A group of gamers from Kolkata has reached a first-of-its-kind milestone: together they have walked about 25,000 kilometres while playing Pokémon Go, a free-to-play, location-based augmented reality game developed by Niantic for iOS and Android devices.
“I started playing the game individually after it was released in India in late 2016. But it soon became an exciting social experience when I met fellow gamers on the streets of Kolkata catching pocket monsters on their mobile devices. We created a WhatsApp group so that we can meet regularly as a group for ‘Pokéwalks’ and play the game socially. It is a proud moment that together we have covered around 25,000 kilometres. This is over 60% of earth’s circumference and is probably the longest walk organised by a gaming group in the country,” said Arindam Roy, a 26-year old doctor and one of the founding members of the group, Team Instinct Kolkata.
“Walking is a healthy habit. But when you walk in groups it is even more fun. The weekly ‘Pokéwalks’ helped me rediscover my hometown. Now, every weekend I am becoming a tourist in my own city,” said Somasroy Chakraborty, a 35-year old marketing professional with a reputed corporate group, who is an active member of Team Instinct Kolkata.
Team Instinct Kolkata was formed on June 7, 2017 to encourage social gaming among Pokémon trainers in Kolkata. The group organises ‘Pokéwalks’ on a regular basis, arranges collaborative ‘raids’ in local ‘gyms’ and helps Pokémon trainers in the city with important in-game information such as ‘monster nests’.
The group has also been approached by foreigners who visited Kolkata for business/leisure and wanted help in ‘gym battles’ from the local players. Members of Team Instinct Kolkata have also arranged an annual meet of trainers and their families to celebrate social gaming and playing Pokémon Go the way it is meant to be played.
“We found that many of us were playing individually and decided to form this group. There are many perks of social gaming – your progress in the game improves, there is mutual encouragement and knowledge sharing by fellow trainers and you get an opportunity to make new friends,” Souvik Chattopadhyay, a 23-year old post graduate student and member of Team Instinct Kolkata, said.
Arya Chakraborty, one of the oldest members of the group, recently moved to Bengaluru due to job transfer. He, however, makes it a point to attend the walks when he is in Kolkata. “It is addictive. I miss the walks with fellow trainers as I am no longer based in Kolkata but if I am in the city I try and participate in the walks,” the 27-year old engineer said.
The group plans to introduce several other regular programmes like ‘PokéLunch’, ‘Picnic With Pokémon’, etc. soon. “We also want Niantic to recognise that Kolkata has a large base of active players and announce in-game events specific to Kolkata like it did in Seoul and a few other cities across the world,” Snehasish Das, a 23-year old civil engineer and member of Team Instinct Kolkata said.
Fact Sheet:
Team Instinct Kolkata was formed on June 7, 2017
The group currently has 50 players
The group collectively has walked around 25,000 kilometres
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