How to get started with Pokemon TCG?

January 2, 2009 11:56 AM

If someone wanted to start out playing the Pokemon trading card game with their 7 year old kid, what is the minimal optimal current per-person set of purchases required to be able to have an interesting and enjoyable time?
posted by felix to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (7 answers total)

When I was into Pokemon ~10 years ago, they sold premade decks that would get you playing right away. The decks come with different themes and you could play the game if you each had one.
posted by martinX's bellbottoms at 12:30 PM on January 2, 2009

Best answer: Get a premade deck. With the little packs you don't know what you're getting and might be frustrated by number of pokemon to energy cards ratios. Take it from someone who lost a lot as a kid because she had too many energy cards. Get different themed decks.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 1:29 PM on January 2, 2009

Best answer: Oh - by the way - these recommend a 60 card deck.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 1:33 PM on January 2, 2009

May I suggest, without coming across as self-righteous or overly-granola-crunchy, that you check out a "do-it-yourself" loosely Pokemon-inspired game called monster cards. Here's an article about the game. My family has played it (6-year old at the time of first encounter) with great success.
posted by dylanjames at 2:59 PM on January 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

My seven-year-old and I each got a Yu-Gi-Oh starter deck for Christmas, and we have been enjoying learning to duel with them. I expect that, now that we've basically got the hang of it, we'll also enjoy buying expansion packs--our decks are identical now and the other day we got hung up in a kind of stalemate for awhile, until I basically threw the game. But the starter decks certainly have let us get started.
posted by not that girl at 3:05 PM on January 2, 2009

You can get a metric ton of Pokemon cards from thrift stores and on eBay. I bought our son 4000 of them for $11 last year. He was just starting out his own collection and needed a good starting point. We recycled 1/2 of them, but it was exactly the way to go.
posted by LGCNo6 at 6:46 PM on January 2, 2009

Best answer: My 19-year old former Pokemon expert agrees with the suggestion for a theme deck, but advises caution. For example, if your son has a strong water deck, don't invest in the fire theme deck, cause "you'll get trounced."
posted by jasper411 at 9:19 PM on January 2, 2009