Monday, March 25, 2024
HomeFactsHow To Play Pokemon Cards For Beginners

How To Play Pokemon Cards For Beginners

How To Set Up The Pokemon Tcg

How to Play Pokemon Trading Card Game For Beginners

Players shuffle their 60-card deck and draw a hand of seven cards. Each player then places a Basic-level Pokémon , face down. This is their active Pokémon, which can battle and take damage.

After drawing your hand, you draw and put aside six prize cards

If a player does not have a Basic-level Pokémon available, they must reveal their hand to their opponent, shuffle their cards back into their deck, and draw seven new cards. This is called a mulligan. Each time a mulligan is performed, the opposite player may elect to draw an extra card. Players can then place up to five Basic-level Pokémon, face down, onto their bench area. Next, players draw another six cards from the top of their deck and place them face down to the side of the play area. These are your Prize Cards.

Finally, players flip a coin to determine who will go first, and then flip their active and benched Pokémon face up. The first player now begins their turn but, importantly, the first player cannot attack on their first turn, and neither player can evolve a Pokémon on their first turn.


How To Get Started Playing The Pokemon Tcg Online

The Pokemon TCG Online is an awesome way to play the popular card game with people all over the world via one’s computer.

Becoming playable in this online version has reaped many benefits for the trading card game, including attracting both new and long time players to give it a try.

Interested in giving it a go? Here’s everything a beginner needs to know to make playing the Pokemon TCG Online a breeze.

The Value Of The Pokemon Franchise

The Pokemon franchise as a whole is the highest-grossing media franchise of all time, having grossed over $90B in revenue.

For comparison, the Hello Kitty, Star Wars and Harry Potter franchises have grossed $86B, $70B and $32B respectively.


Think of all the Star Wars, Hello Kitty and Harry Potter merchandise, licensed products, movies, etc. that have hit the market…

Pokemon has out-sold them all.

… and keep in mind, Pokemon is not the oldest media franchise â not by a long shot. The first ever Star Wars movie was released about 20 years before anything from the Pokemon franchise ever even hit the consumer market.

Only about 10% of the Pokemon franchise’s revenue has come from its trading cards. The Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game was released the same year as the Pokemon trading card game and has grossed roughly the same amount.

Also Check: How Much Stardust To Trade A Legendary


Getting To Know The Cards

In order to play the Pokémon TCG, youre going to need to build a deck. Decks in Pokémon always contain exactly 60 cards not a single card more or less. Your deck may include up to 4 multiples of any card of the same name. Cards used in this game can be broken down into three main categories . These three types of cards are:

  • Pokémon
  • Trainers
  • Energy

Your deck will include all three types of cards, so familiarizing yourself with them and their purpose within the game is a good first step to really understanding the game.

POKEMON

These cards are, of course, going to be the most important aspect of the game. Some of your Pokémon will be used to mount an offense, while some will be used as support. Building a deck revolves around selecting Pokémon you believe work well together and then augmenting their strengths with cards that further their abilities. Since these cards are the lifeblood of the game, being familiar with them is a must. Well take a look at the important elements on a Pokémon Card, from top to bottom:

  • Name As previously mentioned above, you may include 4 copies of any Pokémon cards with the same name. You need to be careful in following this rule as it can be a little tricky when applied to Pokémon. Even if the two Charizard cards you have are completely different cards, they still both count as Charizard and you cannot have more than four of them combined .
  • TRAINERS

    ENERGY

    How Does Evolution Work In The Pokmon Tcg

    How To Play Pokemon Cards For Beginners Pdf

    The Pokémon Trading Card Game has a lot of similar traits to the Pokémon video games. One of the biggest similarities is that you can evolve your basic Pokémon to powerful Stage 1 and Stage 2 Pokémon, letting you use more powerful attacks and abilities to knock out your opponents Pokémon.

    Evolution is done in stages, and you are unable to skip or jump any stages unless otherwise stated on a card in play – meaning evolution must follow the pattern of basic, Stage 1 and Stage 2, and a single Pokémon can only be evolved once per turn. The exception are GX and EX Pokémon, which may be played straight away and do not require evolution.


    To evolve a Pokémon, all you have to do is place the evolved form on top of your active Pokémon or a Pokémon on your bench. This cures any current special conditions, but any attached energy and damage stays put. Once a Pokémon has been evolved, you cant use a previous stages attacks or abilities – only the current evolution.

    Evolution can happen in the bench section of your play area, so you can make stronger Pokémon in preparation for your current one being knocked out – and its strongly recommended you do so.

    Read Also: Where To Find Rotom In Pokemon Platinum

    Additional Rules To Remember

    • Whenever a card’s text overrides the game rules, the card’s words take precedence. For example, although the rules say that a player can only play one energy card per turn, several Pokémon allow additional energy to be played if that card is in play. In those cases, special exceptions are made.
    • You can only set down one energy card per turn but you can put energy on benched Pokémon to prep up for future attacks.
    • Trainers, like potions, can affect benched and non-benched Pokémon.
    • Evolving can begin one turn after the Pokémon was played from the deck and Pokémon can only evolve to the next stage. Both benched and active Pokémon can evolve.
    • Pokémon attacks can only affect the active Pokémon . So the majority of the time, only an active Pokémon can be affected by an attack.
    • When a Pokémon is knocked out, any energy cards attached to it go into the discard pile.
    • When a Pokémon evolves, that evolution clears up any handicaps it might be suffering, but its damage points remain the same.

    What Is Weighing / What Does It Mean To Weigh A Pokemon Booster Pack

    Holo cards are usually more desirable than standard cards.

    Also, due to what they’re made of… holo cards also usually weigh more than standard cards.


    This means that if you weigh booster packs, you can usually tell which ones have holo cards in them.

    So you can go to a store, bring a pocket-sized scale with you, weigh all the booster packs they have, and buy only the heavy ones… and you will basically be guaranteed to pull some very good cards.

    … that is, you could: but The Pokemon Company claims* to have solved the problem by placing 2 different types of code cards into booster packs. The different code cards weigh different amounts and are supposed to compensate for the weights of the other cards in the pack… and ideally: make every booster pack weigh the same amount.

    The Pokemon Company claims* they solved the problem. But people on online forums, Reddit, etc. claim the system does not work very well, and the weight of booster packs can still tell you whether or not a good card is inside.

    I am doing my own research on the topic and plan to report back with a blog post or video in the near future.


    Don’t Miss: What Is Tyranitar Weak Against

    How To Catch Other Pokmon

    Once you’ve gotten started with the game and captured your first Pokémon, it’s time to go hunting for some others.

    You can find wild Pokémon by physically walking around your area. Stick to populated areas: Pokémon appear most often near PokéStops. The more PokéStops nearby, the more creatures should appear. Try visiting locations with a lot of public art tourist spots or malls are great starting points.

    As you walk around in the real world, your avatar moves along the map using GPS. When a Pokémon is close enough to capture, it pops up on your screen. Since walking around with your eyes glued to your phone is a bit of a safety hazard, the game is designed to allow you to keep your eyes free while you wander. You can keep your phone at your side while you walk when you are near a Pokémon, you’ll get a notification in the form of a vibration and the Pokémon’s unique call.

    You can then move to a safe location , and tap the visible Pokémon to capture it. Tapping zooms in on your avatar and launches an augmented reality experience with the Pokémon dancing around amidst your surroundings. If you don’t see it on the screen immediately in front of you, move your device around until it appears.


    If AR makes you nauseous or you don’t want your battery drained, you can always turn the feature off in the upper right corner.

    Take Advantage Of Special Conditions

    HOW TO PLAY in 2020: Pokemon Trading Card Game Beginner Tutorial (8 Minutes) – BATTLES!

    In addition to dealing direct damage, many Pokemon moves can inflict Special Conditions on the opposing pokemon. These can debilitate adversaries and cause them to lose HP or prevent them from attacking during their turn. There are five main Special Conditions that exist in the Pokemon TCG, all of which are represented by altering the orientation of a card afflicted

    The most common is being Poisoned, which adds at least one Damage Counter onto the afflicted pokemon during each of their turns. Next is being Paralyzed, which renders one unable to attack or retreat during their next turn. Following this is being Asleep, which acts like being Paralyzed, but requires one to flip a coin and get heads to recover. Next is being Confused, which again forces the trainer to flip a coin, though if they get tails they must place three damage counters on their pokemon. Finally, the newest Special Condition is being Burned, which acts much like being Poisoned but results in two Damage Counters being placed on the afflicted each turn instead of one.

    Also Check: When Will Part 5 Of Pokemon Journeys Come Out On Netflix

    How Do You Play The Pokmon Trading Card Game

    There are lots of ways your kid can learn how to play the trading card game. The best way to learn is with a Trainer Kit. It comes with two ready-to-play decks that will walk your kid and a friend through the game step by step. Once your kid is used to this one, you can get started with a theme deck. There are also great resources online where your kid can learn how to play: The Pokémon website has a virtual tutorial, but you can also find game rules and guidelines for each generation online. When in doubt, tell your child to ask one of his friends who already knows the game to teach him.


    Read more:

    Where Can I Play The Game

    As with all things in life, the key to being great at the Pokémon TCG is practice! The more games you play, the more experience you will acquire and the better you will become at building your decks and out-maneuvering your opponent! You may not have anybody immediately nearby to play the game with but there are always options! Play! Pokémon is The Pokémon Companys official source for all things related to competitive Pokémon. Their site will help you find leagues and events in your area as well as let you track your ranking as you play in them.

    Another really good tool to consider are the simulators.Pokémon Trading Card Game Online and TCG One are the two most powerful simulators out there right now. Pokémon TCG Online is the official app for playing the game and is jam-packed with cool features and a large player base. Its only downside is that players have to acquire cards in-game in order to use them. It offers plenty of opportunity to do so but it can take a bit of time. TCG One, on the other hand, offers none of the bells and whistles of TCG Online, but it does allow you to construct and play decks with any card you want, so its great for testing out new ideas without having to hunt down certain cards.

    Read Also: Games Like Pokemon For Ps4

    Watch Tcg Personalities On Twitch And Youtube

    A great way to keep up to date with the Pokémon TCG meta, while getting involved with the community, is by watching others on YouTube and Twitch.


    Theres plenty of content creators out there, with many pro players like Pedro Sininchi Torres streaming on Twitch regularly, and also offering coaching sessions. On YouTube, the likes of Omnipoke and TrainerChip offer comprehensive deck breakdowns.

    One of the most popular Pokémon TCG streamers today is Trickygym, who features pro TCG play, deck analysis and tournament vlogs from his own runs too.

    There’s even official guides too from The Pokemon Company, which breakdown tips on using certain decks.

    How To Play Pokemon Cards By Yourself

    HOW TO PLAY in 2020: Pokemon Trading Card Game Beginner ...

    The Pokemon Card Game consists of different collectible cards based on the Pokemon franchise by Nintendo. Each card has a different Pokemon on it, so the more you collect the more Pokemon you have for your deck. The main foundation of every Pokemon card deck consists of Basic Pokemon who are in their very first form before evolution.

    Pokemon has been around for as long as I can remember. The trading card game is typically played against someone else, but you are able to play by yourself. This will help you learn different strategies so your game is better against your opponent. But how do you play this multiplayer game by yourself?

    The point of playing the Pokemon Card Game is to have a deck that is better than your opponents deck. You want to be able to attack and damage the Pokemon that your opponent laid out on their turn. There are several different types of Pokemon that all have different types of powers. Lets dive into how you can practice many different decks by yourself when you dont have a live opponent to play with.

    Read Also: How To Get Tyranitar In Pokemon Go

    The Anatomy Of A Pokemon Card

    There are many different types of Pokemon cards, and their layouts/designs have changed throughout the years, plus their are also one-off and unique Pokemon cards that look completely different from regular cards, so there is no simple, definitive guide for the anatomy of a Pokemon card…

    … but since this guide for absolute beginners, here is a very basic anatomy of a basic Pokemon card.

    Just keep in mind that as you learn more about Pokemon cards, you will run into cards that look completely different from ones like this and that there is much more to a Pokemon card than just what is shown here.

    There are also trainer cards and energy cards, but we won’t get into them in this post.

    If you want to learn more about the different type of cards and what everything on them means, I highly recommend you download and play the official Pokemon Trading Card Game Online, even if only for research purposes. Their tutorials very quickly teach you everything you need to know.

    Sealed Pokmon Booster Packs

    Next up, you also have the option of buying sealed Pokémon booster packs.

    However, do this with caution.

    Savvy sellers weigh their boosters, with heavier packs having a greater chance of pulling a holo card.

    Whether you agree with the ethics of this approach, its business at the end of the day, and sellers want to make sure theyre not relinquishing top cards.

    What youll often find on Amazon are booster packs listed as heavy.

    Although they dont guarantee a holo card, I guess youre upping your chances of pulling one. Naturally, though, youll pay a premium.

    It then turns into a game of Roulette. Do you want to drop $100+ on a booster and pray its a Charizard?

    Ive learned the hard way a couple of times buying boosters, so dont really recommend it for beginners.

    Also Check: When Is Pokemon Journeys Part 5 Coming Out On Netflix

    How To Play Pokmon Cards Game

    If you are new to the game and would like to know how to play Pokémon for beginners, these steps will come in handy in helping you understand the game. You will also stand a high chance of defeating your opponent.

    Is Pokémon easy to play? The first step involves setting up, while the second one is making the right moves while playing. The last is about attacking your opponent. How about unpacking each one of the three key steps?

    Are Pokemon Cards A Good Investment

    How to Play Pokemon Online TCG – Beginners Guide

    Yes.

    In my opinion, Pokemon cards are a great investment.

    Just to be clear, this is a hugely subjective question. It’s the same as asking if stocks or real estate are a good investment… the real answer is: it depends.

    It depends on things like:

    • how much research you do
    • whether you know what kind of research to do
    • whether or not you make smart purchases
    • how well you tolerate risk
    • how long you are willing to wait to make a profit

    And, just as with stocks and real estate… theoretically, something could happen tomorrow that could render certain or all Pokemon cards completely worthless.

    But… based on historically data, just as with stocks and real estate, there is a “proof of concept” that Pokemon cards can be a good investment. That along with future outlooks and many other external factors strongly indicate to me that Pokemon cards will continue to be a good investment for at least the next 50 years.

    Although you can’t play with numbers as big as you can in stocks and real estate, the barrier to entry is tiny and the potential for profit is huge? Cards have been known to double in value in the span of weeks.*

    Let’s look as some of the things that back up the “investment” aspect of Pokemon cards.

    Don’t Miss: How Many Evolutions Does Eevee Have

    RELATED ARTICLES

    Most Popular