You’d think that the Pokémon boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s would have died down by now, but you’d be wrong. The franchise around the little pocket monsters is still incredibly popular today with young and old. Many of the children of that time are now adults but remain loyal to Pokémon. This also has an effect on the fan articles, which continue to be produced in large quantities. At the same time, the card game probably has a very special character. This article shows how to discover Pokémon cards!
Collecting or Playing?
As with many other collectible card games, Pokémon raises the question of what the cards are actually produced and sold for. One option is to play with them and put your own cards to the test against your friends. The other option is to simply collect them. The cards themselves look very nice and are especially great for children who like to look at the colorful pictures. Here we look at both sides.
Collecting Fever
Collecting is not only a hobby with Pokémon cards, but actually with pretty much all things, of which there are several variations. Some may collect books, stamps, or rare figurines; others collect Pokémon cards. Since the game has been around for over twenty years now (1996 in Japan and since 1998 here in Germany), there is naturally a huge amount of cards. You can collect them in folders with transparent foil and thus look at them again and again.
The attraction of collecting is also to draw potential rare cards. In recent years, there have been some headlines about the high prices at which Pokémon cards have been sold. For younger children, this is certainly not relevant at first, but when you discover later in life that you do have a not so worthless collection of cards, it is certainly a great feeling.
Playing – Privately and Officially
Of course, the cards are also and actually primarily designed to be played. Behind them is a rather complex card game. The rules are usually on a corresponding manual with the purchase or quite easy to find on the Internet. In addition to the beautifully drawn pictures, the cards also have certain values, such as life points, attacks, and effects. The goal is to defeat the opponent and clear their Pokémon out of the way.
In addition to the private pay, the Pokémon card game is also played officially. This is called the “Pokémon TCG Championship”, where TCG stands for “Trading Card Game”. There are various tournaments, leagues, and rules. Larger events are even broadcast on YouTube. So the fun is there on many different levels.
Variations of the Card Decks
Now, if your own child asks for Pokémon cards, there are more choices here. With so many years on the market, some sales strategies have now emerged. In addition, it should be mentioned that cards can be grouped together depending on their release date. These are called expansions and can be recognized by certain symbols on the card, as well as the name on the packaging. Usually, only the current expansions are sold.
Probably the best-known way to buy Pokémon cards are the small laminated packs. These are called boosters and contain nine to eleven cards, which depends on the particular expansion. There are usually 6 common, 3 rare and one very rare card. These boosters are a good way to get a taste of collecting and playing and see if you like it. They are also good for searching for specific missing cards later on.
The second variant are larger boxes, which often already contain a whole deck of cards. This includes 60 cards and also a printed playing field, extra game chips and detailed instructions. These boxes come in different shapes and can look very different. However, they are tailored to get you started playing right away. Some of the cards inside are fixed, while others are random.
Care should be taken to buy the cards only from official stores. This is because counterfeits are often in circulation. However, most toy stores in this country are probably the best place to go and sell the real cards. However, caution should be exercised on the Internet.
The Franchise in Further Development
Pokémon is the best-selling franchise in the world, which is not the least due to the sale of merchandise, including just the beloved cards. What started with simple video games on the Gameboy has become so much more today. With the release of Pokémon GO in 2016, the whole thing got another big boost and won back many older players. And the new generation is also enjoying the little monsters.
In the meantime, the number of Pokémon should soon cross 1000. The new games, Pokémon Crimson and Purple have already been announced for November 18 for the Nintendo Switch. And of course, a matching new expansion for the card game is already waiting in the wings. And with sales of the video games and fan merchandise still high, Pokémon will likely continue to be a part of our society for several years or even decades.
