RUN AN EMPIRE

Pokemon Go was a revelation and paved the way for games to come, but very few games have ventured into this area since. Another game did go even further into getting people out of their homes and arcades for a unique gaming experience - Run an Empire does not only expand on what a strategy game could be, but it also makes the running application meaningful for those who are not diehards needing no external stimuli apart from the Sun and the track or the road..
Using a real map, players go for catching hexagonal tiles , and  running through an area marked by a hex more times than others enable the player to claim the area and build structures ,encampments objects etc. Now, I know lots of people cringe at the very thought of gamification and think games should be games and not means to achieving short-term real-life goals, but I believe Run an Empire  shows us one of the many possible ways of introducing new concepts into the stale world of gaming and dealing with the mundane in real life. At least we can now do away with boring running track routines and stops -we can look at them as checkpoints.
I wish someone else in my area played it, would love to have some competition,

CANABALT

This  free flash game with a man running from a world crumbling behind him, trying to escape death/apocalypse  jumping buildings was ported to a plethora of systems, and rightfully so. Running games were already in abundance at this time in gaming history, but the key to Canabalt's brilliance was its simplicity, both in terms of playability and the bleak urban surroundings  moving rapidly on the screen that seem to be reminiscent of  a nasty dream. It reminds me of those  easy-to-play-hard-to-finish games that reigned the 80s gaming universe, and the ease with which it successfully translated to c64 only proves my point further. It'a a game that would have been a smash whenever it appeared. This title is a personal favourite among endless runners.

You can download the c64 version at c64.com or wait until RGCD have made more cartridges.