Abstract. Previous studies have reported various potential benefits from
playing location-based games (LBGs). These include being outdoors, exercise, decreased sedentary behavior, increased knowledge of surroundings, improved cartographic, geographical and navigation skills, increased
social interaction, meeting new people, forming acquaintances and activating people. One of the benefits of LBGs is that compared to other
self-help applications and games, they are able to reach demographics
who have trouble or are not interested in seeking improvement in their
lives. This study focuses on the currently available LBGs (N=60) and
identifies how their gameplay supports the observed benefits of playing
the games. The found LBGs were sorted into five sub-genres. At the core
of the popular LBGs Pok´emon GO and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite were
three main game mechanics all supporting each other: (1) moving around
to find points of interest (PoIs), (2) travelling to PoIs and (3) walking
to trigger game-events. Most gameplay were tied to these, as were also
the potential benefits of playing the games. These findings highlight the
importance of PoIs, their location and their quality, for maximizing the
benefits gained from playing LBGs.
Keywords: Location-based games · gameplay · game mechanics · Pok´emon
GO · potential benefits