If the words 'Pokémon Go' don't mean anything to you by now, what exactly have you being doing with your weekend?
Last Thursday, Nintendo launched Pokémon Go in the US – a free augmented reality game that invites users to capture virtual Pokémon characters in real time that are hidden in locations around the world.
Officially launched on iPhone and Android devices in the US, Australia and New Zealand, the real-life treasure hunt works by GPS, notifying players of the proximity of Pokémons, rival players (commonly known as 'trainers') and group events.
The aim of the game is for players to scan their surroundings to locate wild Pokémon that pop up on screen before throwing a 'Poke Ball' in an attempt to add it to their collection.
The app also informs users of the nearest 'PokéStops' and gyms where you can battle with other Go players once they reach a certain level.
Within 24 hours of its launch, it was installed on more US Android phones than Tinder.
Within 48 hours, it was installed on 5.16% of all Android devices in the US and had resulted in a 20 per cent increase of shares in Nintendo.
Data published by SimilarWeb have already forecast that it will soon have more daily users than Twitter, with around 60 per cent of players using it daily.
But, while the app is taking the gaming world by storm, it's already resulted in some bizarre Pokémon moments:
1. A woman in Wyoming found a dead body
Over the weekend, 19-year-old Shayla Wiggins from Wyoming was instructed by Pokémon Go to jump over a fence and locate a Pokémon in a river.
Unfortunately for Wiggins, she also stumbled upon a man's corpse.
'I was walking towards the bridge along the shore when I saw something in the water,' she told KVTQ.
'I had to take a second look and I realised it was a body.'
2. Armed robbers lured players to one of the game's Pokéstops
Four teenagers have been arrested in Missouri after using the app as bait to find targets in a string of armed robberies.
They are believed to have used the geolocation feature of the app to anticipate the location of victims.
3. Local cemeteries have been turned into Pokéstops
Users are following their maps only to realise they've been led to Pokéstops in cemeteries.
4. Users are growing scared of their Pokémons
One user found a Pokémon sitting on a train track while others are becoming increasingly concerned that characters are pure evil.
However, recent claims that the app caused a major road traffic accident in the US after a man tried to catch Pikachu in the middle of a motorway have been denied.
5. A man's house has been turned into a Pokémon gym
One user's house in the US has been converted into one of the game's gyms.
He has since found multiple people turning up to his front door, at all hours of the day, wanting to battle.
6. Characters are trolling a Baptist Church
Pokémon character Clefairy has taken over a gym in the infamously intolerent anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church. What's more hilarious is that Clefairy is apparently named after the gay rights motto, LoveisLove.
7. Users are becoming increasingly scared of the characters
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Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
