowing you to become a Pokemon trainer and search for the 150 characters from the first generation of games released in the mid-1990s.
And it’s as hot as it gets.
At the same time, it’s causing some trouble since it was made available on Wednesday.
Nationwide, reports of people walking into things are common. In Columbus, police scanners have been filled with reports of “suspicious people” in parks playing the game.
Playing #PokemonGo? Please #DontCatchAndDrive! We know you want to catch ‘em all, but do so safely! pic.twitter.com/qaPoJ6fKgm
— Ohio State Highway Patrol (@OSHP) July 11, 2016
The State Highway Patrol and Franklin County sheriff’s office tweeted images of Pokemon GO screens warning players to be careful during their searches. (Sheriff Zach Scott tweeted an image of a deputy and a dog staring down the character Pikachu.)
Looking for imaginary critters is all the craze this week. Read our message about @Pokemon. https://t.co/piivIhZobs pic.twitter.com/Q3gUFNhEb8
— Franklin County Sheriff’s Office (@OHFCSO) July 11, 2016
According to reports, Pokemon GO had been downloaded to 5.6 percent of the Android devices iun the U.S. and was poised to overtake Twitter as the app with the most daily users.
However, the popularity of the game did not come without its problems and there were cases of criminals luring victims to remote sites using the game, players trespassing at businesses, churches and government buildings after hours.
In Oklahoma City, officials circulated a “Poketiquette” guide: Players should look both ways before crossing streets, should be aware of their surroundings and other pedestrians and should not step on flowers.