This weekend I discovered a new gaming obsession. Somehow, during the weekend which saw the launch of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, my most anticipated title of 2024, I became obsessed with another game entirely. A mobile game at that. A game that annoys me in its monetisation and is a shallow facsimile of the hobby it recreates.
Yes, I’m obsessed with Pokemon TCG Pocket. I hate that I love it, but it took over my weekend. It’s easy to see why. It was my dad’s 60th birthday last week, and we spent the weekend celebrating with meals, parties, and hangover brunches. I was out of my house for the vast majority of the weekend, and therefore away from The Veilguard. They couldn’t tear me away from my phone, however.
If I ever got a minute to myself – taking my daughter to the potty was a great excuse to escape distant relations – I grinded out some packs, picks, or battles. My daughter loves recognising Pokemon she knows and swiping the screen to open packs, and parties with loud music can get overstimulating for toddlers, so it was a great opportunity to take a minute to ourselves. But she and I swiped too greedily and too deep.
Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Missions
When you start Pokemon TCG Pocket, it gives you loads of currency. Missions are easy to complete, and rewards of more packs allow you to complete more missions quickly. It creates a snowball effect that’s intended to FOMO you into buying gold. When packs feel this good to open, it’s hard to avoid spending money.
As you fill out the Pokedex and complete the theme decks, you get more rewards. More rewards means more packs. It’s a brilliant, engaging gameplay loop until it’s not.
What Do You Do When The Rewards Dry Up?
Unfortunately, after a few days of grinding, there’s nothing left to do. I get my two free packs a day, and now a free Wonder Pick with the Chansey event, but that’s it. Seeing as I refuse to spend money on the game, there’s not much else I can do.
The Lapras ex event has given us something to do, but there are only so many battles against the AI I can do and Lapras ex cards I can collect.
I have no other ways to add to my collection. I’m still missing some iconic cards like Raichu, Gengar, and Gardevoir, the latter of which I need two of to make the Mewtwo ex deck. When this game is primarily about building a collection of cards, not being able to do so feels boring and dull. Battles can kill a few minutes but they aren’t particularly competitive and the rewards are negligible amounts of experience.
Maybe this is okay. Maybe this isn’t a game intended to be played incessantly. But if you want a little piece of advice to keep Pokemon TCG Pocket fun for as long as possible, take it slowly. Don’t binge open packs with your free gold. Open packs individually rather than taking the bundles. Savour the experience of opening each and every pack. Look for the ones with dog-eared corners even though the playground theory has been thoroughly debunked. Flick every holo card so its 3D effects sparkle in the light.
Pokemon TCG Pocket is an infuriating game that makes opening packs feel amazing but makes collecting feel dull. String the pack opening out for as long as you can, and you’ll enjoy yourself a whole lot longer.
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