How to Play Pokémon TCG

Welcome back, Collectors!

Have you ever played Pokémon TCG? Here’s out beginner’s guide for players looking to play socially, or aiming to try their hands at a competitive TCG game.

Setting up your Deck

•     A Deck consisting of 60 cards made up of Pokémon, Energy and Trainer cards:

o   Pokémon cards

§  12-18 Pokémon cards

§  Up to 4 of the same cards can be in the deck

§  Evolutions are allowed

§  A general rule of thumb is to have more Stage 1 Evolutions than the Stage 2 or Stage 3 of that species (for example: Charmander - Charmeleon - Charizard) to make sure full evolutions can be reached.

o   Energy cards

§  15-25 Energy cards

§  Match the energy cards to the type of Pokémon in the deck.

§  Colourless energy is good to have in the deck as it can be used on any Pokémon.

o   Trainer cards

§  15-20 Trainer cards

§  Look for trainer cards that offer something beneficial to your deck or the ability to disadvantage your opponent’s deck.

§  Trainer cards can be useful in helping Pokémon become stronger, more resistant, or regaining lost Hit Points (HP). 

To have a balanced deck pick 2-3 types of Pokémon. This will prevent an over-weighting of the deck, and the hassle of trying to find the cards you need from the limited number of cards available in the deck.

Setting up the game

1.     Both players will shuffle their own decks and place them on their right-hand side.

o   *The discard pile of used cards will go underneath the deck on the game arena (not added back into the deck), with all discarded cards face up

2.     A coin will be tossed to determine who will go first.

3.     Both players will draw 7 cards from the top of their deck into their hand.

4.     Both players will then draw 6 Prize cards from the top of their deck (face down). Keeping them face down, place them to left of the game arena in 3 rows of 2.

o   The only time these cards are taken or used are when a player knocks an opponent’s Pokémon out in battle. (Special rules on certain cards are in place where a player can take 2 or 3 Prize cards after knocking out an opponent’s Pokémon).

o   *A player can only take prize cards from their set and not from their opponents.

5.     Player 1 will go first. They are allowed to play any Basic Pokémon from their hand onto the game arena into the active position, and up to 5 Pokémon on their bench.

o   * They cannot attack on the first turn

o   If either player is unable to play a Pokémon from their hand, then that player must put their hand back into their deck, shuffle, and draw again. This is called a Mulligan. It also allows the other player to have the option of drawing 1 additional card for every Mulligan that is required by the other player.

6.     With the game underway, both players take turns placing 1 Energy card onto 1 Pokémon (unless otherwise allowed) each turn, playing Trainer and Supporter cards, attacking your opponent’s Pokémon, and ending each turn by drawing a card from your deck.

o Attacking:
You can attack only once per turn but only if you have enough Energy cards attached to the active Pokémon for the attack they are wanting to use.

§  Some attacks will have special abilities:

§  Some may require the attacking player to flip a coin a number of times for added attack strength, or to even attack at all.

§  Some may burn, poison, or put an opponents Active Pokémon to sleep, which requires that Pokémon card to be turned on its side or have a token placed on it to show what has happened.

§  Damage dice are used to show how much damage a Pokémon has sustained in battle. Once the dice equals the HP (top right of the card) that Pokémon has been defeated in battle and is sent to the discard pile.

7.     The game is over when:

o   1 player has claimed all their Prize Cards

o   1 player has run out of cards to draw from their deck

o   1 player has no Pokémon on the bench to call into battle

 If you are, or know someone who is, looking into playing Pokémon TCG, we suggest that you check out the Pokémon Battle Academy Board Game in our shop! It’s perfect for all types of platers with its easy-to-follow format, 3 full decks to pick from, deck protectors, in-depth instructions and rulebook, damage tokens, and a playing board that will hone your skills when playing Pokémon TCG.

Happy Collecting!

Now that you have your deck sorted it is time to set up the game.

1. Both players will shuffle their own decks and place them on their right hand side

   • Note that the discard pile of used cards will go underneath the deck on the game arena (not added back into the deck), with all discarded cards face up

2. A coin will be tossed to determine who will go first

3. Both players will draw 7 cards from the top of their deck into their hand

4. Both players will then draw 6 Prize cards from the top of their deck, keeping them face down, and place them face down to left of the game arena in 3 rows of 2

   • The only time these cards are taken or used are when a player knocks an opponents Pokémon out in battle

     • Special rules on certain cards are in place where a player can take 2 or even 3 Prize cards after knocking out an opponents Pokémon

   • A player can only take prize cards from their pile and not from their opponents

5. Player 1 will go first and is allowed to play any Basic Pokémon from their hand onto the game arena into the active position and up to 5 Pokémon on their bench

   • They cannot attack on the first turn

   • If either player is unable to play a Pokémon from their hand then that player must put