How do you actually play?

What even is this?

Two players. Each brings a deck of 60 cards. You put Pokemon down on the table in front of you, attach Energy to them, and attack each other's Pokemon. You do not score points. You take a Prize card every time you knock out one of your opponent's Pokemon, and taking your last one wins the game.

That is the whole shape of it. Everything below is a detail hanging off that picture, and you already own the hard part: the cards.

The three kinds of card

Everything in the game is one of three things.

Pokemon the fighters

The stage is in the top left corner, with whatever it evolves from. Basics play straight from your hand. A Stage 1 goes on top of the Basic it names and a Stage 2 on top of that, keeping the Energy and damage already there.

Energy the fuel

Energy is the fuel. You attach one per turn, and an attack only works if the Pokemon already has the Energy its cost shows. Basic Energy does nothing else; a few do more, and those are Special Energy. There are 11 types, and they are not the 18 from the video games.

Trainer everything else

The subtype is in the top left and its rule is printed along the bottom. Item: as many as you like. Supporter: one a turn. Stadium: one a turn, and it stays out for both players. Tool: sticks to a Pokemon.

The ex, V and VMAX cards you keep pulling are Pokemon too: they hit harder, last longer, and cost you more when they fall. The stars in the corner are rarity, not power.

Setting up

Seven steps, done at the same time as your opponent.

1. Each player brings their own deck of exactly 60 cards.
2. Flip a coin. Whoever wins the flip chooses who goes first.
3. Shuffle and draw seven cards.
4. Put one Basic Pokemon face down in front of you. That is your Active Pokemon, the one that fights.
5. You may put up to five more Basic Pokemon face down on your Bench, the row behind the Active spot.
6. Count the top six cards of your deck off to the side, face down. Those are your Prize cards.
7. Both players turn their Pokemon face up at the same time and the game starts.

Your turn

Three beats. Draw one card. Then do as much or as little as you like from the list below, in whatever order you like. Then attack, and your turn is over.

Start every turn by drawing a card. If your deck is empty and you cannot draw, you lose.

You do not have to do any of it, and you do not have to attack. Abilities are the powers printed on some Pokemon that are not attacks. Using one does not stop you attacking.

Attacking, and the numbers on the card

Only your Active Pokemon can attack; the Bench waits. Check it has the Energy the attack costs. A Colorless symbol in a cost means any Energy pays it. Damage is tracked with counters, one counter per 10 damage, and it stays on the Pokemon.

Some attacks also put the other Pokemon to sleep or poison it; the card tells you what happens.

• 1
  HP, top right50. The damage it takes to knock this one out.
• 2
  Attack cost, left of the attackTwo Colorless symbols, so any two Energy cards pay it.
• 3
  Damage, right of the attack20, which is 2 counters.
• 4
  Weakness, bottom leftLightning x2. A Lightning attacker does double.
• 5
  Resistance, next to itFighting -30. A Fighting attacker does 30 less. Most cards print nothing here.
• 6
  Retreat Cost, bottom right1. Discard that much Energy to swap it out.

Weakness and Resistance are never applied to a Benched Pokemon. And how much each is worth is printed there too: today x2 and -30, but older cards print other numbers, so read the card.

Retreat Cost is what it costs to swap your Active Pokemon for a Benched one: discard that much Energy, then switch. Once per turn, and any Energy pays it.

Knock Outs and Prize cards

A Pokemon is knocked out when the damage on it reaches its HP. It and everything attached to it go to the discard pile, and the player who knocked it out takes a Prize card. The player who lost their Active Pokemon then promotes one from their Bench. If they cannot, they lose.

That is the trade the game runs on: the big card hits harder and lives longer, and losing it hands your opponent half the game in one turn.

The three ways to win

So can I actually play?

• You do not have to build anythingA preconstructed deck is a legal 60 card deck out of the box, and the official product guide says so. It files ex Battle Decks and Battle Academy under "start here", and a Battle Academy box holds more than one deck, so two people can play without buying twice. Which one to buy, and what it should cost.
• The free way in is Pokemon TCG LiveThe official digital version, on Windows, Mac, iOS and Android. It enforces the rules for you, and the code card in every pack you open is for it: what the code gets you.
• Then go and play with peopleHobby shops run leagues, and the rulebook tells new players to find one: ask whether your shop is a Play! Pokemon Store. We list the shops around Rochester, NY and which of them run league nights, prereleases and a learn to play session. The card show calendar is for buying, not playing.
• Is my card even legal?Standard is the normal format and uses cards with regulation mark H, I or J, one letter along the bottom. Expanded goes back much further and never rotates; almost nobody starts there. Standard rotates yearly, so those letters have a shelf life: read from the official tournament handbook on August 15, 2026.

A legal deck is exactly 60 cards, at most four with the same name except basic Energy, and at least one Basic Pokemon. A preconstructed deck already obeys all three, and older or special cards carry extra rules printed on the card. When you want to build one instead, deck builds you can download has the most played Standard decks written out card by card, and the 100 most played cards is what to look for first in the packs you already own. Start here is the site's other front door: what a card is and what it is worth. This page is the one about the game.