An iconic game was launched on July 2016 this summer, and unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know exactly what I’m talking about: Pokemon Go. The game has been downloaded by millions and millions of users worldwide. The question is what is the deal with this game?

Well, if you have absolutely no knowledge of Pokemon and it’s fan base, it may surprise you that generally adults were more excited about Pokemon Go’s release than children. I’m not talking about adults in their fifties; I’m talking about adults ranging from their early twenties to their late thirties. Pokemon is their childhood, their old obsession, and now their present obsession. They probably have hundreds of ancient Pokemon cards stashed somewhere in their home. But now, kids are getting into it. They’re all about this new trend.

So what is Pokemon Go? There’ve been many Pokemon games released over the past couple decades, but the most recent is Pokemon Go. It’s a game designed for smartphones, whether they be Apple or Android. The player is represented by an avatar which can either be male or female. As the player walks around in real life, the avatar walks in digital life. The player can walk around until their phone vibrates, signaling that there is a Pokemon nearby. Then the player can catch the Pokemon by throwing a Pokeball at it. You can literally see a Pokemon on your phone as it sits on your sofa or whatever is around you. As you encounter local landmarks, you can find Poke Stops (where you can get items) or Poke Gyms (where you can battle your Pokemon). The objective of the game is to catch, train, and battle Pokemon. That’s the basic gist of the game.

Obviously, there are glaring possibilities of disaster with this game. A person who’s staring intently at their phone can walk out into a busy street or get run over. Or an absent-minded driver that’s playing could run over an innocent pedestrian. Hey, guess what? It actually has happened. A 39-year-old man in Japan was driving his small truck and simultaneously playing Pokemon Go; he failed to see that two women were crossing the road. He struck both women, leaving one hospitalized with a severe injury and the other dead from a spinal injury. This has been the first recorded case of a death caused by someone playing Pokemon Go.

Even though millions of people are obsessed with Pokemon Go and love it and will defend it to their grave, there are irrational haters out there. They have even come up with conspiracy theories about how Pokemon Go is a ploy of the government to distract us from the shootings that were occurring around the same time the game was released in the US and to keep us from rioting. That, of course, is absolutely ridiculous, since the game was being played in Japan since March.

I interviewed two of Heritage’s teacher’s to see where they stand on Pokemon Go. Ms. Gunnell stated,”I think kids are too attached to their cell phones, but I like Pokemon Go because it makes them go outside and be active. So if we’re going to be attached to our cell phones, it might as well be for Pokemon Go.” Mr Moss says, “I don’t play it, but I think if you like Pokemon it’s a good way to spend your time. Just don’t play it while you’re driving.”

So if you haven’t given Pokemon Go a go, try it. And don’t forget to catch ’em all.