When I was in college I used to write game reviews for The Dallas Morning News.  This was in the late 90’s and when Pokémon first got popular, I was writing tons of articles about the franchise.  I even like to say that Pokémon helped pay my way through college!  I even covered Pokémon card game tournaments back then, and purposely learned how to play just so I could write about them better.  I have to say that because of having to use energy cards to perform moves, I didn’t really like the card game as well because I felt that slowed the game down.  Me personally, I prefer SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash on the Neo Geo Pocket Color.  Anyway, Pokémon has always been big since then, but with the recent release of Pokémon GO on mobile devices, I imagine the franchise will get a boost of popularity this holiday season, including the card game.  So parents, here are some new things you may want to look out for this Christmas if you have a Pokémon card game fan in the family.

To celebrate Pokémon’s 20^th anniversary, the folks who make the card game have special boxes featuring cards of Mythical Pokémon.  These Pokémon are very rare and are usually only available in the games via special promotions.  The cards are shiny and include two booster packs and a lapel pin of the featured Mythical Pokémon.  The four shown here are Jirachi, Darkrai, Manaphy, and Shaymin.  Although I think they have others as well, like Mew.  Each box is only like, 12 bucks or so, which isn’t a bad deal at all.  Only problem I had was that the boxes were not resealable, so you couldn’t put them back in.  Anyway, here are the four boxes of the Mythical Pokémon Collections.

Here’s a shot of the Jirachi box close up.

And here’s a shot of everything you get out of the box.

I think my favorite thing in the collections are the pins.  Here is a closer shot of all four.

Another new Pokémon card game item that just came out is the Steam Siege series.  I didn’t get a chance to review the starter deck for that, but I did get some booster packs to check out.  Here they are in their packages.

Here are some of the Steam Siege cards out of the package.  Each pack includes a shiny card as well as a card that has a QR code for you to scan into the mobile game.  I don’t really know what the theme is in Steam Siege, as the cards look to have a wide variety in them.  But then, I haven’t played the Pokémon Trading Card Game in YEARS so I don’t know how much has changed. 

Anyway, like I said before, if you are a parent and have kids who love Pokémon cards, these are the things you need to be looking out for them.  Reading skill is a must for the text on the cards and instructions, and the game is best for older kids since it’s a bit more complex.

Why I’m not playing Pokémon GO.

So you may be wondering, if I’m such a Pokémon expert, why haven’t I played and reviewed Pokémon GO yet?  Well there’s lots of reasons.  First, I share my phone data plan with my family and I don’t want Pokémon GO to suck up all the data that they could use.  Plus, my phone is rather old and may not be able to run it very well.  I hear it drains the battery quickly and I use my phone a lot where I work so I need it to be charged all the time.  And finally I hear the game is pretty buggy anyway.

There’s another reason why I’m not playing it right now.  I’ve been blind in my left eye since birth and can’t drive a car, so I don’t get out and about as often as others.  I do walk a lot, but I don’t think I go far enough to really make use of the app.  Also, with my limited vision, when I go outside I don’t like to have my nose buried in my cell phone.  I like to be extra aware of my surroundings, since I don’t see as well.  I still MIGHT download Pokémon GO someday, but right now I just don’t feel comfortable playing it.

But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad game.  Aside from the bugs and safety issues, I think it’s a neat idea, and could even be a good game to play as a family.  Just as long as everyone stays safe and remembers that sometimes it’s OK to go outside and not have their faces shoved in a cell phone.

Tags: Unplugged