Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

When's a good age to start Pokemon?

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JuarezSuperStar

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Hi,
I'm new to pokemon as my youngest son has taken quite a bit of interest in it. We've heard of a pokemon league near where we live and he really wishes to be a part of it. My daughter's friend had informed us of the league but he's also told us that if my son joined he'd be the youngest member there by a few years. He's 7 years old.

I'm not sure if it'd be a good idea to let my son join. I'd be more willing if his older brother or sister were willing to stay with him. I've never met the league leader or whoever runs the place. Please, help me on this decision.
 
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We have quite a few younger members at our league. maybe you should try coming in with your son and meet the league leader first, so you know what kind of person you are dealing with. Or you could start playing with him! Kids always love to see their parents get involved in the game, and it's great for bonding!
 
I second secretsof2113's advice. Go to the league and meet the leader. We have a really good league leader (Shout out to Mr. Meeches!) My son is 6 and we've been going to the League for about 3 months. He loves it! Half the time he just watches other kids play, and often he wants to trade. I'm still hesitant to do much trading. I've started playing too so I can get a better sense of how the cards work and how valuable they are.

BTW, check for your leage on the Pokemon League forum here: http://pokegym.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=50. You might find posts from one of the league leaders so you can start communicating before you even get to the league.

Good luck,
Jeff
 
Antoher thing that's on my mind about leagues and OP. We've seen the ads in the rulebook that came in a themedeck. Does my son need a "My pokemon" account to play at these things? I don't know everything, so I want the both of us to be prepaired.

Plus, my son tends to be painfully shy. He'll only come out of his shell if he sees any familiar faces, and that's my daughter's friend. How similar is a league to Chuck E Cheese's or other social establishments for kids?
 
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Our league is a lot calmer than Chuck E Cheese. It's more like a board-game party. There is a lot of excitement, and quite a bit of chatting. But not the crazyness of most 'kid zone' kinds of places.

We got a My Pokemon account and a POP ID when we started. It is not required by any means. Your son will get extra Pokemon stuff in the mail when he participates in events.

Good luck,
Jeff
 
I have to agree with everyone here about getting him involved in league, and you learning to play as well. This game is so good for little ones, from helping with reading and math skills to strategical thinking and social skills. It may be just the thing to bring him out of his shell.

I strongly suggest that you stay with him at league. Not only should you meet the league leader and the other players, but at 7 years old I don't suggest just dropping him off for league. It is not the league leader's responsibility to watch your son while at league, nor is it the responsibility of the people running the store or venue.

The Pokemon TCG is a great way for families to connect and have fun together. Give it a try. I think you will enjoy yourself, and what a joy it will be to see your son opening up and intereacting with others, and learning without even realizing it :thumb:

You do not need a MyPokemon account to play at league. If you decide to stay with Pokemon, then sign him up, and yourself too. Your league leader should be able to explain the benefits of a MyPokemon account to you in more detail.

Have fun! :biggrin:
 
He doesn't need a "my Pokemon" acount, but there's some rewards from league that he can recieve through it, and he needs it to participate in tournaments.

As for being shy, leagues are mostly a bunch of exited 9-11 year olds who want to play and trade and have fun. You should go with him at first, but he should like it and get involved. I can't think of anything to compare it to.
 
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Would anyone suggest that I wait a while before I let my son participates in tournaments, and which ones are best for beginners? I see so many of them in the Tournaments and Organized play forum.
 
He doesn't need a MyPokemon account to participate in tournaments either...just a POP ID.

Maybe get him familiar with league first, and with the game and rules before trying out a tournament. At league he can battle with or trade with anyone he chooses or feels comfortable with. At a tournament he is paired with people and basically told who to play against, which may intimidate him at first. Once he becomes familiar with the game and rules I am sure it will be easier for him to jump into tournaments.

And again, why don't you give it a try too. It really is fun!
 
I was lucky to find a great league in our area (okay, 3 hours away) when my son first got into Pokemon. Charlie could not read yet, but had a great memory. I would read card attacks to him once as they were played and he took it from there.

The leader of our league in Santa Clara is fantastic, and so are all the players. They have been very welcoming and inclusive of both Charlie and myself, even though at such a distance we seldom make it to Santa Clara now.

We have, from the beginning, received endless and unstinting help from everyone at league to be better players. One Master player in particular, PokeGym's TRUK (Toys R Us Kid), has helped us at every stage every year to ensure that the decks Charlie plays are tournament worthy.

Recently, one of the Santa Clara Professors who lives in Marin County started a league at a shop only 1 hour from where we live. I will be moving back to Santa Rosa at year's end and plan to help out at league each week.

Our Santa Clara league has great, world class, players; Charlie has a top 8 California ranking thanks to playing with these great players and owing to their continued support. The high caliber of excellence is directly owing to the league leader Susan Bartlet and all of her players.

Our Santa Rosa league is new, and the players are not really tournament competitive - yet. I can already see a couple of great prospects, and I will be giving them some deck lists I copied from PokeGym to help speed them toward next year's Tourney season. All of the kids in this new league are playing for fun, for the sheer enjoyment of playing Pokemon. It is great to see their smiles when they win a prize holo energy or POP pack. I am bringing a small box of good cards to league this week and offering a draw for one card for games against Charlie or me, draw two cards if you win. Our league player's decks will improve greatly with an infusion of trainer and special energy, and the player's binders will look better with a cool, but rotated EX.

League is the place for you and your son to enter the Pokemon play arena. Your league leader will give you a POP ID# upon arrival, and you will have a great time.

I strongly urge you to play at league as well. Many parents play in the Masters Division, and we all have a great time together. Pokemon is one of the things you can do at an equal ability level with your children. You start out more capable, but quickly, they pass you up. It is both chagrining and bemusing when it happens, but it makes you proud.

Good luck and have a great time!
 
OK, the league I'm planning to take my son to doesn't meet until this Saturday. I am planning on talking to my daughter's friend about the league before attending there first. I'm sure there's plenty more he can tell me, such as what goes on at his particular league. Does anyone else have any other useful advice.

And Pokedad, thanks for the neat story about the Santa Clara league.
 
There's an entre age division devoted to people who are under the age of 11, so I hope that seven isn't too young!
JuarezSuperStar said:
Does anyone else have any other useful advice.
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Don't just do it for your son. Do it for yourself too! Join the fun. We know what Pokémon's target demographic is, but it is eveybody's game. If you can read the cards and you like games of strategy, this game's for you.
 
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My daughter started playing in tournaments this year at 4 1/2, And not only did she play but she won 4 games, she beat a 7 year old, two 8 year olds and a 9 year old. So if there is interest there is no such thing as too young, as long as they have the attention span to last a 30 min game.
 
I recommend for you to play aswell as we have a number of parents play with thier kids and enjoy it some of them are even more competive :lol:
 
I definitely think 7 is a good age.

As long as he can read and do basic maths it should be alright. I wish I had started when I was that young.
 
seven is a great age. i started basic play when i was five, but i didn't go to league until i was 10, so i didn't even know about metagame and other stuff. seven is a great age to start.
 
My son just started to go to a league, he is six, and, although he may be the youngest, he does not seem too young, He plays with both the other juniors and some of the older players. He has had fun win or lose, although he prefers to win.

What has helped him the most is that I play with/against him most nights at home, both battling and building decks. He greatly enjoys this; spending time playing "his" game with his dad. And I have to say, the game is fun.
 
Lordofflareons said:
didnt a six year old win worlds last year?
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You are thinking of Jun Hasabe, who was actually seven.

Regardless, seven is an IDEAL age to start playing! Playing at a league is nothing but help all-around! It would be smart to even encourage your son to play with more-experienced players you barely know at league. That may souund strange, but it is very benificial, and how I learned the game when I was just 5 years old. Even if he loses, I'm sure that players would teach him an awful lot about the game as he continues to play. Players at league are almost always willing to spread their love of the game with other, newer players.
 
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