Anyone who knows me knows that I’m not a huge fan of the concept of game of the year lists. I can’t tell you what I played in January, and the list of games I play outside of work can be counted on one hand. The list of games that I actually return to regularly is even shorter.
There were a lot of games I spent time playing this year; Monster Hunter Now, Neopets Faerie Fragments, Pokemon TCG Pocket and Monument Valley 3 to name a few. But the moment I get busy, I put them aside.
But 2024 has been a fantastic year for Pokemon Go, both in terms of events around the world and running local events for our community. You see, Niantic launched the Community Ambassador program and they really improved it this year! As an official Pokemon Go Harlow community ambassador, we have really grown and helped our local area this year.
Niantic called on ambassadors to neat up trash in the area, and our community collected donations from food banks, giving away in-game prizes to anyone who participated. We had a great time fighting together in Raids, celebrating catching Shiny, and battling Shadow Pokemon. Every day there was a whole 10-day block of events. Our community thinks so; a community of people who love to have fun together.
Amelia is a huge Pokemon Go fan and Robin participated in Dynamax Raids, which added a lot of fun to our family adventures. The two also collect cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket. It’s quite fun to connect with younger family members through shared hobbies.
I also had the fantastic opportunity to go to Pokemon Go events this year; Go Fest Madrid is a huge attraction. The whole place was buzzing with other coaches, all playing together. It was nice to see some players from my local community there as well. Pokemon Worlds, although an event focused on card games, took place in London – and once again I had a fantastic time cheering on members of my own community as they took part in Go battles against others.
Pokemon Go has become more than just a game for me, it’s a community of like-minded people and I love playing with them.
