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I did play a game similar to that called Ingress (I think it was by Google, and they were presumably collecting GPS data to improve their pedestrian mapping).

I'll check out turfgame when I get a chance!

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Respectfully - Ingress is by Niantic, the same company behind Pokemon Go (and maybe that Harry Potter version?). They share data between the two games - points of interest tagged in Ingress still usually map to Pokemon Go Stops and Gyms; energy (can't remember the name for it - the golden energy you collect by walking near) usually maps to individual Pokemon spawn locations. They get their raw map data from OpenStreetMap; I'm not sure if anyone knows where they get their specific data on user/internet use density which informs some of their map features, but Google GPS analytics is probably a fair guess.

I used to play a lot of Pokemon Go, but plenty of things made me drift away; as for motivating me to walk, it kinda helped, but really just ended up with a lot of "walk 300 ft. (~100m), stop and stare/tap at your phone for several minutes", vs. the more enjoyable and directly beneficial (towards distance/time/step goals) uninterrupted pattern.

It can be a bit scarse on zones so if you can't find any zones in your area, suggest some in the app and then go to the forum and lobby for them [1]. The name of the area and why it's a nice place for a zone is a good start. The zone makers are all working on spare time so can take a while until you get your zones but they will add them sooner if they are easy to find :-)

[1] https://maqqansturf.wordpress.com/2020/05/29/zonemaking-2-0/

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