It’s finally December and you know what that means: the Google Santa Tracker is alive and kicking. The actual tracker will of course go live only on December 24 but as has been the tradition for the past 12 years, there is much to explore and enjoy in the days leading up to Christmas Eve. This year’s edition brings more focus on learning, new games including a Pokemon GO-like Android-exclusive game, and of course support for selected educational non-profits.
The Santa Tracker is not just about playing games and finding out where all the gifts are, but it is also about teaching children (and adults too) about geography, holiday traditions from around the world, and also basic coding but with a Christmas-y theme. You get an educator resource page complete with lesson plans to help out teachers should they choose to use this as an educational tool. Santa’s Village is one of the features of the app and it also teaches coding to help Santa have the most efficient route as he does his gift delivery chores on Christmas Eve.
Of course one of the most popular things about the Santa Tracker are the various games and programs that are unlocked every day leading up to December 24. One of the games they’re pushing now is Present Quest, which lets you recover the presents that have fallen out of the sleighs. It’s like Pokemon GO but without the monsters. You use augmented reality to be able to get the presents in your area. This game is exclusive for Android devices only.
The Santa Tracker can be accessed in various devices including the mobile app, Android Wear, on your browser (since it’s mobile optimized, on Google Cardboard for the VR aspects, and even on your Maps and Search as well. Always check every day for the daily reveals of games and features.
SOURCE: Google
I am glad that this game has emerged as such a great amalgam of fun and learning!!!!