The popular game "Pokemon Go!" has begun to take over the lives of many people I know. I would like to share some advice on how to avoid wasting time playing this game. In order to maximize the effort (and get more "bang for your buck,") here are a few tips:

1. Pokestops

Always try to stop at these. It gives you more "xp", which in turn can boost your chances of leveling up. If you are in the car, click on the stop right before you get close to it (especially if the person driving is not willing to slow down) and spin it as soon as it is available. This will give you a better chance of actually getting something instead of the error message, "This Pokestop is too far away." And remember, do not "Pokemon Go" and drive!

2. Evolution

When you are collecting "Pokemon", always take note of how many you need for an evolution. This means you strategize how many you need and end up setting goals. By setting goals, you will not waste too many balls. Also, when you are trying to evolve a "Pokemon", constantly check your "Pokemon" tab and the amount of candies you have for the specific type of "Pokemon". The more you evolve, the more points you will earn. You also can get more "Pokemon" registered to your "Pokedex" this way.

3. Hard to catch Pokemon

Pokemon with higher "cp" (combat power) will be harder to catch. The color of the circles that you have to throw the balls into will change as the "cp" gets higher. For example, a "Pokemon" that is hardest to catch will be red. An easy catch will be a deep green. In the middle are yellow, lime green, and light orange. In order to catch the red circle "Pokemon", make sure to stock up on "Pokeballs" and "Razz Berries". In order to charm the wild "Pokemon", you have to throw Razz Berries and then immediately throw the ball. The "Pokemon" may jump out of the ball; if you want to continue to throw balls, you can. Beware that this will cause you to lose balls faster. In order to increase accuracy, try to throw the ball inside of the circle when it is still large. The smaller the circle is, the more difficult it will be to catch. If you throw a ball with a very small circle, it will become a "curveball". This will cause the ball to curve (obviously.) You can get the hang of throwing curve balls (they give you more "xp", but you will lose more balls this way.

4. Catching Rare Pokemon

This will be easier to do if you go to a place where there are a lot of "Pokestops" and "gyms". You can use "magic eggs", "incense" and "lures". All of these will attract rare "Pokemon" to where you are (especially if you are going to be at a stop for a while.) They all last for 30 minutes.

I hope you enjoyed this article! Happy hunting, stay safe and please share!