How to play Pokemon TCG for absolute beginners

Are you a fan of Pokémon? If you love the video games, transitioning to the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) is a natural step. It’s an exciting way to collect adorable creatures, hunt for rare cards, and battle opponents—all while building your ultimate team. Here’s a quick guide to help you get started.

Getting Started

For beginners, we recommend picking up a pre-built Battle Deck or the Battle Academy Box, which includes everything you need to play: decks, coins, and counters. If you already have a card collection, you can build a custom deck with these essentials:

• Pokémon Cards
• Energy Cards
• Trainer and Item Cards

Each deck must contain exactly 60 cards, with no more than four cards of the same name (excluding Energy). A balanced deck typically includes around 20 cards for each category, but you can adjust based on your strategy.

Gameplay Basics

• Objective: Knock out six of your opponent’s Pokémon to draw all your prize cards or leave them without cards or active Pokémon.
• Setup: Players draw a hand of seven cards and place six face-down as prize cards. Then, each puts a Basic Pokémon into the active slot, with up to five on the bench.
• Turns: Attach Energy, evolve Pokémon, play Trainer cards, and attack your opponent to weaken their Pokémon. Each attack depletes HP; once a Pokémon’s HP reaches zero, it’s knocked out.

Tips for Success

• Energy Management: Attach Energy wisely to activate attacks and abilities.
• Evolve Strategically: Build up strong Pokémon on your bench to replace active ones as needed.
• Know Weaknesses: Exploit type advantages, like Water over Fire, to deal extra damage.

Special Conditions

Certain attacks can cause effects like Poison, Sleep, or Burn, which add complexity to battles. These conditions can hinder your Pokémon or deal ongoing damage until cured.

Digital Practice

Try the Pokémon TCG Live app to play online for free. The app includes tutorials, AI opponents, and a deck builder to refine your strategies before jumping into physical matches.

For a full guide to playing, visit Dicebreaker.com. And if you’re a tabletop enthusiast, subscribe to Dicebreaker for more fantastic content.

Good luck building your deck and mastering the game! Let me know if you have any questions.