Questions about where my daughter can learn to play pokemon tcg...

[anab10sis]

If I'm posting this in the wrong place, I'm sorry.
My daughter is almost 9 years old and loves Pokemon cards. She has only been trading up until now; after school there was a group of kids who would trade on the playground. But now the school is not allowing them to do so anymore. So I am trying to find a place she can trade and also actually learn to play the game. I know there are Pokemon leagues, but I don't really understand them. There's one near us at a game shop, but how do they work? Would they teach her to play, or does she already need to know? Can she trade with other kids there? Will there even be kids her age there, if you had to guess? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[BrentsCardsAndCoins]

You can play the online TCG and take the tutorial. Check out local card shops to see if they have events or know of any events. Also, see the video below to help you get started with playing.

 

[ddrox13]

I am not the biggest fan of the TCGO, but that tutorial is quite helpful. Watch it.

If your daughter likes human interaction and has a patience any longer than mine, I would recommend going to the Play Pokemon website and looking for Pokemon Leagues near you. At most of these, there are nice people willing to help any new players learn the game. It's how I got into it. Watch that video first though, it helps.

How the pokemon leagues work is simple. Walk in at the correct time, figure out who the leader is (they usually carry a big box of league stuff), and tell them you want to learn how to play. It was free when I played, but I may have heard something about a $5 yearly league fee, so I don't know on that score. If it is anything like it was 4 years ago at my local league, once you learn you can ask anyone at the league to do battle with you. 10 matches, win or lose, got you a reward card.

Many people of all ages will be there, from kids to teens to parents. In my case, my father played the game with me, and it ended up as a nice way to get to know him better, as we rarely did anything together before. I profoundly remember one tournament where there were 6 times as many 17 and older players as 10 and under. a good number of them were parents, and a good number of them just played on their own.

 

[Brendino]

If I'm posting this in the wrong place, I'm sorry.
My daughter is almost 9 years old and loves Pokemon cards. She has only been trading up until now; after school there was a group of kids who would trade on the playground. But now the school is not allowing them to do so anymore. So I am trying to find a place she can trade and also actually learn to play the game. I know there are Pokemon leagues, but I don't really understand them. There's one near us at a game shop, but how do they work? Would they teach her to play, or does she already need to know? Can she trade with other kids there? Will there even be kids her age there, if you had to guess? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hopefully those two have been able to help you out a little bit! Anyway, since we've got a section dedicated entirely to the Pokemon TCG, I'm going to move this thread over there, in case you've got any further questions.

MOVED.

 

[donavannj]

If I'm posting this in the wrong place, I'm sorry.
My daughter is almost 9 years old and loves Pokemon cards. She has only been trading up until now; after school there was a group of kids who would trade on the playground. But now the school is not allowing them to do so anymore. So I am trying to find a place she can trade and also actually learn to play the game. I know there are Pokemon leagues, but I don't really understand them. There's one near us at a game shop, but how do they work? Would they teach her to play, or does she already need to know? Can she trade with other kids there? Will there even be kids her age there, if you had to guess? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

It depends on the league as to whether anyone there would teach her, but, ideally, she would already know how to play. I recommend either doing the above tutorials or buying a Trainer Kit deck and learning the game with her. It's an interesting game and a good thing to bond with her over, and also you would know the card values better and know if someone's trying to rip her off. You'd also have a closer eye on her if you're actively engaged in the community and get to know the community she's playing in.

Whether kids her age will be there or not is also pretty dependent on the league and the day of the week the league runs. Saturday and Sunday leagues are more likely to have more kids show up, while weekday evening leagues are less likely to, though there have been at least a couple kids at every league session at I've ever shown up to across a couple different leagues.

She can trade with other kids there, though you'll want to keep an eye on her and her trades, making sure she's not getting ripped off and also making sure she's not ripping other kids off. One thing leagues will typically not let you do is buy and sell cards, because they're often hosted in game shops/comic shops who already deal in cards and have that as a blanket policy of theirs across all events (and in many stores I've been in, it's a zero-tolerance rule where you'll get kicked out if you're caught selling anything to other players even if it's your first time).

 

[anab10sis]

Thanks everyone! We actually just signed up and downloaded the online game, because we had a lot of codes to enter for packs on it. We haven't played it yet, though, but I was thinking it might be helpful in her learning. I play Hearthstone, not that it's particularly the same thing, but in that game you can't make a wrong move. That's the case with most online card games, they tell you if what you're trying to do isn't allowed and why, and that would be really helpful when just learning. I'll learn the game and help her learn it before taking her to a league. As for being ripped off, yes. She already has made some bad trades at school. I've tried to explain to her, and also tell her which cards she shouldn't really trade at all, but being only nearly 9 she still makes bad trades when left to her own accord. (I don't know how to actually play yet, but I've done a lot of research on the cards themselves.) So, yes, I would definitely stay there and want to help her out with things like that. I collected Pokemon cards when I was younger, but now there are so many and there are the mega and ex cards which I don't really understand yet in regards to their role in actual gameplay. I've done basic research, but I"m more of a visual learner. So I will definitely start playing the online game and then introduce it to her once I have a full grasp of it. Then I'll take her to a league so she can hopefully meet other kids, have people to play with, and a place to trade. Thanks again for the tips!

 

[donavannj]

Thanks everyone! We actually just signed up and downloaded the online game, because we had a lot of codes to enter for packs on it. We haven't played it yet, though, but I was thinking it might be helpful in her learning. I play Hearthstone, not that it's particularly the same thing, but in that game you can't make a wrong move. That's the case with most online card games, they tell you if what you're trying to do isn't allowed and why, and that would be really helpful when just learning. I'll learn the game and help her learn it before taking her to a league. As for being ripped off, yes. She already has made some bad trades at school. I've tried to explain to her, and also tell her which cards she shouldn't really trade at all, but being only nearly 9 she still makes bad trades when left to her own accord. (I don't know how to actually play yet, but I've done a lot of research on the cards themselves.) So, yes, I would definitely stay there and want to help her out with things like that. I collected Pokemon cards when I was younger, but now there are so many and there are the mega and ex cards which I don't really understand yet in regards to their role in actual gameplay. I've done basic research, but I"m more of a visual learner. So I will definitely start playing the online game and then introduce it to her once I have a full grasp of it. Then I'll take her to a league so she can hopefully meet other kids, have people to play with, and a place to trade. Thanks again for the tips!

Do come back with any questions!

 

[Derium]

You could also try youtubing learn to plays, you might be able to find some good series (none off the top of my head to look for) that will step by step show you. PTCGO is amazing for it, but a person talking might also give you some other helpful hints.