The comparison
Pokémon GO alternatives, honestly
Two very different people search this. One wants another catching game. The other has done catching for years and wants something that can actually go wrong. The right answer is completely different for each, so this splits them up front.
If you want another catching game
Play Monster Hunter Now if you want combat with real depth, Pikmin Bloom if you want something gentle that rewards ordinary walking, or Jurassic World Alive if collecting and levelling creatures is the part you enjoy.
We are not one of these, and if that is what you came for you should stop here rather than install us and be disappointed. Saying so costs us an install and saves you an evening.
If you're bored of catching
The usual reason isn't that the games are bad — it's that your collection is never at risk. What you catch stays caught. Gyms are the exception and they're genuinely contested — a rival team can knock your defender out — but the Pokémon comes back to you, and the ground was never really yours to begin with. After a few hundred hours, a game where the permanent part only ever grows stops producing tension.
The genre's answer to that is territory. Ground can be taken back. That single difference changes what opening the app feels like: you are not checking what spawned, you are checking what you still hold.
The territory options
Ingress is the deep one — two global factions, portals linked into control fields, genuine city-wide coordination. It's also old and dense with jargon, and walking into it cold is hard. If you want the most strategically serious option and will push through the learning curve, it is still the benchmark.
BloodRivals is the property one. You claim real addresses, build them up, they earn income while you hold them, and other players can take them off you. Less coordination, more ownership: the strategy is what you can afford and what you can defend.
The honest comparison
Swipe the table sideways to see BloodRivals →
| Pokémon GO | BloodRivals | |
|---|---|---|
| Core loop | Find and collect | Claim, build, defend |
| Can you lose what you hold? | Gyms yes, your collection no | Yes — that's the point |
| Other players | Gyms and league battles | Directly against you |
| Population | Enormous, everywhere | Small, mostly Norway |
| Map is populated by | Wild spawns and NPC encounters | Only other players' claims |
That population row is the one that should decide it for you. If you want a guaranteed-busy map tonight, Pokémon GO wins and nothing here is close. We are small and concentrated — outside Norway you would be starting a board rather than joining one, which is either the appeal or the dealbreaker depending on the person.
Common questions
- What is the best alternative to Pokémon GO?
- It depends what you want. For another catching game, Monster Hunter Now, Pikmin Bloom or Jurassic World Alive. For something with real stakes, a territory game such as Ingress, Turf or BloodRivals, where what you hold can be taken from you.
- Is there a Pokémon GO alternative without AR?
- Yes — most of the genre. Ingress, Turf and BloodRivals have no AR requirement, and Orna is largely playable without moving much.
- Which alternative is best for rural players?
- Orna is the usual answer, since its core loop is turn-based and forgiving of a day without a walk. Games built on public map data also tend to have something claimable outside cities, though finding other players is a separate problem.
- Is BloodRivals like Pokémon GO?
- Only in that both use your real position. Pokémon GO is about finding and collecting; BloodRivals is about claiming addresses, building them up and defending them. Nothing you hold is permanent.
- Are there Pokémon GO alternatives with no ads?
- Turf and Orna are both known for it, and BloodRivals has no advertising of any kind.
Free on iOS and Android. No ads. Optional in-app purchases.
More comparisons
- Location-based gamesThe genre, and what is still active in it
- Property gamesBoard, idle and location — three kinds that play nothing alike
- Territory gamesHow claiming and holding real ground works
- GPS gamesBattery, rural coverage and how much walking is really needed
- Ingress alternativesTerritory without the coordination overhead
- Turf alternativesGPS capture without the monthly reset
- Atlas Earth alternativesVirtual land other people can take
- Landlord GO alternativesProperty games you have to walk to
- Orna alternativesGPS games with real-world stakes
- Geocaching alternativesWhen you want the ground to be at stake
- GPS running gamesTerritory capture without a pace requirement
- Walking gamesA reason to go out — without a step counter
- Mafia gamesCrime empires from the sofa vs turf you walk to
- Games that shut downMinecraft Earth, Wizards Unite and more — and what's left
Pokémon GO, Ingress, Niantic, Scopely, Turf, Andrimon, Atlas Earth, Landlord GO, Get Rent, Reality Games, Monopoly GO!, Monster Hunter Now, Pikmin Bloom, Jurassic World Alive, Orna, Northern Forge, Geocaching, Adventure Lab®, Groundspeak, Munzee, RunStrict, Claim of Zones, Capture, KYRO, Movements Lab, Territory Run, Minecraft Earth, Mojang, Microsoft, Catan, Nerd Ninjas, Ghostbusters, Sony Pictures, FourThirtyThree, The Walking Dead, AMC, Next Games, Draconius GO, Harry Potter, Wizards Unite, WB Games, The Witcher, Spokko, CD Projekt, Maguss, Parallel Kingdom, Run An Empire, Location Games Limited, Father.io, Proxy42, Mafia City, YottaGames, Mob Wars: LCN, Underworld Empire, The Grand Mafia, Turf Wars and MeanFreePath are trademarks of their respective owners. Named across this site only to compare them; no affiliation or endorsement is implied, and nothing on this site is a statement about their earnings, payouts or business practices.