Run an Empire Combines Fitness with Fantasy

Run an Empire is a new alternate reality fitness game that combines physical activity with classic strategy game elements.

Run an Empire is a new alternate reality gaming (ARG) application that challenges users to conquer territory – by walking, jogging, or running – and to defend it from rivals. The main goal of the game is to beat other players at capturing territory by building and controlling the most successful empire. The territory to conquer is the users' own neighbourhood, and they must do it on their feet because the app is programmed to flag anything resembling "unrealistic gait" by pulling data from the phone's accelerometer. Players can also see the zones that others have captured and conquer them by running through them. The map displays the areas conquered by showing them as a coloured overlay.

The app was created by PAN Studio, a London-based designer studio that launched a successful crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to fund the app. The player data available with the app includes territories the players have captured and lost, player ranking and progress, and overall score. Version one of the game will also include data such as average speed, distance run, and average distance per run, allowing users to monitor their progress.

The size of players' empires will keep changing as the game evolves, so the app will show their historic accomplishments as well as the territories they currently own, and every square kilometre will translate into a specific amount of points or credits per day. Players will be able to exchange these credits for upgrades and personalisation of their coat of arms. Some of these elements will also be unlocked after a player has achieved specific goals, like the size of the land conquered or the length of time he or she was able to hold on to it.

The new smartphone game is very much a multiplayer experience as all players use the same map and are free to capture territory from each other. Players can run around their territories several times to avoid this and secure themselves against invasion. The most successful players will be those who achieve the right balance between securing their land and taking territory from other players. The game will be playable internationally, with competition being particularly fierce in big cities, and suitable for people of different fitness levels.

The game involves planning and strategy as much as it does fitness, which makes it a fun choice for gamers, as it has the potential to motivate them to get out more and exercise. Run an Empire uses the iPhone's GPS to track the players' movement and store location data. The creators, Ben Barker and Sam Hill, mentioned on the Kickstarter page that health metrics will be provided alongside the strategic data and that they will include integration for existing running platforms' APIs. The game will also be available for Android and iOS devices at some point down the line.

To learn more about Run an Empire, watch the Kickstarter video.