2 Fun Phone Games for World Travel

FlashInvaders and Pokémon Go encourage you to explore and interact with the world around you.

If you travel a lot – and especially if you travel continuously like we do – a little bit of downtime is inevitable. Not to worry! There are two fun games you can play on your phone as you travel the world that will let you explore and interact with each new place. Plus, you can get lots of steps while you play! Download these two phone games for world travel and get started on your adventure!

Technical Requirements

You will need a cell phone, either Android or iPhone, plus cellular data. Then just download each app from the app store, create your account, and you’re ready to explore the world.

Cellular Data is Critical

Both games are based on GPS, so you will need to make sure you have cellular data wherever you are. We are on the T-Mobile Magenta MAX plan that provides 5GB of high-speed data in over 215 countries and destinations. It works great when we travel.  However, it’s a U.S. plan, and when we use too much overseas data relative to U.S. data, T-Mobile gets annoyed and sends us nasty messages.  If you’re not careful, they will shut you down and you don’t want that. So this plan will not work if you’re traveling more than a month or two. We had to find another solution. 

Airalo to the rescue!  Airalo is the world’s first eSIM store that solves the pain of high roaming bills by giving you access to 200+ eSIMs (digital SIM cards) globally at affordable prices.  They offer loads of plans for different regions in a size to fit your trip. And since they’re eSIMs, you don’t need to run to phone stores to buy them. Just download the Airalo app to get started.

Starting back in the 1990s, a French artist known as Invader began installing his 8 bit tile Space Invader designs (based on the aliens from the 90’s game) on buildings around Paris. Shortly thereafter, he moved on to other cities in waves known as “invasions.” Today, there are 1,502 mosaics in Paris alone, and another 2,669 have been installed in 83 territories around the world. Here’s one in Manchester:

In 2014, Invader released the FlashInvaders app. Free to download, it lets you use your camera to “flash” any invader you find, thus earning points (between 10 and 100) for each correct one you flash. Turn up the sound on your phone to be rewarded with the happy little tune from Close Encounters!

Most of the space invaders you find are of the classic sort like the first one below, but over the years they have become specialized and often elaborate. Here are some of my favorites:

Paris is the motherlode of Invader tiles. They are everywhere so you don’t have to look too hard to find one. There’s even one at the top of the Eiffel Tower. And there are a LOT of fun ones, like Pink Panther, Totoro, the Cheshire Cat. I have a massive list for the next time I’m in Paris, and one of them is a giant mosaic of “Dr House” from the TV series on the side of a hospital. Want!

What’s the object of the game? Flash tiles for points.

The Leaderboard

Before you decide that you are going to download this app and win FlashInvaders, be aware that many, many Invader tiles have sadly been removed over the years (either through vandalism or demolition), so the folks at the top of the leaderboard will never be caught. (The leader is reportedly a pilot who chooses his routes based on the locations of tiles.) Still, if you’re a natural collector like I am, it’s so fun to find and flash them for your gallery. There is a bit of detective work involved which I really (mostly) love. Fortunately, old destroyed tiles are constantly getting reactivated so you might get them one day after all!

What makes it great for travel?

Tiles can be found around the world.

Tiles are located in over 80 countries around the world (and beyond), including:

• The United States
  There are some in the U.S. New York City has the lion’s share with 219, but there are 214 in Los Angeles, 85 in Miami, and 21 in San Diego.
• Europe
  Europe has the most, particularly France, with 2,117. Other countries include Spain, Portugal, UK, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Belgium.
• Asia
  Invaders are found in 8 Asian countries: India, Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, and Bangladesh.
• Australia
  25 are found in Melbourne and 26 in Perth.
• Africa
  In Africa, there are 58 in Tunisia, 24 in Morocco, 10 in Kenya, 8 in the Grumeti nature reserve, and 11 on the French island of Réunion.
• Middle East
  Türkiye has 20 in Istanbul and Israel has 2 in Eilat.
• Mexico
  Of the 3 in Cancún, 2 are underwater and can only be reached if you are PADI-certified. The third is on a statue that was moved inside a museum.
• South America
  There are 53 in Potosí, Bolivia and 52 in São Paulo, Brazil.

The game encourages exploration.

In order to find Invader tiles, the game compels you to wander around cities, through back alleys and into cool neighborhoods you might never otherwise find. For instance, I took the subway in Tokyo down to Naka-Meguro to find this beautiful design of Red Fuji by the Japanese artist Hokusai – and happened upon a massive display of cherry blossoms lining the Meguro River:

I’ve spent many an hour roaming around Manchester, Tokyo, Melbourne, Bangkok, Rome, New York and Paris looking for them. Often, they’re in the hip, cool (but sometimes sketch) areas of town so it’s always fun and interesting. Recently in New York, I got a ticket to the Stephen Colbert show and was able to surreptitiously flash the invader inside the Ed Sullivan Theatre!

To infinity… and beyond!

As of 2015, there has been an Invader tile on the International Space Station – and you can flash it! I haven’t done this successfully – yet – but it’s a matter of tracking the ISS using one of a variety of apps (ISS Detector is a popular one), then flashing straight up the moment the ISS passes over your head.

UPDATE: I finally succeeded in flashing the ISS in April 2024 after many attempts. When you succeed, you get this screen and it will make your day:

How to Find Invader Tiles

Invader World Map. The first step in finding Invader tiles is to check the official Invader World Map to see if they are found near you or in a place you are planning to visit. A click on each red Invader will tell you how many were originally installed in that city and give you a few photo clues as to where they might be.

Once you are in an Invader city, you can wander around and search for them. They are typically on the first level of a building near the corner – but not always. I use the photos on the website for clues to their whereabouts. I’ve also Googled them extensively (“Invader tiles Bangkok”). Sometimes there is a business name in the photo you can Google for the address. This gets exponentially more difficult when local signs are in Thai or Japanese, though.

I guess the unwritten rule is that one shouldn’t openly disclose the location of a tile, but just wandering around a city the size of Bangkok looking for the 15 remaining tiles of the original 51 seems a little impractical, especially if your time is limited. I don’t have that kind of time!

Invader-Spotter. One day I happened upon this Invader-Spotter website and it’s been a godsend. It’s a great resource for finding out which tiles have been destroyed and which are still around. Narrowing your list is extremely helpful! Just click on “The Mosaics” – “By City” at the top of the page, then you can drill down to a specific city. It then lists each original invader installed and (most importantly) notes its current status.

Clicking on the tiny + below the photo gives you comments by others that can be helpful in finding a location. Clicking on the Instagram link below the listing shows you photos people have posted, plus their comments, which can also be useful. Sometimes you get lucky and someone gives the address, street name, nearby landmark or other helpful details. I scour these photos and comments for clues.

I recently found a terrific new resource. Simply Google this: “Google map Invaders [city]” and you can sometimes find a city map someone made for you in Google that shows the location. I found this one in Rome that really helped. Most likely this pnote page will come up and you can select the city and see the map. Warning: the locations are meant to be ‘estimated locations’ so as not to give it all away, not exact locations.

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Sure, we travel and work remotely whenever we can. But it’s not all work and no play, at least for one of us. I make sure to get a little downtime, and that’s where Pokémon Go comes in. An integral part of my fitness regimen, PoGo makes sure I get my steps and keep my mind sharp. It’s a great phone app I can enjoy ANYWHERE in the world. It’s banned in China, but guess what? I’ve caught mons in China.

Whereas Invaders are physical objects found at fixed locations in the wild, Pokémon are (sadly) only virtual. However, they are virtually EVERYWHERE. And as simple as FlashInvaders is, Pokémon Go is complex. At its core, though, Pokémon Go is a game designed to get you moving to collect Pokémon found in the wild. However, it has evolved since its release in 2016 to include special research (tasks to complete), gym battles, raids of all sorts, monthly Community Days, Go Fest and other virtual or in-person events, GoBattle League – PVP (Player vs Player), friends, Pokémon buddies, and more.

What’s the object of the game? Catch ’em all!

I’ve played Pokémon Go almost every day since its release in 2016 and I’ve reached Level 50, which is the highest level (for now). However, the good news is that if you start today at Level 1, it will keep you busy for a very long time. There are over 800 Pokémon available to catch (including their evolutions) in the game currently. And who knows? One day I might find you on Discord, looking for a raid to join.

Isn’t Pokémon Go for kids?

Haha, that’s cute. Lots and lots of adults play Pokémon Go, and (I would hazard to say) many more adults than kids.

What makes it great for travel?

In addition to being able to catch Pokémon everywhere you go, there are three features that make Pokémon Go especially great for world travel:

You can catch regional Pokémon that are only found in certain parts of the world.

Pokémon Go uses geo-mapping to control which Pokémon “spawn” where and when. Select Pokémon can only be found in certain parts of the world. For example, Klefki is only found in France and Relicanth is only found in New Zealand. There are dozens of regional Pokémon, so you can be the big hero by bringing these home to trade to your friends.

You can spin Pokéstops for gifts that include a postcard of that place. You can then send them to all your friends to let them know where you are. Flex!

As soon as we were able to make “friends” in Pokémon Go, I immediately looked for people in other countries. Getting “gifts” from other places is so much fun and I used to keep screen shots of some of my favorite postcards. Finally, Niantic released the Postcard Book which lets you save your favorites. Here are some of mine:

The AR (Augmented Reality) Feature lets you take cool and creative photos with your Pokémon, like these:

Summary: Fun Travel Phone Games

FlashInvaders and Pokémon Go are two fun phone games you can play while traveling the world. Because they encourage you to explore and interact with the places you visit, they are an engaging and entertaining way to see the world.

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