How To Play Pokemon Cards Game (TCG) 2024

Pokemon is one of the most famous games out there. As a kid, we watched movies and shows off Pokémon and also wanted to become trainers. But now you can play Pokemon as a card game.

Yes, this is a great way to enjoy yourself with your friends where you can play and trade cards of Pokémon with your friends.

You can enjoy cool Pokémon battles with your friends and family. You must be curious about how to play the Pokemon Cards game. So here are some steps which will help you get into the game and master it.

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how to play pokemon cards

Setting Up: The Pokemon Card

The first and foremost thing you should do is set the cards up. When you buy cards, they come in a deck of 60 cards.

When you start the game, make sure that there are 60 cards in the deck, and they should be well-shuffled. One-fourth of the cards in the deck should be a well-balanced deck, but it is on you how you start the game.

From both sides make sure that your opponents have 60 cards which means that you both have to be 100 percent sure about the cards, also, you can ask your opponents if you can play with less than 60 cards.  You should start by determining who will go first and how.

This means that you can decide by either flipping a coin or some other trick. Start by drawing 7 cards and put the theme side face down. Find your basic Pokémon and then find your active Pokémon.

Pick your activePokémon.However, put the one you want to use for attack first face down onto the playing area a few inches in front of you if you have at least one basic Pokémon in your hand.

However, you can put them face down beneath your active Pokémon as your bench, if you have further basic Pokémon cards in your hand. You may have no further than 5 Pokémon on your bench at one time.

Staring The Game

Draw your six prize cards. You can look at your hand, but do not look at your prizes yet! Start by placing the cards. Each time you knock one of your opponent’s Pokémon out, take a prize card. When you run out of prize cards, you win. Fewer prize cards can be used for a faster game.

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how to play pokemon cards

There’s a special rule for EX and GXPokémon. However, you get to take two rather than one Prize Card, if you knock out a Partner or GX Pokémon.

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 Contrary to popular belief, you don’t take or keep your opponent’s Prize Cards. Once you knock out a Pokémon, you take Prize Cards from your own pile and put them into your hand.

Generally, these should be on your right side, opposite the prize cards. Your Reject Pile will be below your deck.

 Face your cards in the right direction. When you’re ready to begin, make sure you’re active and benched Pokémon cards are each turned face up.

 Play until someone wins. You win if you take all your prize cards if your opponent has to draw but cannot because they have run out of cards in their deck, or if you knock out all Pokémon on your opponent’s field.

Using the Playing Your Cards

 At the staring of your turn, draw a card. Contrary to popular belief, this step is mandatory. You don’t have the option to choose whether you want to draw a card.

 Bench starting Pokémon. However, you can place that Pokémon on your bench, if you have an introductory Pokémon in your hand. This can be done as many times as you want. There can be over five Pokémon on your bench unless a card on the field says else.

 Use Energy cards. You can attach one Energy card per turn (unless a card on the field says else) by placing it underneath one of your Pokémon, below allure-evolved forms.

 Use Trainer cards. These cards have descriptions of their goods on the card itself, and let you do lots of helpful things. Different types of Trainer cards are Items, Supporters, Tools, and Stadiums. You can spark any number of Item and Tool cards during your turn, but only one Supporter and Stadium.

After they’re used, they go to the discard pile. A Pokémon Tool can be attached to one of your Pokémon that does not formerly have a tool attached to it.

When you play in a stadium, it’s placed horizontally between both players’ fields. It’s discarded when a new stadium from your opponent comes into play. There are also special energy cards used to give energy and do commodity additional specials that’s said on the card.

how to play pokemon card game

Evolve your Pokémon. However, you can evolve the Pokémon by placing that card on top of it, if you have evolution cards for a Pokémon that’s active or on your bench.

A Basic evolves into Stage 1, and a Stage 1 into Stage 2. You cannot evolve a Pokémon on the first turn it’s played, either by benching them or evolving them unless using an effect. You also can not evolve Pokémon on your first turn.

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 Use an ability. Some Pokémon have abilities that can be used for special effects. These are listed on their cards.

Abilities aren’t attacks, so you may still attack after using one or more abilities. Be sure to announce the capacities to your opponent so they know what you’re doing.

Retreat your Pokémon. To retreat a Pokémon is to switch it out for another Pokémon on your bench. Usually, you’ll have to pay a retreat cost by discarding energy attached to that Pokémon.

The retreat cost will be listed at the bottom of the card. You can only retreat once per turn.

Attack your opponent. The last thing you can do in your turn is to attack your opponent’s active Pokémon using yours. After you attack, your turn ends. You cannot attack your first turn if you go first. This action is expanded upon in the following section.

Attacking Your Opponent

 Attack. You have to have the right amount and type of energy needed for the attack cost (listed on the card to the left of the attack name) attached to that Pokémon in order to attack.

Some attacks need colourless energy. There are units indicated by white stars, and maybe any kind of enemy. different attacks can bear specific energy sorts.

Note your opponent’s weakness. Most cards have a Weakness to a selected kind. it will receive further harm if your Pokémon is of the kind it’s a weakness to.
Check the defensive Pokémon’s resistance. it will receive less harm if your Pokémon is of the kind it’s resistant to.

bring down harm. The harm the Associate in Nursing attack inflicts is to correct the attack name. There {are also|also area unit|are} some effects that are listed at a lower place some attacks which will increase the harm output, therefore be careful for those!

This harm is placed on the defensive Pokémon (your opponent’s Active Pokémon). In-game, harm is stated as harm counters, with all representing ten harm. you’ll be able to keep track of those harm counters by victimization official counters, any variety of tiny flat objects, or with dice.

Discard knocked out Pokémon. Pokémon with zero HP (the quantity of harm is bigger than or capable the HP of the Pokémon) area unit knocked out. Place them in their owner’s discard pile, at the side of any Energies or things that will be hooked up.

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Handling the conditions justifiedly

Special conditions area unit prejudicious standing effects which will be applied to your active Pokémon. These embody Burned, Poisoned, Asleep, Confused, and paralytic. Poisoned, Burned, Asleep, and paralytic have effects that do middle turns, therein order.
Deal with a Poisoned Pokémon. place a Poison marker on the Pokémon that is poisoned. It takes one harm counter between every flip.

Deal with a Burned Pokémon. Place a Burned marker on the Pokémon if it’s burned. Flip a coin in-between turns. However, the Pokémon takes no burn harm, If heads. However, place two harm counters on the Burned Pokémon, If tails.

The Sun and Moon rule for Burned may be very little totally different. For the Sun and Moon Burned rule, place a Burned marker thereon (the girth marker), if your Pokémon is Burned. Between turns, place 2 harm counters on the Burned Pokémon. Also, Burned Pokémon’s owner flips a coin.

However, the Pokémon is not longer Burned, and you’ll be able to take away the Burned marker, If heads. However, it stays Burned, If tails.

Deal with AsleepPokémon.However, its card is turned counterclockwise, If a Pokémon is Asleep. Flip a coin middle turns; if heads, the Pokémon wake up. However, stays asleep, If tails. Asleep Pokémon cannot retreat or attack.

touch upon paralytic Pokémon. paralytic Pokémon area unit turned dextrorotary, and may not retreat or attack. dysfunction is cured between flips if the Pokémon was paralytic since the start of your last turn.

touch upon a Confused Pokémon. the cardboard of a Confused Pokémon is turned the wrong way up. Flip a coin before you attack with a Confused Pokémon; if tails, place 3 harm counters on it Pokémon, and also the attack does nothing. However, your Pokémon attacks with success, If heads.

Still, flip for the Confusion 1st, If the attack involves a coin flip. Heal your affected Pokémon. the best thanks to the healing Associate in Nursing affected Pokémon is by returning it to the bench. It can not be people if it’s asleep or paralytic, however, will still be switched by victimization effects.

You’ll be able to additionally use trainer cards that heal standing conditions. However, solely the foremost recent one applies If a Pokémon would be plagued by multiple conditions that rotate the cardboard. So here is how you’ll be able to play the sport and luxuriate in however confirm to play the sport in right means while not cheating.

This is all for this guide for more similar content do read our Pokemon Go guides such as how to get free coins in Pokemon and more.