The Pokemon Company has announced a new board game designed to teach players the fundamentals of the Pokemon Trading Card Game. Earlier today, the Pokemon Company announced Pokemon Battle Academy, a new board game adaptation of the Pokemon Trading Card Game. The board game is meant to act as a way for families to learn how to play the Pokemon TCG together, and comes with three 60-card decks, a two-player game board, gameplay accessories, and tutorial guides for all three decks, which center around Raichu, Charizard, and Mewtwo. Pokemon Battle Academy will launch on July 31st at participating mass and hobby retailers.
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Pokemon Battle Academy seems to be a tool to provide new players with an easy entry point to learning how to play the Pokemon TCG. While younger players are attracted to the Pokemon TCG due to its collectability and amazing artwork, both they and their parents struggle to learn how to actually play the game. While there are several pre-made decks and Starter Kits, they just don’t seem to possess the ease of access that Pokemon Battle Academy will provide. Plus, having three decks to use will give families a little more flexibility as they learn how to play together.
Based solely on the number of parents I’ve had ask for help with either learning how to play the Pokemon TCG or asking for what they should buy their kids when they ask for Pokemon cards, Pokemon Battle Academy seems like an easy slam dunk. The only real question is whether the Pokemon Company plans to make this a standalone product or if they’ll release Battle Academy expansions to help parents stay up to date on the latest expansions and mechanics.
Pokemon Battle Academy will have a wide release on July 31st. Target will have Pokemon Battle Academy beginning on June 21st.
