This is something that could turn out big. A new iphone app called Dreamwalk provides users with a geocaching game that raises the ante a little by getting local businesses involved. Users can use the software to seek out "treasures," just like any similar game. Except, in this case, participating companies get to hide their own prizes for players to pursue, allowing them to get new prospects through the door in the process.

When you launch the app, it shows you a map that details where prizes are hidden. There are three ways to collect bounty - Instant Prizes, Collector's Stamps and Treasure Hunts - all of which require going out into the real world. For Instant Prizes, you simply have to go to the marked location on the map to get the reward added to your onscreen prize bag. Tap that and get instructions on how to redeem. Do note that these are usually simple stuff, like free fries at a local restaurant or cheap tickets to a show.

Collector's Stamps, on the other hand, require you to travel to different locations, gaining letter stamps at each one that spell out the words to the final destination. Treasure Hunts work similarly, except you gain clues instead of stamps. Since they're harder, the prizes for these two are usually bigger (e.g. videocams and gaming consoles).

Because they've only just launched, there are only a few thousand hidden treasures across the US, most of them concentrated in large metro areas (think New York, LA and Washington DC). However, developers at Dreamwalk Pty Ltd are negotiating for new businesses to come in and, potentially, make the loot more lucrative for avid treasure hunters across the country. Participating merchants, by the way, can easily upload new prizes via Dreamwalk's website, which will then turn up on gamers' maps.

Dreamwalk's beauty is that it is a win-win for all parties involved. Businesses get very hip marketing and users get a chance to win loads of free stuff around their area. An excellent concept that's totally worth the free App Store download.

[Dreamwalk Mobile]

Treasure-hunting games on the PC used to bore me to death.  That's why my enjoyment over 1000: Find Em All has been a total surprise.  But that's because this is no ordinary collection game.

The premise of the app is quite simple: you find and collect 1000 items scattered about.  Your process of finding them, though, is what sets the game apart.  It starts out innocently enough, as you navigate your character by dragging him around a made-up world.  This part is rendered gorgeously, with the black and white environment blooming in color when you step in the vicinity.  When you chance upon a sparkling item, you tap it to see if there's an item to collect.

After that, though, is when the game really innovates.  The second way of finding items takes it up a notch, making use of the iPhone's GPS radio and Google Maps.  What it will do is populate your surrounding neighborhood with virtual items, showing a map of your area with presents displayed at random spots.  If you want to collect the item, you should physically bring your phone to the marked spot on the map.   Find Em All's third means of finding and collecting items involves virtual "gifters" that appear at different Wi-Fi hotspots throughout your locale.

Players earn achievements based on items you collected and the area of the in-game world you managed to color.  There's not much to do beyond hoarding all the 1,000 virtual finds, but getting them all can literally take you days or weeks.  Sure, it's not exactly the most compelling game, but those with a hankering for treasure-hunting and have some amount of free time should find it very enjoyable.

[Glu Mobile]