Maryland's political leaders gather every August to discuss the most pressing issues in governance. This year, Pokemon Go is on the agenda.

The augmented-reality game that has sent people exploring neighborhoods, congregating in public places and distractedly “hunting” digital creatures also creates a public policy conundrum for local governments.

Armed robbers have preyed on preoccupied Pokemon hunters. In Baltimore, an engrossed player is accused of sideswiping a parked police cruiser while staring at his cellphone.

“There's an awful lot of questions that have burst on the scene about this game and the trend that it represents,” said Michael Sanderson, executive director of the Maryland Association of Counties. “There's a real public policy dimension here. What does it mean for your liability? What does it mean for public safety?”

An hourlong session today at the Maryland Association of Counties' summer conference in Ocean City is devoted to “Gotta Catch 'Em All: Pokemon GO and the Public.”

The session is one of dozens at the three-day governance convention, but it's expected to be busy.

“I'm pretty confident we're going to run out of time before we run out of things to talk about,” Sanderson said. In addition to the obvious question about how to protect distracted players from themselves and criminals, he said, there is this problem: Augmented-reality games inspire people to wander into places they wouldn't normally go.

Overnight, inclusion in the game could transform a little-trafficked and minimally surveilled wastewater-treatment plant, for example, into a busy and dangerous destination authorities couldn't control.

The GPS-aided mobile game launched in July by Niantic Inc. quickly swept the country, in the process irritating people who suddenly found Pokemon hunters arriving on their property.

A couple from suburban Detroit filed a class-action lawsuit against the makers of the game last week after a “Pokestop” directed players to their home. The U.S. Holocaust Museum warned players that it was inappropriate to chase a Pokemon hiding there.

“What if there's a Pokestop in the county courthouse?” Sanderson asked. “Or if it's a school or a senior center?”

Law enforcement agencies across Maryland have responded to reports of suspicious activity only to discover innocuous Pokemon Go players. Sanderson said public officials need to be prepared for whatever enhanced-reality game comes next.

ecox@baltsun.com