Pokmon Go in Montreal: Hacking, trespassing, art, meetups

After about 20 minutes of playing Pokmon Go I saw a pug and got ready to catch it in a Pok Ball.

Realizing I had lost any sense of the real world, I walked over to a quiet street to keep playingso I wouldn't be a hazard to myself. Or others.

This game is clearly not for young children the way its 1996 Gameboy release was.Instead ofNintendotargeting kids withPokmonGo, the franchise seems to haveboomeranged back to the generation that loved it first.

While I was roaming theMcGillcampus with my iPhone in hand, I saw a group of children walking right into a Pokestop without one of them lifting a phone to collect its items. Amateurs.

I, meanwhile, got three Pokeballs and a potion from the McCord Museum.

I expected to see other people playing the game when I was out, but having to hack iTunes for half an hour just to download it from the U.S. storemeant I was alone.

Despite so few people playing it inMontreal compared to the U.S., public bodies are nevertheless releasing public-service announcements to try to keep the public safe.

Montreal's commuter rail agency, the AMT, posted a Facebook message on Monday: "Thank you for respecting security rules when you're looking for Pokmonnear our installations."

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But the lack of fellow players in Montreal stopped being an issue when it turned out the game knows more aboutthe city's art and culture than I do. And I consider myselfartsy and cultured.

I became so invested in spotting sculptures I never knew existed,and discovering the origins of Montreal's murals, that I started getting annoyed when new Pokmon would pop up and demand I try to catch them.

Hunting stopped being the reason I was playing after I noticed how many hidden cultural gems the app was schooling me on. Who needs another Zubat or Pidgeyanyway?

But when I returned my attention to catching thePokmon, I found myself in some awkward situations.

In residential areas with fewer cultural offerings Iwasloitering in front of houses, holding up my phone to tryto catch a Pokmon that appeared on their lawn. I was worried I looked like a weirdotaking pictures of random houses.

Some people in the U.S. are already complaining that the apphas led to gamerslurking around their homes at all hours.

And given thatthe game expectsplayers towander through unknown areas it has already gotten some people intotricky situations. Theinternetwasted no time turningit into ameme.

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On the flip side, businesses can cash in on the lure of the game. According to Time, some businesses in the U.S. are paying a $10 daily fee to bring people to them by planting rare Pokmoninside.

Some dubious landmarks in the Montreal version of the game include Boustan, because it has a painting inside, and McKibbons Pub, because it dates from 1912, apparently.

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