Quilter's GO: Keeping up with the Pokémons

Everybody's talking about Pokémon GO! Even if you're not interested in the game you have to admit that it's brought young people out of their bedrooms, and onto the sidewalks, where they are forced to move large muscles! (Remind them to look both ways.)

Like millennials, quilters of all ages need powerful incentives to dislodge us from our sedentary hobby. So here are some games designed just for us:

Stashbuilder's GO:  Walk from quilt store to quilt store. Each store is a virtual battlefield, where you stare at your phone and press buttons to fight other quilters (also staring at their phones), snatching limited-quantity bolts from virtual shelves.

When the battle is over, the real fabrics will be cut for you, and your credit card will be charged, This win-win game will increase your shopping stamina, finger-strength, and stash, as well as bringing much needed profits to your LQS (Local Quilt Shop).

Featherweight GO: Everywhere you go, your cellphone shows you a shimmering vision of a highly collectible Featherweight 221 sewing machine, the holy grail of portable sewing machines. Singer Featherweights (FWs for short) were made from the 1930's to the 1960's, and real ones are hard to find. In a game of Featherweight Go, here's how a famous landmark would look with a virtual white model:

And here's a more controversial New York landmark, a black-and-gold palace which I think everyone can agree looks more inviting with a identically-hued FW parked in front:

No political affiliation.

Next, a dramatic recreation of how the Golden Gate Bridge will look with white,  black and tan virtual FWs awaiting capture:

Photoshop is not my forte.

Along with the three models above, the game will let you claim these even more elusive FW models:

• WWII-era crinkle blacks 
• Light celery (like the white ones, but with a slight greenish cast)
• 1939 San Francisco Golden Gate Exhibition model
• 1951 Singer Centennial model
• Free-arm 222 
• Accessories: carrying cases, folding tables, the ultra-rare oval cabinet, the oil can, buttonholer, presser feet galore. 

Gotta catch em all!

Crazy Quilt GO: Walk all over town while your phone shows everything you pass - buildings, trees, people, animals, statues, etc. - embellished with elaborate embroidery, beads, sequins, buttons, lace, shisha mirrors, threadpainting, hairwork, stumpwork, blackwork, silk ribbon-work, and yarnbombing.

If you correctly identify the embellishment, you earn points which will allow you to embellish more objects and people, simply by waving your phone while staring intensely at them. Some people might get suspicious, but just explain that you are improving their virtual appearance.

In a short amount of time, humanity will cooperatively create an entirely embellished virtual universe! Then, all the embellishments can be erased in seconds, and we can start over!

Freemotion Quilters Go: Wander all around town playing Pokemon GO. Take a route that seems somehow...artistic. Your phone will record your path and send it directly to your computerized domestic or longarm sewing machine, which will automatically stitch it out.

Modern Quilter's GO: You walk all over town, but you find only one hexagon, or maybe a polka dot, every 3-to-12 hours, in an unexpected location.

Now it's your turn to make a up a GO game!