Like millions of other Pokemon Go devotees worldwide, players in Butler County are on the go to capture as many Pokemon as possible.

The game that puts a premium on capturing fuzzy little characters also has brought together players, mostly young, who might not otherwise be together and at locations that they would not necessarily have selected.

From a larger municipal park in Cranberry Township to the smaller park in Slippery Rock, players are making the competition a daily activity.

Police warnings to be safe while playing the game — sometimes in unfamiliar locales — has not seemed to dent the almost rabid interest in the chase.

To play, people basically need a smart phone and an app.

They then use their phones and their GPS capability to locate virtual targets to capture by visiting selected sites.

Many of the sites are public, such as monuments, war memorials and parks.

The nature of the game forces players to get up and go, wandering neighborhoods and other public places, looking for geo-located Pokemon characters, which show up as if in the real world on their smartphone cameras.

This happened Monday night when roughly 20 people squatted around a bench in Diamond Park in Butler to play the game.

Mark Kriska, 26, of Evans City explained the app accesses Google maps to create the setting.

“It all translates over,” Kriska said.

He said some areas, such as Butler, have more landmarks recognized by the app.

According to Kriska, Prospect has one, while Evans City has none.

“Once you get outside the city, it gets sketchy,” he said.

Kriska said Cranberry Township and Pittsburgh have more to work with for the game.

Michael Boory, 24, of Butler said the app forces players to explore.

“You can’t do it sitting at home,” Boory said.

Kriska agreed: “It gets you out and moving.”

He said the app is an attraction for people who used to play the original Pokemon games when they were younger.

Steven Beichner, 17, of Butler agreed the app is enticing.

“Playing it in the real is exciting,” he said.

Beichner said people have been coming to the park in droves to play the app. He estimated 50 to 60 players were there Saturday night.

“I was amazed,” he said.

The top official in the county thinks the game is good for the community. County Commissioner Chairman Leslie Osche said she is interested in seeing how this game can be used to help the county interact with young people in a new way.

“I think it’s interesting and good that they chose markers that young people wouldn’t have noticed before,” Osche said. “That’s a productive use of technology.”

She said the game may have security issues, but she would have to look into the game and how it works before she reaches any conclusive problems with it. Until then, she said she can embrace the game’s goals of adventure and discovery.

“This is the new world we live in, and I think we need to look at new opportunities to take advantage of it,” Osche said.

John Cyprian, the director of county Veterans Services, said the game could be a good thing, or it could be bad, especially if the memorials become vandalized. He said the whole activity could be pointless if the players aren’t taking the time to get to know their stops.

“Hopefully, they’re taking the time to learn the history of the Korean War Memorial and the Silent Defender,” he said. “Today, you gotta use whatever means to educate people.”

Cyprian said the idea could fail, but he remains optimistic that it could reach people in a positive way and hopefully attract the gamers to the other memorials in the park, such as the World War II Memorial.

The Slippery Rock Community Park has had an increase in the number of people there since the game’s release, said Mary Messer, director of the Slippery Rock Parks and Recreation Department.

“It doesn’t matter what age you are, everybody seems to be jumping on the bandwagon and trying to find the Pokemon,” she said.

The Slippery Rock Community Library is next to the park, and Karen Pierce, director of the library, said she can see the increased traffic from her window.

However, that increase of people at the park is not translating into more people stopping by the library.

“(The people are) much busier wandering around the park,” she said. “I guess those Pokemon characters don’t come in to the library.”

Pierce also cites a wide age range of the players exploring the area with the augmented reality game.

“I do see them all over, this is quite the phenomenon ... What I’ve seen is really actually adult people more than children,” Pierce said, stressing that she’s even seen people in their 40s and 50s playing the game. “I think it’s kind of cute.”

Some businesses are settings for Pokestops, which give items to players who encounter them on their travels, including Pokeballs, eggs and potions.

For example, Fun Fore All on Progress Avenue in Cranberry Township has four Pokecenters.

“We did make an Instagram post about it, and it did get a decent amount of likes, so people are aware that Pokemon are here,” manager Courtney Camp said. “It’s a better incentive for them to come more frequently.”

Eric Abbott of Seven Fields was playing the game Tuesday afternoon in Cranberry Community Park, which he said was packed Monday night with players.

According to the game, he walked about 6 miles Monday looking for Pokemon, he said.

“We go out Pokemon hunting, and we’re walking around. I definitely think its promoting exercise,” Abbott said.

Sgt. Chuck Mascellino of the Cranberry police said that the department has yet to receive any complaints or observe any problems with people playing the game.

People playing it in the township’s parks should note that the parks close at 11 p.m., he said.

Pete Geis, Cranberry Parks and Recreation director, said he encourages everyone to make use of the township parks as long as they are not causing any damage or breaking any rules.

“If it’s getting people out into our parks and getting exercise, I think it’s a great thing,” he said.