Simpler Pokemon
December 28, 2009 5:00 PM Subscribe
My twin nephews love to collect Pokemon cards, but are too young to really get the rules.
I think I have the basics down after reading instructions on the web, but I'm only visiting for the week, and when I'm gone none of the grown-ups will remember the rules.
Is there a simplified rule set that they can use to play the game? If not, does anyone have a recommendation for a similar card game that might be easier for them (and their parents) to pick up?
I think I have the basics down after reading instructions on the web, but I'm only visiting for the week, and when I'm gone none of the grown-ups will remember the rules.
Is there a simplified rule set that they can use to play the game? If not, does anyone have a recommendation for a similar card game that might be easier for them (and their parents) to pick up?
My seven year old son likes them too, but he pretty much just looks at the cards and sends them through the laundry.
He does, however, like Fluxx which is not a trading card game but it is a card game that he enjoys, and the rules are both simple enough and change often enough to keep interest.
posted by RikiTikiTavi at 5:13 PM on December 28, 2009
He does, however, like Fluxx which is not a trading card game but it is a card game that he enjoys, and the rules are both simple enough and change often enough to keep interest.
posted by RikiTikiTavi at 5:13 PM on December 28, 2009
my son has been into this for several years now. The simplified pokemon rules are 'whatever anybody in that little social group decides, on this day, in this setting, for this moment'. I actually figured this was the good news that they weren't processing a lot of the crappiness about them. this means that they actually have to use social negotiation to 'figure it out', rather than 'learning the proper rules', etc. Eventually, he and his peers got older and 'figured out the real rules' or whatever, but it was more about playing/trading with friends than the game.
Before you teach them the 'real rules' you might find out how they like to play with them and whether or not they're being excluded by others by not knowing the rules, or whether by giving them access to the 'real' rules you will be doing a good thing or not for them, or their friends.
posted by kch at 6:20 PM on December 28, 2009 [2 favorites]
Before you teach them the 'real rules' you might find out how they like to play with them and whether or not they're being excluded by others by not knowing the rules, or whether by giving them access to the 'real' rules you will be doing a good thing or not for them, or their friends.
posted by kch at 6:20 PM on December 28, 2009 [2 favorites]
Yeah, these cards (along with Yu Gi Oh) are a perfect invitation to make up your own game. My 7-year-old and his buddy next door have tons of Pokemon cards, with no real understanding of how the game works.
We will often get them out, sometimes with my 4-year-old daughter in attendance, and shuffle them up and deal them out. You can usually improvise some simplified sort of rummy using whatever attributes of the cards strike you at the moment - collect three cards with a gold border, three cards with a dragon, three cards that have a specific word on them. Proceed using standard rummy rules (which is a good game to teach to young minds anyway).
posted by jbickers at 6:28 PM on December 28, 2009
We will often get them out, sometimes with my 4-year-old daughter in attendance, and shuffle them up and deal them out. You can usually improvise some simplified sort of rummy using whatever attributes of the cards strike you at the moment - collect three cards with a gold border, three cards with a dragon, three cards that have a specific word on them. Proceed using standard rummy rules (which is a good game to teach to young minds anyway).
posted by jbickers at 6:28 PM on December 28, 2009
Competitive player, league owner, and pokemon professor here! I would recommend trying to find a local league to take your nephews to, as league play is really the best way to learn the rules. I have seen children as young as 4 and 5 playing happily with older siblings or friends! The official site is www.go-pokemon.com and it has a searchable listing of leagues. You can also look into getting them the non-wii Pokemon Rumble. It is much simpler to play, and you can use the cards that come with it in league decks and you can switch them out to include their favorite pokemon. Memail me if you want, pokemon is a HUUUGE part of my life and I would be more than happy to answer anything you want to know about it.
posted by d13t_p3ps1 at 6:36 PM on December 28, 2009
posted by d13t_p3ps1 at 6:36 PM on December 28, 2009
My son collected Pokemon (and similar) cards at a very young age, and he really didn't care about playing the game with them, he just liked the collecting aspect. When he and his friends did begin playing, they made up their own rules until they gradually transitioned into learning the real game as they got older.
So, maybe just let your nephews take the lead when you visit. Ask them if they have their own way of playing, if they even play at all. You sound like your heart's in the right place, but it seems like you're over-thinking the whole thing a bit.
posted by amyms at 7:29 PM on December 28, 2009
So, maybe just let your nephews take the lead when you visit. Ask them if they have their own way of playing, if they even play at all. You sound like your heart's in the right place, but it seems like you're over-thinking the whole thing a bit.
posted by amyms at 7:29 PM on December 28, 2009
Do you need one more person to say that the kids figure out their own way to play at that age? My sons are 5 and 8 and play elaborate Yu-Gi-Oh duels that sort of nod to the conventions of the game but don't remotely follow the rules. They've been happily doing this for a couple of years now. If you jump in with your nephews and play by whatever Calvinball-esque rules they invent, they will love you for it and everyone will have a great time.
posted by not that girl at 8:32 PM on December 28, 2009
posted by not that girl at 8:32 PM on December 28, 2009
We play a version of War with my 6.5 year old son. I don't have the cards in front of me -- but we use the big number...is it in the upper right hand corner? We deal out the entire deck to whoever's playing, we each old our pile, and then put one card out, and the card with the biggest number takes them all. If it's a tie, we do a "war" and each flip out another card. Works great with this crowd.
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:04 PM on December 28, 2009
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:04 PM on December 28, 2009
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posted by Ochre,Hugh at 5:10 PM on December 28, 2009