Pokemon Cards

[sas_mk]

I am hoping there is some Mom or Dad out there that "gets" this game and can help guide me.

My son is in 3rd grade and has recently started playing this game with his friends. He has very few cards and would like more cards. I am thinking that adding to his collection might be a good option for Christmas, but I was wondering if anybody out can help me understand what I should be buying.

Thanks to anybody that can help me.

 

[justintime]

I am in the same position as you. My son wanted very specific series. One day when we were in Target, we walked by the aisle that had all the cards and he showed me the specific series that he wanted. I don't know much about Pokemon. He tries to explain, but I just don't get it. Your son may not be as picky as mine, so it may not matter, but you may want to casually walk him by them in the store and see which ones he wants to look at. Wish I could be more help. When my kids talk about Pokemon, it is like a foreign language to me!

 

[sas_mk]

That makes me feel better that I am not the only one who doesn't understand! I even sat down and tried to play it with him and only got more confused.

Thanks for the suggestion. I will have to see how specific he is with his Pokemon "wants".

 

[SandrA9810]

Well it's not that hard to play, but it has gotten a bit harder since all the new pokemon series have come out. New characters, new trainers, new cards.

It's fairly basic though. Each pokemon has an amount of energy it needs to use for an attack. In order to make the attack, you need to play the energy cards that coordinate with the attack. When you attack, the other player's health decreases by that amount.

There's the base pokemon, like Pikachu. In order to play Raichu, you must have Pikachu out.

There's weaknesses with each one. Like water is weak to electric. So if Pikachu hits Squirtle it'll do more damage than usual. But if he hit's another electric pokemon, it's more immune and does less damage.

http://www.pokemon.com/us/trading-cards/how-to-play/demo/


Did you realize every graduating high school senior has always known Pokemon?

 

[SweetMommy]

I agree w/ one of the other posters, definitely try to find out if he's looking for different series or not. Also whether he is actually playing the game w/ others or just collecting the cards. If he is playing the game, they do sell pre-made decks. Otherwise, they do sell what are called booster packs w/ just random cards that are part of a series. Also, if he is showing a decent amount of interest in these cards, a good thing to invest in is a binder w/ sleeves (pages that have spots for individual cards). They usually sell these right in the same aisle in Target where they have the cards. This will help keep the cards in good condition and they will last for a really long time.

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

You may want to check CL - in our area there are tons of listings for Pokemon cards

 

[SandrA9810]

Mine are still in two binders in perfect condition, from the original 150 series, base, jungle, and fossil sets. I collected a little of base 2, and Team Rockets, but never completed those.

Unless he trades or you buy a specific card online, it's hard to collect specific cards. Premade trainer sets will tell you exactly what cards you will be getting. But most players will create their own set.

Magic the Gathering, Pokemon, and Yugioh have been around for a very long time, picking up younger players in school. It's amazing the age range of Magic players. That's one game that's harder than Pokemon.

 

[momto2inKC]

We have several shoe boxes and some binders FULL of Pokemon cards My kids were a bit obsessed for several years. Heck my daughter still loves Pokemon lol She recently bought a Pikachu pillow pet.
When they first started, we really lucked out and found a lot of cards at garage sales. That got them started, then we bought booster packs and such to add to it.

 

[Ali]

My son started playing in August. It really does depend on whether your child will be playing in tournaments or local leagues or just collecting. At a local league a child/adult can play any cards at all. From any set, any time, and it's pretty much set up to help kids learn how to play and be social. If you are thinking that this willove on to a competitive thing then you need to make sure your child's deck is tournament legal, all cards from the Heart gold/soulsilver and Black and White series are legal. Some old cards are legal too, I suggest you google pokemon and go to the main site and start reading.

There are starter decks out there that will allow them to play right from the start. Not too competitive but they are legal. Most stores carry mainly legal cards, with the exception of Kmart who has really old stuff and toys r us who has old stuff because they don't sell enough.

I have been buying stuff on ebay for my son to make him a competitive deck and we go to prereleases to get ew cards to trade other people, it's kind of fun to play too. I have a chaotic deck becuase I give my son the best stuff!

So, pokemon will be a big part of my son's christmas gifts this year and I will be buying booster packs because the funnest past (according to him) is opening lots of packs and seeing what cards you get.

 

[pandamom]

Lot of good advice so far. If he is going to play the game and not just collect, a premade "theme deck" is definitely a good choice. Fast Daze and Furious Knights are the two newest decks. Once he becomes familiar with the game he can substitute better cards into the deck and customize it. Check around before buying booster packs because prices can vary greatly from one store to the next -- $2.99 to $4.99 is the usual range on a single pack of current cards. We usually buy ours by the box (36 packs). If you buy used cards be careful because there a lot of fake cards out there. A binder is also a great suggestion and they have several Pokemon themed ones available.

Here are some good informative Pokemon sites:
http://www.pokemon.com
http://www.pokegym.net
http://www.bebesseardh.com

You might also want to check https://www.pokemon.com/us/account/events/ to see if there are any leagues near you. League is a great place to learn how to play in a relaxed atmosphere. dd13 and dd11 have been playing competitively for 4 years now and have shown no signs of losing interest (not that I'd mind if they did LOL). My husband and I run a league at our library. Every week we have new players who think they know how to play the card game but really don't -- after a few teaching games they are usually confident enough to play on their own.

Good luck and have fun!!

 

[sas_mk]

Thank you everyone!

I feel so much more prepared to jump into the world of Pokemon now! I really appreciate the time that each of you took to educate me.

 

[QueenDoOver]

I have to jump in because the Pokemon trading card game has been life changing for my 8 year old son. About a year ago I finally agreed to bring my son to Pokemon League in our town at our local game store. A friend of mine had been taking her son for some time and he loved it, but I was shying away from any more commitments. We finally showed up one night with a baggy full of old pokemon cards from his big brothers days of collecting. One of the older kids (19 or so) helped him build a deck and then another kid about his age taught him how to play. He loved it! We started with buying a prebuilt deck and then more cards, and eventually got a deck put together for me, so that I could practice with him at home.

Benefits I observed:
Sportsmanship! There is an expectation of how you conduct yourself while playing and seeing all the other kids acting the right way, really helped my son behave correctly. It also helps that there are matches being played all around you and at every one there is a winner and a loser, and you usually get to be both throughout the evening of play.

Reading! If you can't read, you can't really play. My son worked so hard at trying to read all those little words. And his reading improved!

Family Time! My older son who had only collected before, saw his brother and I practicing and started getting interested. He started practicing with his brother, and then going to league with us. Next weekend we are attending our first Regional Competition and both my boys, my nephew and I will all be playing. My teenager actually thinks it is cool that I play!

And since this is the budget board: You student can even win scholarships! How cool is that? If they do well in lower level competitions, they can win expense paid trips to the world championships. Our league has some of the top rated players in the world, so I have seen this happen!

The age range at league does require that I attend all events with my 8 year old, but I don't mind. There are usually a few of us "pokemoms" around and we get a lot of social time in when we are not playing. (I usually only play at league if we are short kids and one of them needs a partner)


Good Luck!

Tracey