What is Ingress?

Ingress is a role playing/augmented reality game played in the real world using your phone or tablet. Similar to a virtual game of capture the flag, Ingress was released two and a half years before Niantic released Pokemon Go.

What is an augmented reality game?

Augmented reality describes when a device is used to augment the real world around you with objects, people, creatures and environments that are virtual. In the case of Ingress, there is an app on the player’s mobile device that shows them the location of “portals” in the real world using the device’s GPS radio and Google Maps.

Who created Ingress?

Ingress was developed by a startup within Google called Niantic Labs. Niantic Labs became an independent company in late 2015, and changed their name to Niantic Inc.

What is the purpose of Ingress?

The game was created as a way for Google to collect information about points of interest in communities.

What is a point of interest?

A point of interest in the game is called a portal and can be seen within the game interface on a mobile device. This portal can map to a real world point of interest like a statue, work of art, post office, church, historic site, monument, etc. Really any location that holds some form of significance in the community.

Who plays this game?

Anyone with a modern mobile smart-phone can play. The game attracts a diverse audience of players across all races, genders, and age ranges.

Where is it played?

Everywhere, literally. From USA to Japan to Australia to Germany. The game is global and not limited to one location

How is it played?

There are two teams that fight for control over the world by capturing invisible energy portals that exist all around us. To capture a portal, a player has to physically go to the portal’s location and use the app on their mobile device to capture it for their team. When 3 portals are captured they can be “linked” which earns points for the capturing team.

All players are encouraged to respect applicable local laws that would apply to them while playing the game, including trespassing on private property.

Where can I get more information?

Google’s support site for the game: https://ingresshelp.zendesk.com/hc/en-us.
You can also search on Google+ for the hashtag #ingress to see details about agent-lead initiatives and other events.

This sounds awesome, where do I sign up?

Just ask the person who gave you this information for an invite! This will arrive via email.
Welcome to the game!

(Adapted from the Ingress Field Guide 2013)