Pokémon TCG Online 9+

I absolutely LOVE this game. It’s super fun to play and I love the fact that when I buy cards in real life, after I’ve opened them I can open the same packs again online by redeeming the codes. The versus system is very cool and very fair. Overall, this game is great.

BUT

The app crashes way too much. Literally every 10 minutes I have to reload the game for no clear reason. And if you’re unlucky enough to be in a match at that time, you will automatically lose the game and your win streak. I thought the newest update would fix this or at least make it better, but if anything, it has made it worse.

If you’ve found this on the App Store without being familiar with the ‘real’ game then the learning curve will be intense. It’s not really comparable to other iPad games, in terms of depth and complexity, and requires quite an investment to become even competent.

Making an account is a bit of a hassle, but in part that’s because it’s linked to your ‘trainer account’ which is the same one used for real life tournaments. It’s even worse if you’re setting up a child’s account, as under 13’s need to have their own account linked to an adults account. It’s a pain to set up but is good isn’t the long run, as the adult controls the child’s privacy and password settings.

One you get set up the tutorials are the best way to learn the game. Work through them, and then do a bunch of trainer challenges to get some extra cards. By the time you’ve completed the first level of the challenges you should have enough booster packs to start some real games.

Then you must have to get good. Then you go to a local ‘real’ event and get wiped out, and have to get good all over again.

The game is the exact Pokemon game I remember from my childhood, except packs can be earned quite quickly and I’ve gotten some very decent cards. Much better value than the £4 a pack or whatever it’s reached now. That alone is worth a high review.

However, the exact implementation leaves something to be desired. A little bit crashy, a little bit laggy here and there, and the gameplay is chock full of animations that once you’ve seen them a thousand times, only serve to annoy whilst waiting for your opponents turn to end or trying to get on with your own. Having an option to turn these off would be appreciated.