Pokemon Go City Safari Singapore event: Where the real catch is making friends along the way

SINGAPORE – Undaunted by the unrelenting heat and a spell of rain on March 29, thousands of Pokemon Go players in Singapore travelled across the land, searching far and wide for colourful critters to add to their collections.

The first day of the March 29 and 30

Pokemon Go City Safari: Singapore event

saw players visiting six themed areas, including the sunny shores of Sentosa and the Marina Bay area, as well as the heartland of Ang Mo Kio, Jurong East, Pasir Ris and Sembawang.

Some came alone, some in groups – the biggest being a 430-strong crowd that showed up near the Esplanade at about 10am – with a single purpose: To catch ’em all.

Leading the pack was local YouTuber Brandon Tan, whose dedication to Pokemon Go since its launch in 2016 has turned him into one of the game’s major global personalities.

The 33-year-old, who has been travelling the world for the past two years and hosts regular meet-ups with players, was accompanied by his partner, Princess Gee, whom he met while playing the game in Manila in 2019.

The Pokemon Go City Safari: Singapore is the latest iteration of the game’s mass community events, a successor to the Safari Zones held previously in places such as Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, Sweden and Taiwan.

Such events allow players to encounter and capture Pokemon that are not usually found in these regions, accompanied by in-game bonuses that are otherwise rare or unavailable through regular gameplay.

The November 2022 Safari Zone event here saw more than 18,000 players over a weekend in and around Gardens by the Bay.

Ms Kimiko Kishutani, a 57-year-old junior high school English teacher, told The Straits Times on March 29 that she flew in from Japan to participate in the event and will leave on March 31.

As a solo player, this was her first time travelling overseas to play the game.

“Singapore is clean and safe, so I think this is the best place to play abroad by myself,” Ms Kishutani said, adding that back in Japan, she also has friends around the same age whom she games with after work.

“This kind of communication is important to me, to be able to have fun and relax without having to talk about anything related to work,” she said.

Catching creatures as a form of exercise

When ST visited HarbourFront Centre and the Marina Bay area on March 29, more adults were seen playing the game than children, a testament to Pokemon Go’s enduring attraction and wide demographic.

Mr Tan’s current community, for instance, has grown to about 3,000 members in only four months, having been established in December 2024. Weekly turnouts at the Singapore Sports Hub – his favourite hunting spot – number some 300 to 400 attendees.

The game’s developer, Niantic, saw about 30 million monthly active players across its titles in 2024, raking in more than US$1 billion (S$1.34 billion) in revenue.

In 2023, Niantic’s software engineering director Ed Wu said that the “median player of Pokemon Go is probably someone like a Singaporean grandma who walks with her senior group for 30 to 60 minutes every morning as part of her exercise and social routine, (who) mostly focuses on catching Pokemon with her friends”.

But how does the game keep Grandma’s attention, or even lure players to different countries just to hunt for rare Pokemon?

“Pokemon Go has the capacity to make places that are familiar to us seem new, and places that are new to us seem familiar,” said geography professor Orlando Woods, who is also director of the SMU Urban Institute.

“Successful games often tap into players’ competitive instincts. These instincts can take on many different shades,” said Prof Woods, an expert on gaming and place-making.

“They might be about acquiring something of value, about building a collection, about honing a skill, about overcoming an opponent, about laying claim to space – the list goes on.”

Singaporean Anne Koh, in her late 50s, said she feels encouraged when she sees grandparents playing the game with their grandchildren outdoors.

“Most importantly, we can get the seniors to come out and get some exercise,” said Ms Koh, who regularly helps out at grassroots events.

Along with members of her Pokemon Go community, she works with a Residents’ Network in Marine Parade to coordinate initiatives such as Walk For Rice, which encourages participants to walk or run in the name of charity.

Of course, this means they get to hunt for Pokemon along the way.

“The game improves their hand-eye coordination, helping seniors with their reflexes. It also stimulates their minds as they have to remember names and details of Pokemon,” she said.

In Ms Koh’s neighbourhood in the Marine Crescent area, she said there are at least four or five seniors actively playing Pokemon Go daily – most notably an “auntie” who is known for taking a stroll at 5am just to reach landmarks known as Gyms.

If not for the game, Ms Koh said she would not have a reason to explore places such as Bishan, Punggol or Sembawang, which require her to take lengthy bus rides to reach.

Farther from home, she has attended events in places like Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the US, meeting fellow players whom she befriended on her Pokemon Go journey.

“Even though we’re worlds apart, the game draws us a little closer,” she said.

‘A common language’

Players told ST that the game is more than just about discovering places and Pokemon both old and new. The true catch is making friends along the way.

A Taiwanese community ambassador known as Daxiong, who is in Singapore for Pokemon Go City Safari, said: “I have met so many people, crossing different age groups, and these friendships have made my life even more colourful. Because of these amazing friends, I am motivated to plan trips and explore new places with them.”

Community ambassadors are volunteers officially recognised by and registered with Niantic, who run events in their local community. In return, they can receive special perks such as in-game item codes and real-life merchandise, and pass them on to their communities.

Mr Daxiong, 39, plans to introduce his friends and community to Singapore’s cultural heritage via the new official routes, which were launched in tandem with the event.

These routes, which were launched in collaboration with the National Heritage Board, take players through Little India, Tiong Bahru, Sembawang, Orchard Road and the shorelines of Pasir Ris to “discover lesser-known stories and fun facts about the history and heritage of Singapore’s places and neighbourhoods”.

“Even though we may have different backgrounds, we share a common language – Pokemon Go,” said Mr Daxiong.

Another community ambassador from Taiwan, Mr Richard Fang, said that it had been a while since he last visited.

“I grew up in Singapore as a child, and it feels like my second home,” said the 37-year-old, who now leads a community of nearly 2,000 players back in Taiwan.

“There were many historical buildings and famous landmarks I didn’t know about before, but thanks to the official in-game routes and their descriptions, I now have a deeper understanding of them,” he said, adding that his favourite place is Gardens by the Bay, where he can game while enjoying the gardens and Supertrees.

“I’m so happy that Pokemon Go City Safari gave me a reason to return to Singapore. I really miss bak kut teh, Hainanese chicken rice, breakfast eggs and kaya toast.”