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Mixed reality Mafia game Gbanga Famiglia comes to mobile and iPhone

Walk the streets. Love your Godfather

Mixed reality Mafia game Gbanga Famiglia comes to mobile and iPhone
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Thanks the rise of smartphones with GPS and other location based sensors, mixed reality games - those that combine virtual and real-world locations - are becoming increasingly popular.

One such is Gbanga Famiglia, which is a Mafia-styled game that has you taking over virtual clubs, venues and restaurants based on in real locations, as well as working with larger groups or families to stamp your combined authority on the map.

This town is my town

A web-based application that uses Swiss company Gbanga's technology platform, Gbanga Famiglia relies on your phone's GPS to pinpoint your location, you just have to register to start.

Then as you wander around, you can see where other players are, and as well as playing games and receiving event updates, you gain virtual items such as money, rings and diamonds.

When you find these items, you'll also get a friendship invitation from a Famiglia Boss. Accepting this will give you a special helper creature called a Gbangoo to drop onto the map, enabling you to perform tasks and take over establishments.

You need protection

The more items you get, the more powerful you'll become. And the more venues your Mafia Famiglia controls, the more powerful it becomes. Of course, other families will try to steal your venues off you, leading to virtual bloodletting.

You can find out more and register to play at the Gbanga website.

Gbanga Famiglia is free to play and supports iPhone, BlackBerry and most Java-based handsets. You can get an idea how it works in the following video.

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Jon Jordan
Jon Jordan
A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon can turn his hand to anything except hand turning. He is editor-at-large at PG.biz which means he can arrive anywhere in the world, acting like a slightly confused uncle looking for the way out. He likes letters, cameras, imaginary numbers and legumes.