Middle America's Worldview

Since Yu-gi-Oh was so dark, we switched over to Pokemon. Little did we know the kids not only enjoyed ,Pokemon, but seem to be possessed by it. First it was the cards, then the movies, then the shows and toys! I mentioned we acquired a used Pokemon board game the other weekend as well.Yes, we are entrenched with Pokemon, so I figured I should analyze it.

Pokemon card game_Deck

Initially we bought 3 deck themes. The game was easy enough to learn. At this time the kid's ages were five and six. In fact, this game was far easier than Yu-gi-Oh was. Plus I didn't have to keep reading all the cards over and over again as we played.
Basically you can have a maximum of 60 cards in your deck. The guidebook we bought suggested 28 energy cards, 16 Basic Pokemon, 10 Trainers, 4 Stage 1 Pokemon, and 2 Stage 2 Pokemons. The easiest for a beginner is to just purchase a theme deck and then you can buy extra cards to change out, modifying the theme deck to your liking. I use Team Rockets, James theme deck. The kids just acquired 2 new themes decks, both Deoxys. Now they pretty much kick my butt. Luckily I just enjoy playing with them. The game plays as one on one. However, the kids and I all play the same time. Normally they gang up on me and annihilate me pretty quick. Before the Deoxys decks, I could still take care of them, but no longer. ( shaking head sadly) All in all, the game plays easy and well. I would suggest Wizards of the coast official guide ‘Lets Play Pokemon' book. My wife found it for 3 bucks in a discount table. We usually use it more often then the rulebooks.
This is one game I enjoy playing with the kids. I use to play Magic about 10-11 years ago. So this is a way for me to play again while enjoying time with the kids. In fact, I plan to look into creating a league in our area when we are able to. Yes, Yu-Gi-Oh is the primary card gaming in our area as well. However, I think this game can become popular with some push and organization.

Pokemon cartoons

The family and I don't watch the Pokemon cartoons on TV. However, I found some DVD sets that contain plenty to watch, over and over and over again. Quite frankly it's to the point of identifying which cartoon by just listening to it. Sigh.
The cartoons are geared to the younger audience. I haven't heard any attempts to push theology on the kids, unlike Digimon. However, the cartoon isn't so silly as to not be entertaining to adults. Maybe it's the kid in me but I find myself watching the crazy things as well. We have 3 DVD sets. Within the sets, the team with Ash Ketchum works together along the way to some tournament. In each cartoon, Team Rocket (the humor part of the show) attempts to steal Pikachu. The characters are sound and the storylines are actually good. This is one cartoon I feel comfortable with my kids watching without me having to be in the room or preview them.

As a side note, I bought the Pokemons Master Quest rather than the individual dvds. You can purchase Pokemon Master Quest through Amazon.com here.