My new obsession has been games using maps as a platform. Generally they are not the most engrossing games and are mere distractions but I am totally fascinated by them. Combining two of my passions, maps and video games, it’s kind of hard to go wrong. Here are a collection of a few of my favorites.

A little while ago Google came out with a map game called Cube for chrome. It’s a simple little game that has you rolling a ball through cities with 3D imagery. In later levels you must obey traffic rules and travel around bridges. I hope that this is just the beginning for more exciting games using Google Maps.

Cube: A game about Google Maps

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I am currently engrossed deeply in all things Westeros. I am about a third of the way through the last “Game of Thrones” book and have been watching the series every week. The map in the front of the books always left me a bit confused, since it took up multiple pages I’ve had some trouble with the whole world overview. Well thanks to some wonderful folks on the internet, the world of Westeros / The Lands of Ice and Fire are no longer a mystery.

hejorama.com

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Google recently announced that the Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science‘s grassroots aerial photography is now available in Google Earth! You can download the tour in KMZ format here.

Link to Google Earth Blog: http://bit.ly/K7J536

For those of you that haven’t heard of OpenStreetMap it is basically the Wikipedia of Google maps. They are an “initiative to create and provide free geographic data, such as street maps, to anyone.” This is accomplished by allowing anybody to edit the map.

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Beer maps combine two of my favorite things: beer and maps. This first interactive map is the most complete map of breweries and brewpubs in Oregon I have found, it’s beautiful in it’s simplicity. What appears to be just a simple map with two symbols representing breweries and brewpubs contains some of the most complete information on these establishments including links to their menus accessed by just clicking on the symbols.

Jake Prickett & Kyle Terry

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There are many maps of the US but there have been three that have really stuck out to me. Many map enthusiasts may have seen this first map as it was featured on slate.com. It’s David Imus’ “The Essential Geography of The United States of America.

imusgeographics.com

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This incredible kickstarter is in an effort to get people walking in their city. If this project gets funded, people will be able go onto a website to print signs telling people how many minutes away an area of interest is on foot. Using a tactic called guerilla wayfinding (basically putting up directional street signs without permission) anyone can help encourage walking in their city.

kickstarter.com/projects/cityfabric/walk-your-city

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