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 Our kids love Pokemon cards. They love to collect them, talk about the Pokemon's powers, and look at the art. Trouble is, the original card game which is very popular and used in tournaments, is extremely complex. The rules are very involved, the strategy complicated. Young children simply cannot play it, and even some middle-schoolers have a hard time with it. Not to mention a single can be very lengthy to play, and doesn't lend well to parents sharing a quick game with their children. Wanting to be able to interact with our kids and share in their joy of Pokemon, we decided to come up with a game that would utilize the cards, a bit of the original Pokemon strategy, but be easy enough to play as Crazy Eights or Old Maid. Here is what we came up with. We call it "Pokemon War" since it's basic premise is much like the classic card game "War". The most significant difference is the use of one dice in the game. What you'll need:  Deck of 32 cards: 30 Pokemon Cards, 1 Trainer Card, 1 Energy Card. One 6 or 10-sided diceIt doesn't matter what kind of Pokemon you use, but it is a good idea to pick a variety of types with a range hitpoints, so that strategy can be utilized. As for the trainer and energy cards, it doesn't matter since "type" is not considered. As for the dice, a 6-sided dice is easiest to use. If you want a bit more of a challenge, use a 10-sided die (you can find them at toy stores in the role-playing section). Another plus to this game that should be noted is that it allows kids to use Japanese Pokemon cards. Especially when purchasing bulk packs of cards (say from eBay), you are bound to get a few cards written in Japanese. Unless you read the language, these are no good in regular play. However, if you play this game, the only thing that counts is numbers, so you can use these cards! Again, remember this is a simple card game you can play in a short period of time. We were not trying to recreate or reinvent the original Pokemon game. So, please, no irate messages from people who feel we have tarnished its image. We just wanted to way for our whole family to enjoy these cards. Here are the basic rules of the game. For very young children, we suggest using the 2 basic rules. There are additional rules you can add when the kids get the hang of it, or to make it more challenging for older kids. Starting: Deal 5 cards to each player. The rest go into a draw pile in the middle. The first battle is "blind", meaning each player picks the Pokemon they will battle with and puts it face-down on the table. Then both turn it over at the same time. Whoever wins that battle then has the advantage, meaning the opposite player must put their battling card down first and the other can then counter. That is how it continues. Whoever loses the previous round must play their Pokemon first. Rules: The roll of the dice determines who wins each round. The cards determine what advantages the player will get (the rules in bold are the 2 basic rules, the others are optional). Note: when playing with just the basic 2 rules, you should remove the Trainer and Energy card from the deck.:
The game progresses as a normal game of war, meaning the winner of each round keeps the cards from that round. Once a hand is over, both players pull one card from the draw pile; players should have 5 cards at all time. Once the draw pile is depleted, players keep playing from their hand until there are no cards left. In the case of a draw (meaning both players roll the same number after counting advantages), then the cards from that hand are put aside "on hold". The winner of the next hand will win the cards from that hand, plus the "on hold" cards. At the end of the game, whoever has the most cards wins. Now, due to the number of cards, it is possible to have a tie. In that case, with their deck of cards face down, each player pulls out one card and puts it face down on the table. Then both players flip it over, and they battle as usual. The player who wins wins the game. You can avoid this by upping the deck to 32 Pokemon cards with the 2 wild cards for 34 cards total (we prefer to have a easy-to-remember number of 30 Pokemon cards, which is why we did it this way). Even though the rules are pretty simple, they can be confusing reading them off a webpage. So, we've made some example hands just so everyone can see exactly how it's done. It took our family (kids and grandparents too) a few rounds to get the hang of it. But eventually, everyone was playing and having a good time--even those who weren't big fans of Pokemon!
For more battle examples, including dice-rolls, click here. Site contents 2007 - Lotsofkids.com |
