iPhone Game: Gowalla

If a vintage suitcase featuring city stickers, a scavenger hunt, and an iPhone 3G were combined, the result would be location-based travel game Gowalla. The recently launched game from Texas-based “digital collectibles” company AlamoFire invites users to collect virtual stamps at the places they visit, hide icons for friends to find, and earn pins of glory, the granddaddy of Gowalla achievements awarded for completed trips. Austintonians and San Franciscans are currently the only app purchasers who can participate in the full experience, but other cities nationwide are being added and partially guided by the recommendations of user-added hot spots. Who doesn’t want to be rewarded for visiting extraordinary and everyday places with phone in hand?