LBS Geo Game - You can Capture Territory, but Will Anyone Care?

Wired’s Game Blog profiles Geo, a game expected for Jave/Brew-enabled mobile phones (iPhone eventually) early next year.

The basic premise: you go out in the word and capture territory (800 sq foot grid squares), then you can fight with others over territory. To maintain your territory, you need to “go visit it” once every two weeks. (I have to use my Starbucks card once a month to enable my “free” wireless…same idea I guess.)

The challenge for the game, as for many social networks: What if there are no people interested in your area? Reaching critical mass is key for any other these location-restricted activities. I hope the Useful Networks folks (motto: “We take the BS out of LBS”) have a plan to engage populations in specific areas to get involved. Otherwise, this may fail, a la Meetro (post mortem).