We’re standing at a defining moment in the history of technology.

Me? I’m standing in my pajamas at 10:30 p.m. in front of a townhouse with painted giraffes on its facade. I’m not alone, either. Four others came out for the same reason: to capture the two-headed, ostrichlike monster bouncing around on the sidewalk.

To understand how I ended up in a situation that once could’ve only been explained by psychedelic drugs, you need to know the events of the past week—how my life has become dominated by a classic videogame designed for 10-year-olds.

Niantic Labs, partnering with Nintendo and Pokémon Co., released “Pokémon Go,” a free game for iPhones and Android phones. When you launch it, you see the game franchise’s world famous “pocket monsters” as if they existed in your backyard or bathtub. The point? To “catch ’em all,” as the kids say.

This is augmented reality, or AR, where your smartphone’s camera, GPS and position sensors tell the game what to display and where. It’s a digital world layered over the real one. Unlike virtual reality, which transports you to another universe, you play in your own.

The technology isn’t new. Smartphones have had AR games for years, and even Nintendo previously released similar features for its 3DS hand-held device. This isn’t even especially good execution of AR. Which is why perhaps not even Nintendo predicted what happened next.

Suddenly, millions of people put phone to face and began roaming their neighborhoods, hunting monsters. The frenzy led to injuries,the discovery of a dead body, even true love. Maybe they were driven by a Game Boy-era love of Pokémon, maybe just intense peer pressure.

“How about Pokémon... No?” I said at first. But I changed my mind (it was the peer pressure) and I’m glad I did. If you’ve been fighting to ignore this phenomenon, you should check it out, too. Not just because you may get to know new places or people, or because you may enjoy the charming absurdity of little monsters dancing on your desk. It’s time to witness the power of augmented reality, which connects us to others and our environment in a way no technology has before.

I’m fairly certain I only understand 50% of “Pokémon Go,” but what I do understand I learned almost entirely from complete strangers ages 10 to 30. New Yorkers may scream at you for making eye contact on a cramped subway, but ask if they’ve seen a Psyduck around and they’ll lead you right to it.

What the heck is a Psyduck? It’s one of hundreds of adorable types of monsters you can catch. (No, they don’t all look like the classic yellow Pikachu.) You collect them to become the ultimate Pokémon trainer. Yes, you care for them with the end goal of putting them in a fighting ring.

How do you do that? With some cool tech tricks:

•Capture Pokémon —The “Pokémon Go” app starts like Google Maps, plotting your location on a virtual landscape. You’ll see real parks, buildings and roads. Pokémon won’t pop up in the middle of a busy street, but they will appear around you. Tapping one launches your phone’s camera, and you’ll see the creature overlaid in your environment. Below it is a small red and white Poké Ball. Aim your phone at the monster, swipe the ball toward it and, boom, you’ve caught it!