Last week, a new iteration of the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) was released as an entry-level board game entitled Pokémon: Battle Academy. Pokémon: Battle Academy comes complete with three full decks and everything else that players will need to play the game, providing a solid entry point to the TCG. If you’ve been looking for a reason to start getting into the Pokémon TCG - or an excuse to get back into the game - Pokémon: Battle Academy is one of the best resources you can buy.

I Choose You, Pikachu (… And Charmander… And Mewtwo)

Manufactured by Pokémon Company International, the Pokémon Trading Card Game was first introduced in 1996, and has continued to receive updates and new cards in the form of expansion packs and one-off releases, as well as the free-to-play digital Pokémon Trading Card Game Online version of the game. While the online version is also a great way to learn how to play, Pokémon: Battle Academy is the first-ever physical board game that incorporates gameplay into a board game experience. Pokémon: Battle Academy was also developed by the same game developer, Paul Peterson, who worked on the original game released over 20 years ago.

While overall gameplay remains the same as the standard tabletop game, Pokémon: Battle Academy was developed as a more family-friendly way to experience the TCG and allow players to learn the fundamental rules of the game so that they can actually play with the cards that they love to collect.

Your One-Stop Pokéstop

Pokémon: Battle Academy comes with everything needed to play right out of the box. Obviously, as a board game, a board is included featuring a head-to-head battle arena-type of field design highlighting designated spots for where players should place their cards. There are also some helpful hints shown, letting players know what kind of actions they can take during their turn.

Pokémon: Battle Academy comes with three themed 60-card starter decks featuring Pikachu, Charizard, and Mewtwo, with each deck containing the signature GX card for the respective character (Raichu DX is used in the Pikachu dec)k. In addition, each card is numbered 1 - 60, which organizes the cards in the order that they are meant to be played in for learning how to play the game.

This is accomplished through the three rulebooks that come included with the set, one for each specific deck. The Charizard and Pikachu books are guidebooks that take players through a step-by-step guided game (through the first four turns). If players make their way through to the end, but things still aren’t clicking, they can simply put the cards back in order and go through another guided round. However, the game developers believe that the books provide pretty solid guidance for understanding how to play. The Mewtwo rule book is a more advanced guide that covers all of the rules for the full TCG, but is formatted as a quick reference sort of resource to refer to while in the middle of the game.

Punch-out damage counters and DX indicators, as well as a massive foil coin also come with the set, rounding out everything that players will need to play the game. Additionally, a code for Pokémon Trading Card Game Online comes included, which will unlock the entire Pokémon: Battle Academy set in the online version of the TCG.

The Very Best

Having not played the Pokémon Trading Card Game since I sold my original completed set in middle school for a mere $500 - yes, I am still kicking myself for that decision - jumping back into the game via Pokémon: Battle Academy was as every bit nostalgic as it was fun. The guided turn-by-turn books made me say, “Oh yeah, I remember how that works,” when it came to playing my cards.

However, for parents who may be jumping into the world of the Pokémon TCG for the first time with their kids, Pokémon: Battle Academy is a perfect way to do so. Pokémon Trading Card Game Online is another wonderful resource that will drive home the lessons from Battle Academy even further, but Pokémon: Battle Academy is the definitive one-stop Pokéstop for learning how to play the game.

A Pokémon: Battle Academy sample was provided to TheGamer for this impressions piece. Pokémon: Battle Academy is rated for players aged 6+, and is available now for $19.99 at your local games store and major retailers.

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