Pokemon Go has been all the rage this summer, with people of all ages going out of their way to catch Eevees and Pikachus and, you know…the other ones. It has led to people even putting their lives in danger to play the game. Some of us, however, haven’t even stepped into the Pokemon Go universe out of concern for our lives. Turns out, you don’t even really need the app to play Pokemon Go! You don’t even need a phone—just a little imagination and zero sense of shame. Here are a few ways to put a new twist on the game.

1. Throw your childhood stuffed animals at strangers

First, you’ll have to ask your parents to mail you your childhood stuffed animals, and also probably sift through various landfills to find the unlucky few that didn’t make it to your young adult life (sorry, Boo Bear). The rest is simple: you just throw them at people! You create the Pokemon! You create the PokeStops! Who needs an Eevee when you can have that life-size Barney with one eye that you used to faithfully drool on as a kid? Once you run out of stuffed animals to throw, you can substitute them with something else from your childhood that reminds you of fun. Like packing peanuts! I will use packing peanuts. Packing peanuts are more fun than they’re given credit for. Yeah, this whole thing is a bit more elaborate than simply downloading the Pokemon Go app. But you know what? Back in my day, we would have to WORK to have fun. I mean, I was also an only child, so I spent a lot of time creating backstories for my toys/imaginary friends/dumb parakeets. Everything turned out fine!
— Rima Parikh

2. Join the Pokemon Go community discourse

The only thing Pokemon Go players enjoy more than finding Pokemon is finding other Pokemon Go players. The thing is, they’re a very elite bunch and don’t want to hang around any level-1 “noobs,” as they call them. Lucky for you though, it’s easy to sound like you know what you’re doing. Next time you see people looking at their phones (this is the tell-tale sign of Pokemon Go-ers) ask them: “Hey, have you seen a Pidgey around here?” If they look at you all confused, it means they’re not very good yet. Move on to someone else. Don’t waste your time on “noobs”! If you don’t know any names of Pokemon, don’t worry! Simply make up names that sound like they could come from fantasy novels, with lots of x’s and y’s, like Garlox or Loosky. I tried this just the other day. I went up to a couple on the quad and asked: “Would you all happen to know the whereabouts of the mysterious Yxylax?” They looked all concerned and brought me to the Danforth University Center and bought me a bottle of water, saying I must be “dehydrated” and “delusional.” Rest assured, I told them the truth, and we all had a good laugh over the fables and foibles of players we know. Mission accomplished!
—Harry Hall

3. Challenge peers to a battle with cards

Yeah, that’s right. We’re going old school. We’re going all the way back to cards. If you’re like me, and your childhood consisted of Pokemon (and let’s be honest, I spent a good portion of my adult years playing on my Game Boy as well) then you know what I mean. Break out those Pokemon cards that haven’t seen light for five years because they’ve been sitting in your basement, and your basement flooded that one time so now they have a weird musty smell and are stuck together…and get going! See someone and you just instantly have that Pokemon connection? Challenge them to a battle. For bonus points, act it out on the Swamp, sell tickets, and become a Pokemon god.
—Ariel Kravitz

4. Turn the EstroGym into a PokeGym

Correct Nintendo—um Niantic, Inc.’s—obvious oversight by turning the EstroGym (the ‘South 40 Fitness Center’) into a bona fide Pokemon gym. Recruit your friends to all dress in the same color—yellow, blue or red will do—and start aggressively hanging out by the entrance of the EstroGym. When anyone tries to get in, yell about how they have to defeat you and your Vaporeon first. If any of these people happen to actually play Pokemon Go and want to battle you, just tell them your phone has died. In addition to making you appear really hardcore about an app-based augmented reality game, this approach has the added bonus of securing a private workout area for you and your crew.

—Hanusia Higgins

5. Fake it ‘til you make it

If you don’t play Pokemon Go but want all your friends to think you do because apparently that’s hip these days, you can totally fake it on social media. Step 1: Use your Washington University-allotted printing money to print out color pictures of Pokemon. Step 2: Tape those pictures around your dorm, around campus or wherever you think would make a good backdrop for Pokemon-catching. Be creative! Step 3: Use your phone to photograph the printed-out Pokemon captured in the “real world,” and upload these photos to Facebook. Use captions like “Just caught a Squirtle in General Chemistry lab! I guess those water types really are hydrophilic!” Does this process feel a little silly? Sure, but it’s essentially the same thing the app is doing: superimposing imaginary creatures onto real life. The Pokemon Go app does it digitally; you’re doing it manually. A little elbow grease never hurt anybody.
—Hanusia Higgins