Four-square is neat, but a little flat. The depth of game-play is lacking right now. The next step is scavenger hunts on a city-wide basis. Imagine the game starting to drive users to places outside of their usual patterns – going across town to check-in and receive that last “item” to complete a set.
Regardless of the evolution of the game play (and scavenger hunts might not be it), the cool angle for location based games is driving foot traffic to retail locations. Imagine the gap deciding to sponsor one part of a Four Square game. All players that check in at a gap store receive a $5 coupon (or an in-game reward…). In retail foot traffic is a huge driver of sales – that’s why mega malls first sprang up. If a location based game can find the right game play that pushes players to go to places outside their usual patterns, watch retailers line up to shower them with cash.
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