location-based game
Enable an agent to recognise a location-based game, assess how physical location affects play, and determine which gameplay actions are available and appropriate at a given place and time.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
6 bundles · 11 layers · 16 findings · 28 questions
Location-dependent play How physical position and movement acquire meaning under the game rules.
Geographical rule dependency
The actions and outcomes that change with real-world location.
Location consequence
Record the specific rule through which position, proximity, arrival, or movement changes play.
- Which game action or outcome changes when the participant's real-world location changes? definition
- Would the experience retain the same playable rules if real-world location were removed? boundary
Physical and remote participation
The participation roles and movement conditions attached to geographical mechanics.
Participation contract
Record which roles require on-site presence and how travel or remote assistance contributes to progression.
- Which actions require physical presence, and which may be performed by a remote participant? boundary
- Does progression require a particular route, travel distance, arrival order, or mode of movement? definition
Playable geography The places, routes, boundaries, and temporal conditions that organise play.
Geographical anchors
How game content is attached to physical places and spatial extents.
Anchor definition
Record whether content refers to a point, venue, route, region, or moving target, and how that reference is maintained.
- What physical place or spatial extent does each objective represent, and what defines its interaction boundary? definition
- Who supplied or verified the geographical anchor, and when was its placement last checked? provenance
Spatial and temporal eligibility
The conditions under which geographically anchored content becomes playable.
Objective availability
Record geographical eligibility together with activation windows, dependencies, and suspension states.
- Which combinations of area, time window, and prior progress make this objective eligible? definition
- What should the game offer when an objective is inactive, removed, or unreachable? action
Location evidence How the game establishes presence or movement and resolves imperfect evidence.
Position observation
The origin, precision, and age of evidence used to locate a participant.
Evidence acceptance
Record accepted observation methods and the conditions under which each supports a location-dependent action.
- Which sensor, check-in procedure, or adjudicator establishes presence for this mechanic? provenance
- What precision and maximum observation age are required before the game accepts the location? measurement
Uncertainty and disputes
Responses to boundary ambiguity, interrupted positioning, and contested movement.
Ambiguous presence resolution
Record how uncertain or conflicting evidence affects eligibility without presuming that every anomaly is misconduct.
- How is eligibility decided when reported uncertainty overlaps the interaction boundary or positioning becomes unavailable? action
- What evidence distinguishes permitted remote play, positioning error, and a prohibited false-presence claim? boundary
- How can a participant challenge a rejected arrival or movement record? action
Physical access and encounters How game-directed travel and co-location interact with the physical setting.
Access and mobility
Physical access constraints and participation options for location-dependent objectives.
Objective reachability
Record access hours, permission requirements, approach constraints, and available alternatives at the objective level.
- What access permissions, opening hours, terrain, or mobility constraints affect reaching the interaction area? boundary
- What authorised alternative exists when a participant cannot physically reach an otherwise eligible objective? action
Co-location and site impact
Gameplay that brings participants into shared physical spaces or directs their attention during movement.
Encounter conditions
Record whether objectives encourage congregation, pursuit, or simultaneous arrival and which operating constraints apply.
- Does this mechanic require or encourage players to gather, follow one another, or interact with bystanders? definition
- Which observed site conditions or movement states should pause interaction, redirect play, or disable the objective? action
Geographical data and operation Control of player location information and the lifecycle of geographically anchored content.
Location information use
Collection, disclosure, and retention of presence and movement information.
Location data exposure
Record the precision, audience, delay, and retention associated with each gameplay use of location.
- Which functions require current position or movement history, and at what precision and retention duration? measurement
- Who can observe or infer a player's location from maps, encounters, ownership records, or activity logs? boundary
- What happens to location-dependent play when the participant disables sharing or requests deletion? action
Geographical content control
Authority and procedures for adding, correcting, suspending, and retiring mapped objectives.
Anchor lifecycle
Record who controls an objective's placement and availability and how corrections reach active play.
- Who may create, relocate, approve, suspend, or retire a geographical objective? provenance
- How are closure reports, placement errors, and removal requests checked and reflected in active or offline play? action
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Check these first
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these check these first hold for the sense of location-based game this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Kinds and varieties
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of location-based game this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of location-based game this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of location-based game this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of location-based game this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of location-based game this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Physical world and living systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- PHY
- Domain
- PHY.OBJ
What it is Filled
A location-based game is a game in which participants' real-world geographic positions or movements determine some part of the rules, available actions, or game state.
In scope
- Rules that make real-world position, proximity, movement, or arrival consequential to play
- Playable areas, geographically anchored objectives, and their activation conditions
- Methods for establishing location and handling uncertainty or disputed presence
- Interactions between geographical movement, player encounters, and game progression
- Location-dependent access restrictions, data practices, and operational controls
Out of scope
- General game mechanics that do not depend on location
- Hardware specifications of phones, positioning receivers, and wearable devices
- Independent models of streets, buildings, land parcels, and venues
- Individual player identities, accounts, and personal travel histories
- Software implementation details and network infrastructure
- Individual play sessions and organised events as separately recorded occurrences
Why it exists Filled
Enable an agent to recognise a location-based game, assess how physical location affects play, and determine which gameplay actions are available and appropriate at a given place and time.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Changing a player's real-world location can change eligible actions, encounters, objectives, or outcomes under the game rules.
- The experience has game goals or rules beyond displaying nearby information or providing navigation.
- Geographical references connect to real-world places or movement rather than existing solely inside a fictional game map.
- An augmented-reality display alone does not establish membership: physical location must affect play.
- The model can identify how presence or movement becomes game evidence, including non-digital methods where applicable.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Lead players onto private property, roads, rail lines or dangerous ground.
- Share a player's live or historic location with others without consent.
- Let children meet strangers in person through the game.
- Encourage play while driving.
Only with a human decision
- Placing game locations at schools, places of worship, memorials or homes.
May
- Explain how a location-based game uses position and what data it collects.
- Help a player set privacy, safety and play-area options.
Moral aspects Filled
- Location data reveals where people live, work and go.
- Players absorbed in screens have walked into traffic and onto private land.
Who is affected
- Players, including children
- Residents near game locations
- Road users
Owners Filled
Steward
The operator of the game.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q10714182 - registry parent class
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.location-based-game
- Wikidata: Q819122 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q819122)
Direct properties required Filled
- Location-dependent mechanic: Examples: arrival unlock, proximity interaction, route completion, territorial control, location-specific encounter
- Playable geographical extent: Referenced places, routes, regions, or geographical boundaries
- Presence verification method: Examples: satellite positioning, beacon proximity, site-bound check-in, human adjudication, self-report
- Interaction distance rule: Metres, recorded per mechanic or objective where a distance threshold applies
- Accepted location uncertainty: Metres or a documented method-specific confidence threshold
- Location evidence freshness: Seconds or minutes since observation, with mechanic-specific limits
- Physical participation requirement: On-site participation required; mixed on-site and remote roles; conditional remote participation
- Geographical content availability: Scheduled, active, temporarily suspended, retired, or unknown, per area or objective
- Player location visibility: Hidden, aggregated, approximate, precise, or delayed, specified by audience
Recognition required Filled
- A phone app showing a map of the player's surroundings with game objects placed on it.
- Groups of players gathered at landmarks looking at their phones.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- Identify the location evidence and geographical conditions required for an action.
- Explain which objectives are eligible from a supplied position and time, including uncertainty.
- Compare a proposed play route with objective rules and recorded access constraints.
- Distinguish permitted remote participation from unsupported claims of physical presence.
- Flag or suspend geographically anchored content whose access or suitability requires review.
- Explain who can see player location and which game functions depend on retaining it.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Distracted players suffer road and fall injuries.
- Crowds at game spots disturb residents and sensitive sites.
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- Regulation (EU) 2016/679, issued by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, applies to processing identifiable players' location data when that processing falls within its scope.
Context of use required Filled
- Location-based games are played in physical environments where a participant's position changes available actions, objectives or game state.
- They are used for recreation, exploration and educational activities that connect play to particular places or movement between them.
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q819122: location-based game - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Location-based game - general description of the item
Open questions
- Does the registry intend this entry to include non-digital location-based games, or only games mediated by electronic positioning?
- Does an existing world model already cover this concept, requiring this registry entry to link to that publication?
- How should the assigned PHY / PHY.OBJ classification be reconciled with a model whose defining features are game rules and situated activity?
- Where should the boundary fall between location-based games, pervasive games, geocaching, and gamified navigation when their mechanics overlap?
- Which documented games and primary rule sources should establish the supported location methods, accessibility alternatives, and operational practices?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q819122/spec.json