Wonders and Warnings: A Parents’ Guide to Trading Card Games (Part 1)

Let me take you to one of the most devastating moments of my youngling nerdy life. I was probably around 12 and my family and I had just gotten home from Walmart. I was so excited. I had just pulled a holographic Blastoise from a pack I got and I was ecstatic. It was a happy moment riding shotgun all the way home with a big grin on my face. As a child who somehow made it all the way through the 90’s without getting diagnosed with ADD, at some point I must have gotten distracted and set my cards up on the dash of the minivan my parents owned. As we arrived home something else must have grabbed my attention because I forgot about it for a while on a hot summer day. 

Eventually I remembered and returned to the van to discover an atrocity. The amazing card I loved now looked more like a pringles chip. It had curled on the sides horrifically. I immediately thought one of my siblings had sabotaged my new treasure, but eventually I found out that leaving trading cards, especially foil ones, in the sun can severely damage them. It’s always what you don’t know that hurts the most isn’t it?

I think we can divide the topic of TCG’s (trading card games) into two separate categories. Wonders, and warnings. It’s important to know that just like with almost anything, these ideas appear in the TCG hobby as well. Trading card collecting is nothing new. Tobacco companies started printing a version of trading cards as early as the 1870’s, and some of the first baseball cards were printed around that time as well. 

But over the last 30 years or so, trading cards have moved from a fun hobby, to a financial market that plays by its own rules. The old sales concept of “an item is always worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it” rings loud and proud in this field. With Post Malone buying a one of one (meaning there was one printing of it and it is serialized) Magic the Gathering card for around 3 million, and more recently Logan Paul selling one of his Pokémon cards for 16.5 million, the fact remains that this has become far more than just a collective hobby. Even non fans are getting in on the action. Maybe the last time you went to Target to buy Pokémon cards for your kids, you were met with a bare bones empty shelf of nothingness. That’s because “Pokémon scalpers” now schedule their week around the restock day of big box stores. 

Despite all the changes that have occurred over the last several years, one thing does remain true. Trading cards are meant to be fun, and if you give them a chance, you will discover for yourself that they are. They can be a great way to connect with people whether they are new friends, or even family. There is fantastic surface level value, but also some even deeper positives to discover.

Let’s talk a little bit about some of the things that make trading cards wonderful.

1. They allow for the collector to acquire some of their favorite things and display them.

I will admit this is one of my favorite things. I am a sucker for nostalgia and I love to show off the things I think are cool. I have favorite books, trinkets, and yes trading cards on my shelf at home, and I wave them like a banner for all to see because it is a thing that I like and I enjoy. Especially for kids who play the video games, certain Pokemon and certain Pokemon cards can bring an extra smile to the faces of those who own them. This is more than ok…this is awesome! There is plenty of various research that supports the idea that there are links to environmental personalization and healthy identity formation. 

2. Most of them are involved in a competitive game that is fun to participate in. 

At its core, most trading card games are meant to be played! Some games are easier to pick up than others, but especially the Pokemon TCG provides ways to quickly pick up the rules of the game and begin playing right away. My favorite product is the Battle Academy box. It is marketed just like any other board game, and provides a few simple decks that teach you the game as you play it! This is a great way to play 1 on 1 with your kid doing something that they love. You don’t have to know all the names of the Pokemon to understand the rules either. You can just have fun playing a game with your family that happens to have Pikachu on it. 

3. Those games often require fundamental understanding of reading comprehension, basic mathematics, and even “cause and effect” moments that supplement academic learning.

Just like any other board game, trading card games require a system of rules and regulations. Actually playing the Pokemon trading card game requires strategy, basic math skills, and reading comprehension. More complex games like Yu-gi-oh and Magic the Gathering often take those basic skills to the next level and add several layers of cause and effect interactions between cards. Magic (MTG) even uses a “stack” system to allow players to interact with the game in a way that very closely resembles coding! With basic math skills and reading comprehension being two of the main categories that America has been slow to bounce back from in a post-COVID school year world, I think it is wonderful that kids can find ways to build those skills in fun and interactive ways.

4. Some of the competitions provide monetary prize support.

Just like other competitive environments, there is prize support and sometimes even payouts for winning major events in the trading card world. I will not sugar coat this one, it is hard to do that consistently. But it is not impossible. There are indeed a few “pro” players that still need their parents to drive them to competitions because they aren’t even old enough to drive yet. Trading card games can be casually fun, but there are always people who spend considerable amounts of time and resources trying to make the best possible versions of deck lists in order to win major events. So maybe it is just some extra free packs at the local game store, or perhaps a large payout on the biggest competitive stage, but either way there are pay offs to “being good at this game.”

5. Yes, you can sometimes buy a $5 pack and pull a card worth hundreds or even more.

This last wonder is never a guarantee. Part of the fun of opening a pack is knowing that there might be something in the stack of cardboard that is worth some real money. That is part of the joy and excitement. Word to the wise though, don’t leave it on the dashboard of your minivan in the summer heat.  In part 2 of this one/two punch I will break down some of the warnings surrounding cracking packs and chasing the thrill of opening a valuable card, but this point and the ones before it show us how many positive things there are. There really is so much fun and community connection to be had!

Trading card games were meant to create positive experiences. The goal is always to bring a product to the market that people enjoy. That is why there are so many wonderful things that come from trading card games. But I’ve said it before, sometimes it’s what we don’t know that can hurt us the most, which is why even doing something like reading this article means you are playing a major part in your child’s positive experience by getting informed. Information is more than just helpful, it’s essential. So have fun with it! Learn to play some games! Open some packs with your family! I think you may discover that before long, you are having just as much fun as your family is.