The category
Walking games, and what they can and can't fix
Most people searching this do not want a game. They want the walk to feel like less of a chore, and a game is one candidate answer. It is worth being clear about which of these actually track your walking, and which just give you somewhere to go.
If you want the walking measured
Pikmin Bloom is the direct answer, and it is not close. Its App Store name is literally "Pikmin Bloom: Walking Game", it is filed under Health & Fitness as well as Games, and it is built around steps — including shared weekly step goals with other people. Free, from the studio behind Pokémon GO.
Pokémon GO also rewards distance — eggs hatch on kilometres walked — and has by far the most people outside playing it. If what you want is company on the street, population beats every other consideration here.
A plain fitness tracker will out-measure all of them. None of this is a substitute for one.
What BloodRivals does — and does not — do
It does not count steps. There is no step counter, no distance total, no pace, and nothing is written to Apple Health or Google Fit. It will not make anyone fitter and it is not trying to.
What it gives you is narrower: a reason to go a particular way. Addresses near you can be claimed, the ones you hold earn while you hold them, and other people can take them back — so there is usually a reason to walk past a specific corner rather than take the shortest way home. Whether that is worth anything depends entirely on whether that kind of thing motivates you, and for a lot of people it will not.
It fits an existing pattern better than it creates a new one. A commute, a lunch break, the same dog walk at the same time — routes you already do are where a game about specific places has something to add. There is no daily target and nothing expires if you skip a week.
The honest comparison
Two columns — swipe the table sideways to see BloodRivals →
| Step-tracking games | BloodRivals | |
|---|---|---|
| Counts steps | Yes — the point | No, none |
| Health app data | Written | Nothing written |
| What pulls you out | Distance and streaks | A place worth passing |
| Daily target | Usually | None |
| People outside | Many | Few, mostly Norway |
The board, right now
That last row decides whether any of this is worth your evening, so here it is as a number. The board currently has 123 registered players holding 23,664 properties. (as published 2026-09-13 — the app shows the live count)
Free on iOS and Android. No ads. Optional in-app purchases.
Common questions
- Does BloodRivals count steps?
- No. There is no step counter, no distance total, no pace, and nothing is written to Apple Health or Google Fit. If you want your walking measured, a fitness app or Pikmin Bloom will do it properly and this will not do it at all.
- So what does it actually give you?
- A reason to go a particular way. Addresses near you are claimable, the ones you hold earn while you hold them, and someone can take them back — so there is usually a reason to walk past a specific place rather than the shortest way home. That is the whole mechanism, and whether it is worth anything depends entirely on whether that motivates you.
- How much walking does it need?
- Less than a running game and more than none. You have to be at an address to claim it, so the game grows at walking pace around wherever you already go — a commute, a lunch break, a dog. There is no daily target and nothing expires if you skip a week.
- Is it good for walking a dog?
- It suits that pattern well, because a dog walk is usually the same route at the same time — which is exactly when a game that rewards passing a specific place has something to offer. The honest caveat is that you will be looking at a phone while walking an animal, which is worth thinking about before it becomes a habit.
- Is it worth it if I live outside a city?
- Probably not yet, and the honest answer is worth more than an install. The map itself is fine — it is built from mapped buildings, so claimable addresses exist almost everywhere. The players are the problem: the base is small and concentrated in Norway. Outside those cities you would be walking around an empty board, which is a fine way to lose interest in a week.
Read next
- 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
- Pokémon GO alternativesFor catching-game players wanting stakes
- 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
- Mafia gamesCrime empires from the sofa vs turf you walk to
- Games that shut downMinecraft Earth, Wizards Unite and more — and what's left
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