I’ve discovered a fun little game to play on my phone. You may have heard of it: Pokémon Go.

Now, I’m not one to play games: I forget when it’s my turn in Words with Friends, then I sit there for 20 minutes mixing the letters up and finally decide on a nine point word like ‘oats.’ Candy Crush never appealed to me; those Facebook invitations would only annoy me. I’ve watched my husband and daughters geek out for hours over Star Wars Battlefront and Assassin’s Creed.

Gaming just isn’t my thing.

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Then two weeks ago, while sitting around with my neighbors, enjoying some bbq and beers, my husband mentioned there was a Pokémon across the street in another neighbor’s yard. He said it was the new thing all the kids were doing: hunting for Pokemon.

My first thought was is this 1996? I remember my five year old nephew and his fascination with an obnoxious yellow creature named Pikachu. I assumed people were going all over San Diego County placing Pokémon cards in strategic locations. Like, literal cards.

I ran outside and started searching the street for a Pokémon card. My husband was right behind me, laughing. “No, no, no. It’s on your phone! It’s a game on your phone!” Ohhhhh, on my PHONE. Gamers and their phones, I swear.

So, I downloaded it and a funny thing happened: I found myself walking all over my neighborhood. I walked up and down the street, looking for crazy-looking Pokémon. I was getting some serious steps while tracking down Nidorans and Squirtles.

At one point, there we all were, a bunch of forty-somethings, trying to track down a virtual pest. Our children thought we were nuts. We thought it was a fun drinking game. (And my $.02 is it is a fun drinking game, but remember to drink and Pokémon responsibly.)

It’s been over two weeks and I’m still obsessed with this game. My husband and I have taken our children to the park more in the last two weeks than we have the entire eight years we’ve been parents. Yesterday, my oldest actually asked, “We’re going to the park AGAIN?”

Um, yeah, so you can play and enjoy your childhood and I can take down ALL the Zubats and Meowths. Coincidently, I loathe Zubats; they can be hard to catch, and it’ll drive you, well, Zubatty.

Also, teach your children to throw Poke balls well, because you’ll want to disown them when they burn through 30 balls in five minutes. Trust me. Hoarding Poke balls will become a new normal for you.

And since I’ve been playing this for two whole weeks, I feel I’m an expert. So, here are a few tips to combine your love of photography and Pokémon:

On a closing note, think safety. Don’t drive and Pokémon! Seriously, it’s not worth it. Hand your phone over to your passenger to collect poke balls as you drive by all the those poke stops. And they’re everywhere.

Stay near well-populated, well-lit locations. With any social phenomenon or trend, along come the knuckleheads. I’ve read about people falling off cliffs and walking into oncoming traffic.

It’s fine to explore and discover new areas, which is fun and beneficial for photographers, but stay safe! Keep in mind the message when opening the Pokémon Go app: “Remember to be alert at all times. Stay aware of your surroundings.”