1 yr. ago • 91%

is there a fun gamified step counter/running app?

Trying to get my child to go out and run a bit with me, worked ok so far but I know it might get boring at some point.

So I was looking for any kind of children friendly app that either counts distance or steps just for a run, so not at all times, and then gives some kind of reward for that. Like a dog growing up or whatever, something ok for kids. Zombie run comes up often but I don't think my child is into that, bit too scary maybe with the zombie theme.

Other apps I found are counting steps continously, or there are some elaborate minigames connected. I really don't want my little one to spend more time on a screen, so thats not great either. Like Pokemon Go, not into Pokemon yet anyway but its too much aside from the actual running/walking.

Anybody got a good suggestion that goes in that direction?

22 comments

I think the Pikmin bloom game possibly? It's been a while since I played but I think that was more step oriented

7
- Sounds familiar, I will have a look what it is, thanks!
  
  3
I only know of an app that is currently under developement which turns walking into am old school rpg experience. Though I have no idea when it is to be released.

https://walkscape.app/

6
- this looks really interesting, thanks for sharing
  
  2
- Looks a bit too complex for my kid to appreciate and get into it. Should have maybe said its for a 6 year old who is on the verge of learning how to read, but not a native English speaker.
  
  1
  
  Shit, sorry.
  
  Edit: meant to reply to your reply to me. 😭
  
  3
I heard good things about zombiesrungame

5
- Yeah if more people could read my post fully before answering... ;)
  
  Zombies may be a bit to scary for my child, is a bit young and I didn't mention that in the main post to be fair.
  
  If the Zombies theme would be more like Plants vs Zombies, maaaybe?
  
  3
  
  It's got all sorts of different storylines, some don't even involve zombies. There's a magic one, for example
  
  3
  
  I'd say if it's old enough for recreational running it should also be old enough for zombie movies. But you do you
  
  1
You could try Ingress, it was the game that Niantic built Pokémon on top of.

Not sure if it would be interesting for a kid, would depend on how old they are. And requires a lot of screen time. You have to fight over locations on the map, it really motivates you to go to "just one more" location.

There is also an item in the game that produces items for you, but requires you to walk certain distances.

🤷🏻

4
A dog haha, but also good to get kids to be bored sometimes, boredom is important for future hobbies and projects, I got stuck on reddit for a good while and all my hobbies suffered because it was easier to pick up my phone and browse than to put in the effort to continue my hobbies

2
- Yeah sure, but this is exercise. Which is good for health but certainly not too much fun when you run the same area a million times. So if some app would help keeping up interest in that, whatever.
  
  2
  
  You could try the Finch self care app. Haven't used it myself and it's not just for steps but looks like you might be able to use it for that?
  
  If you can't find an app, you could pretty easily gamify it yourself. Use any step counter app and at home you can set up a page with a chart that you add stickers to ever maybe 5p or 100 steps or so, and when you fill up the bar you unlock what's inside, like an advent calendar? You could do things like dress up a stuffed animal, or have an egg hatch and print out pictures of it changing and growing, little speech bubbles of encouragement etc.
  
  2
I know you said no Pokémon, but what about Digimon? I think something in the Vital Bracelet family might fit your needs. It’s a watch with a character that transforms into more powerful forms based on your activity. There is a bit of an investment since you’ll need to buy the device itself and additional cards for more characters. Another thing to note is that all models except for the Vital Hero are (technically) in Japanese (there’s actually very little text because the menus are mostly icon-based). It also has a companion app called Vital Bracelet Arena, which can serve a storage for characters and allows for battling characters with other people (there no way for players to communicate with each other, so you don’t have to worry about your kid talking to strangers). If this sounds interesting, then I highly recommend checking out Humulos for more information.

2
Pokémon Go? You hatch eggs by making steps, iirc. (It’s been a while since I played it) You can buy a themed step counter so you don’t have to bring your phone.

1
- Yeah, I mentioned it in my post. My kid isn't into Pokemons at all and I am not sure how much you can just spend walking and hatching eggs? Like you need to get those eggs somehow? But anyway not so good since no interest in Pokemon.
  
  2
  
  It's a shame they closed down the Harry Potter version.
  
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  They sgould be launching a Momster Hunter themed game soon if that fits better. They also have Ingress, which is a secret agent/society themed and a bit more immersive on the AR front I think (from the little I tried of it).
  
  There is also Orna from different devs which tries to be an AR oldschool RPG. Though it doesn't incentivise walking as much as those from Niantic.
  
  1
Geocaching and habitica?

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