Sarah Boutwell plays the augmented-reality smartphone game Pokémon Go at the Capitol in Austin, Texas, Monday July 11, 2016. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
When the kids came home from camp last month, we fired up the Pokemon Go at our house. It got them actually visiting our two neighborhood parks again (both Poke stops). Sometimes they actually walked the dog in the middle of the day or took a walk together. They became more active.
Of course, they also asked me to drive them places to find Pokemon, too. When Pokemon Go first came out, I talked to Dr. Shimona Thakrar about whether it was actually good for kids. I had trouble believing it could be until I saw my kids start walking to places to catch Pokemon.
Now the Pokemon fever has died down at my house, but when we visited the ACES clinic (Activating Children Empowering Success)at Dell Children’s Medical Center , one of the physical therapists gave us a list of other fitness apps to try. Some are more for teens and some are “free,” but we all know about in-app purchases, right?
Zombies, Run! zombiesrungame.com: Put it on your smartphone and start running. Soon you’ll hear zombies chasing you. You have to run to survive. Available on iTunes and Google Play. Free.
The Walk thewalkgame.com: You have to get walking in this adventure game that has you walking around the virtual United Kingdom to stay alive after a bomb explodes. Available on iTunes and Google Play. $2.99.
7 Minute Superhero Workout superheroworkoutgame.com: This one uses your camera to track your motion. There are 20 missions and 12 different workouts to help you save the world. Available on iTunes and Google Play. Free.
BattleSuit Fitness Runner. Put on your virtual battle suit and start running. The game will tell you to speed up or slow down and direct you to do some actions using your armor to complete the mission. Available on Google Play. $2.99.
Sworkit KIDS Workout Trainer. sworkit.com. This app will build a fun workout based on 
what you want to improve — strength, agility, flexibity, etc. Available on iTunes and Google Play. Free.
Ingress. ingress.com. This was the predecessor to Pokemon Go. The game transforms the real world into a landscape for a global mystery. Available on iTunes and Google Play. Free.
Habitica. Gamify Your Tasks. habitica.com You put in your habits, your tasks and your to-do list. Your avatar gives you things as you check off your to-do list. So, you can put all those fitness goals and get stuff to fight off monsters or complete virtual quests. Available on iTunes and Google Play. Free.
What virtual fitness games are your kids using?
We’ve also used Darebee.com to do 30-day workout challenges such as the Cardio Blast and the Spartan Challenge.
