my kindergartner is into Pokemon - help!

dawgfan · 01-19-2016, 05:54 PM

So my son came home from school last Thursday with a Pokemon card that a friend of his from school loaned him overnight, and he was so excited about it that I caved and bought a couple of starter decks kit this weekend so we could play. While I've been aware of the existence of Pokemon and had a vague idea of what the game was about, I had no idea of the details (never played it or similar card strategy games like Magic or the like). The "instructions" on the back of the game mat were vague enough that I frantically downloaded the online game and played several trainer games to get the gist of it.

I now have a basic idea of the game and how it works (though I'm still pretty fuzzy on certain things like special attacks and the order of how you play things) and am able to guide my son through a match, though I'm sure we'd bet our butts kicked by experienced players with customized decks.

Can anyone give me a little more insight into the whole card deal - what the idea is behind the booster packs of cards you can buy, what people typically do in terms of customizing decks, etc. I'm not excited about the thought of getting caught up in a money pit of buying a ton of cards looking for special "collectibles" and whatnot, but I'm curious about how this stuff typically works and what the experience has been for other parents.

cartman · 01-19-2016, 06:05 PM

Sorry, you are screwed. They say so in their marketing.

stevew · 01-19-2016, 06:17 PM

Yeah, my 17 year old is still into it so you got a long road ahead.

AFAIK my kids never actually played the card game. They were more into collecting the cards and looking at them.

Coffee Warlord · 01-19-2016, 06:44 PM

dawgfan · 01-19-2016, 06:55 PM

Prior to Saturday I would've had no idea WTF Tycho and Gabe were talking about here :/

JonInMiddleGA · 01-19-2016, 07:00 PM

My parenting experience with it was basically "thank God he didn't have steady access outside of school (where playing time was limited) to kids who were deeply into it"

Otherwise, money pit indeed.

edit to add: So we ended up with a relative handful of (basic) decks & packs and we played for a while at home but it never became a major addiction.

nol · 01-19-2016, 08:31 PM

As someone who still plays the main series Pokemon, steer far away from the cards for reasons mentioned.

Marc Vaughan · 01-20-2016, 01:55 PM

I just made up the rules when mine were into it - they had fun and we were probably utterly incorrect

wustin · 01-20-2016, 02:34 PM

Pokémon Trading Card Game - Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia

I'm 24 years old, so I grew up with the whole card game craze and have played some of them competitively. Pokemon, mechanically, is a hot pile of garbage, but I'm sure if you're playing casually it can be fun.

Also, if your son is like how I was in elementary school, he's probably more interested in the collecting and getting as many shiny/rare cards aspect of the game than actually playing it.

Also for any card game, buying booster packs is always worse than buying singles. But buying singles doesn't replicate that pack crack.

dawgfan · 01-20-2016, 03:05 PM

I think his initial interest was the card itself his buddy loaned him, but he knew it was a game and wanted to play it once we bought a pack (and then I realized I had to buy another pack in order to have a decent game experience). He's very much into games, but I suspect that he'll probably settle back into being more interested in the cards themselves. He's already made a bunch of drawings of his own cards, and today he took a couple in to school with him to temporarily trade with his friend.

Fidatelo · 01-20-2016, 09:16 PM

My boys love Pokemon, especially the older one (one is 6, the other 5). They semi-understand how to play, though I agree with the sentiment that the game is a pile of garbage from a mechanical aspect. I love card games and have a bunch of L5R and other games that I can't wait to get them into once they are older.

Oh and if you're semi-involved in both Pokemon and IT this is fun: Is it Pokemon or Big Data?

stevew · 01-20-2016, 10:03 PM

Def get him a pokedex.

wishbone · 01-22-2016, 02:26 PM

Get on Craigslist or ebay and buy a bulk lot (1000-5000 cards) and say he can have some when he does chores or something. This takes the fun out of it and you don't have to keep buying packs or starter decks. Also, to really customize multiple decks you will needs lots of energy cards and other non-exciting stuff.

01-19-2016, 06:05 PM	#2
cartman Death Herald Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Le stelle la notte sono grandi e luminose nel cuore profondo del Texas	Sorry, you are screwed. They say so in their marketing. __________________ Thinkin' of a master plan 'Cuz ain't nuthin' but sweat inside my hand So I dig into my pocket, all my money is spent So I dig deeper but still comin' up with lint

01-19-2016, 06:17 PM	#3
stevew Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: the yo'	Yeah, my 17 year old is still into it so you got a long road ahead. AFAIK my kids never actually played the card game. They were more into collecting the cards and looking at them. Last edited by stevew : 01-19-2016 at 06:19 PM.

01-19-2016, 07:00 PM	#6
JonInMiddleGA Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Behind Enemy Lines in Athens, GA	My parenting experience with it was basically "thank God he didn't have steady access outside of school (where playing time was limited) to kids who were deeply into it" Otherwise, money pit indeed. edit to add: So we ended up with a relative handful of (basic) decks & packs and we played for a while at home but it never became a major addiction. __________________ "I lit another cigarette. Unless I specifically inform you to the contrary, I am always lighting another cigarette." - from a novel by Martin Amis Last edited by JonInMiddleGA : 01-19-2016 at 07:00 PM.

01-20-2016, 02:34 PM	#9
wustin College Prospect Join Date: Nov 2014	Pokémon Trading Card Game - Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia I'm 24 years old, so I grew up with the whole card game craze and have played some of them competitively. Pokemon, mechanically, is a hot pile of garbage, but I'm sure if you're playing casually it can be fun. Also, if your son is like how I was in elementary school, he's probably more interested in the collecting and getting as many shiny/rare cards aspect of the game than actually playing it. Also for any card game, buying booster packs is always worse than buying singles. But buying singles doesn't replicate that pack crack. Last edited by wustin : 01-20-2016 at 02:38 PM.

01-20-2016, 09:16 PM	#11
Fidatelo Pro Starter Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Winnipeg, MB	My boys love Pokemon, especially the older one (one is 6, the other 5). They semi-understand how to play, though I agree with the sentiment that the game is a pile of garbage from a mechanical aspect. I love card games and have a bunch of L5R and other games that I can't wait to get them into once they are older. Oh and if you're semi-involved in both Pokemon and IT this is fun: Is it Pokemon or Big Data? __________________ "Breakfast? Breakfast schmekfast, look at the score for God's sake. It's only the second period and I'm winning 12-2. Breakfasts come and go, Rene, but Hartford, the Whale, they only beat Vancouver maybe once or twice in a lifetime."

01-19-2016, 06:44 PM	#4
Coffee Warlord Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Colorado Springs

01-19-2016, 06:55 PM	#5
dawgfan Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Seattle	Prior to Saturday I would've had no idea WTF Tycho and Gabe were talking about here :/

01-19-2016, 08:31 PM	#7
nol Banned Join Date: Oct 2003	As someone who still plays the main series Pokemon, steer far away from the cards for reasons mentioned.

01-20-2016, 01:55 PM	#8
Marc Vaughan SI Games Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Melbourne, FL	I just made up the rules when mine were into it - they had fun and we were probably utterly incorrect

01-20-2016, 03:05 PM	#10
dawgfan Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Seattle	I think his initial interest was the card itself his buddy loaned him, but he knew it was a game and wanted to play it once we bought a pack (and then I realized I had to buy another pack in order to have a decent game experience). He's very much into games, but I suspect that he'll probably settle back into being more interested in the cards themselves. He's already made a bunch of drawings of his own cards, and today he took a couple in to school with him to temporarily trade with his friend.

01-20-2016, 10:03 PM	#12
stevew Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: the yo'	Def get him a pokedex.

01-22-2016, 02:26 PM	#13
wishbone High School JV Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Hillsboro OR	Get on Craigslist or ebay and buy a bulk lot (1000-5000 cards) and say he can have some when he does chores or something. This takes the fun out of it and you don't have to keep buying packs or starter decks. Also, to really customize multiple decks you will needs lots of energy cards and other non-exciting stuff.

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