The first-ever board game version of the Pokémon TCG is coming this summer. The Pokémon TCG was first released in Japan back in '96, making it one of the oldest parts of the franchise.
The Pokémon TCG saw tremendous success in the west during the Pokémania boom of the late '90s, to the point where the original Pokémon cards have been reprinted in later sets. Like the rest of the franchise, the Pokémon TCG has had its ups and downs in terms of popularity, but the game has changed and evolved alongside the mainline Pokémon video games in order to keep things fresh. The current mechanics of the card game in recent sets include adding Tag Teams to the Pokémon Trading Card Game, which are cards with high HP scores and powerful attacks, but they grant more Prize Cards when knocked out.
A lot of the people who played the Pokémon TCG as kids will often admit that they didn't know the rules and either just winged it while playing the game or collected the cards on their own. The kids of today will soon no longer have an excuse for not knowing the rules of the game, as The Pokémon Company has announced on the official Pokémon website that the first-ever board game version of the Pokémon TCG will be released this summer, in the form of Pokémon Trading Card Game Battle Academy. The set will be released early through Target stores (and through the Target website) on June 21, with a worldwide release planned for July 31.
Pokémon Trading Card Game Battle Academy comes with a two-player board, three decks (based on Pikachu, Charizard, and Mewtwo), tutorial guides, gameplay accessories, and a digital code that will allow the player to use the same cards in Pokémon Trading Card Game Online. The purpose of the board is to offer a framework to help new players understand the game, rather than for rolling dice and moving pieces across it. The fact that there are three decks means that players have a chance to experiment with different playstyles, in order to see which of their Pokémon cards is the most powerful.
It's currently difficult to play the Pokémon TCG due to the lockdown, but hopefully, things will have quietened down enough by the end of July for people to be able to meet up and play card games in safety. People should check out the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online if they need their fix of the TCG in the meantime, but for parents at home, the Pokémon Trading Card Game Battle Academy set might be a great way to teach their kids about the game.
Pokémon Trading Card Game Battle Academy will be released in Target stores on June 21, followed by a worldwide release on July 31, 2020.
Source: Pokémon.com