Pokemon is one of the most popular card games in the world and it has many fans that play it for fun and competitively. Those that enjoy it also have many websites that share different playing methods and strategies. It’s important to understand how the game works if you want to win.
Each Pokemon card has its name, type, hit points and evolutionary stage printed on it. It also has an attack, Poke-Power/Poke-Body/Ability and retreat cost. Some cards may also have a weakness, resistance and a Pokedex entry as flavor text. The first thing that you will notice is that the color of a card conveys information about its type. This is a great example of using color to convey meaning in a design and something you can learn from.
To start a turn, each player draws a card and then they may take any number of actions. The most common way to end your turn is by attacking, but you can also end your turn by claiming prize cards or drawing a card from your deck. Defeating all of your opponent’s Pokemon and taking their six prize cards is also another way to win the game.
When a Pokemon is knocked out, you remove the card and any damage counters from it. If you do this to a Pokemon that has an ability, you must announce the effect of the ability and then tally the damage. Pokemon can have up to five damage counters on them at a time and they will only be removed when a Pokemon is healed or knocked out.
During a turn, you can attack any Pokemon that is on your opponent’s field. You can also tally the damage from any attacks on your bench and move a Pokemon to your active spot from your bench if you wish. If you have any Pokemon on your bench, you can also pay a retreat cost to bring them back and swap them in with the active Pokemon. You can only do this once per turn.
Pokemon are also able to become Burned, which damages them by two damage counters every turn. This is done by placing a “Burned” marker on the Pokemon and then flipping a coin in between turns. If it is heads, the Pokemon does not take damage from the burn and you can remove the mark. If it is tails, the Pokemon takes two damage counters and remains Burned. If a Pokemon is burned three times, it is defeated and the player wins the game. Pokemon cards