Moving around is the whole point of GPS games. Even so, developers keep adding things you can do from home - because it rains, because it's cold, or because not every day is a day for a walk. How much you can play from the sofa, though, varies a lot from game to game.
Games like Pokémon GO without walking: how the big names handle it
- Pokémon GO lets you join raids remotely and lure Pokémon to you. Most of the game, though, still depends on where you walk.
- Monster Hunter Now lets you mark a monster and hunt it later, for example once you are home.
- Orna is an RPG, and a large part of your progress - gear, character, fights - can be done from one spot.
- Ingress and Turf are about being there in person. Without walking, practically nothing moves.
What you can do from home in Kokume
Kokume splits the game into two halves. Expanding your realm and fighting require you to be on the spot. Managing what you already have works from anywhere.
From home you can:
- keep an eye on resource production and your storage,
- plan buildings and cart transport routes,
- manage buildings that are already standing,
- coordinate with your faction and plan your next moves.
You have to be on the spot when you want to:
- claim a new region,
- build and gather resources - on targets within your reach,
- attack someone else's territory.
Reach is counted in hundreds of meters and grows with your building levels. If you hold territory around where you live, you can do a lot even if you barely leave the house. And if you don't play at all for a few days, your economy keeps running and the defenses you built hold the line for you in tower defense.
What about spoofing your location?
Apps that feed your phone a fake location break the rules of practically every GPS game, and Kokume is no exception. The game checks whether the reported location is plausible and rejects impossibly fast moves. Repeated location spoofing gets your account closed. Above all, though, it takes the point out of the game - the territory you claim is worth something precisely because you were there.
If you are looking for a game that gets you outside but won't punish you for every day at home, take a look at walking games or our overview of GPS games.