Hey, We're at Pojo Telling Pokemon Pros to Play like Newbies!

Okay, this is really only for when you need to teach a newbie, not to try to be a Pokemon card-shark (and I don't mean Sharpedo). But one thing's for sure - it's always good to get your friends to play, but that's not always as easy as it sounds. So we've come up with 8 Tips for Getting Your Reluctant Friends to play the Pokemon TCG AND even better - we've reduced the price on the Pokemon Black & White Trainer Kit to help you do it.

So take a look over at Pojo.com for our tips, plus tons of great information about Pokemon, YuGiOh and other Trading Card Games.

[caption id="attachment_1676" align="aligncenter" width="275" caption="Reduced Price too!"][/caption]

New YuGiOh Releases at ToyWiz - Gates of the Underworld & Rare Promo

From our release mailer, announcing two great items from YuGiOh! shipping today:

	YUGIOH! GATES OF THE UNDERWORLD STRUCTURE DECK - Releases today, October 18, 2011!
	NEW YuGiOh Structure Deck: In June, the Lost Sanctuary Structure Deck gave Duelists the forces of the heavens to command. Now, in this diabolical companion deck, Duelists can match them with the forces of perdition! The Dark World monsters are the fearsome warlords and armies of the underworld. First debuting in 2005, they've lurked on the edges of the tournament scene ever since. This Structure Deck gives Dark World monsters major refit, to bring them up to modern Dueling standards. The core of this set is comprised of Dark World cards which also includes 5 brand new Dark World cards. 37 Common Cards 2 Super Rare Cards 1 Ultra Rare Card 1 Rulebook 1 Game Mat 1 Dueling Guide SHIPPING OCTOBER 18, 2011 - PRE-ORDERS WILL BE FILLED FIRST! SHOP NOW
	YuGiOh Shonen Jump Promo - Ultra Rare JUMP - EN056 - ENDLESS DECAY is also shipping now! *If you have2000 or less Life Points, you can Special Summon this card from your hand. When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, its ATK becomes equal to half your opponent's Life Points. SHOP NOW

Redakai for All Ages

Redakai: Conquer the Kairu has a lot of engaging factors: unique gameplay, gorgeous cards, and perhaps most importantly: almost anyone can play, right out of the box.

That isn't to say that the game lacks skill or complexity - it will certainly challenge experienced gamers as well. But Redakai can be played with basic rules for the young or inexperienced (we're all newbies sometimes), and an advanced rule-set and strategies to engage more sophisticated players.

This dynamic is going to be fantastic for Redakai and for the entire TCG genre:

• Kids can be introduced to trading card gameplay at an earlier age and transition to the more advanced rule-set whenever they're ready.


• Mixed-age pairings can still have fun - older & younger family members will enjoy playing each other without unfair advantages or disadvantages.


• Younger kids will master quite a few important skills without even realizing it's happening: basic addition and subtraction, greater than/less than comparisons, taking turns, good sportsmanship and reading instructions are all part of the game.

You can probably tell I'm excited about playing this game! I've even made a video that I hope to post soon!

Redakai! First Impressions

Redakai has taken trading cards by storm since it's release a few weeks ago, and it's no wonder. I finally got my hands on a couple of structure decks and a few friends to play against, and got to know all about it!

I'll be writing a series of posts on the game, but just to get the ball rolling,  a few observations:

• Seriously, the cards look amazing. The photos and videos you see online can't do justice to the 3D animated effects, especially with the overlaid attacks. The clear part of the card doesn't muddy or obscure the underlying cards much at all, even when stacked a few cards deep.


• Getting started with the basic game is fast & easy. I recommend playing a hand or two of "basic" style just to get they lay of the cards. You'll switch quickly and smoothly to advanced rules from there.


• You can start with just a couple of structure decks like I did, but if you're planning to play, I recommend the Redakai Hobby Edition Championship Set - not just for the 44 Cards though. The Character Bay, Screen, Counters & Draw Deck really keep things organized nicely on the game table.

And a little pro-tip from me to you: Don't forget to return attack cards to your opponent before you grab them up and shuffle! (Yep, that happened in the first game!)

All in all, I played several games today and enjoyed it immensely. It is easy to learn, but it will take some skill (and a good deck) to master! Please subscribe to our RSS feed to stay in touch. I'll have more details and tips on Redakai: Conquer the Kairu soon!

Yu-Gi-Oh! Breaks World Record!

KONAMI announced today that it broke it's own record in the Guiness Book of World Records, with over 25 billion  Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards sold as of March 31, 2011. (25,175,567,833 if you want to be specific!)

I did a little math for you...and I'm bad at math, so if you want to fact-check me, go ahead! But calculating the size of a standard Yu-Gi-Oh! card gave me these fun numbers:

• Laid end-to-end lengthwise, all the Yu-Gi-Oh! cards sold would circle the earth 54 times.


• Spread out with no overlaps or spaces, they would cover over 49 square miles - enough to cover the state of Mississippi or Pennsylvania with cards left over!


• Stacked in one giant monster deck, they'd reach 137,661,678.88 feet tall...the height of 4,744 Mount Everests atop one another!

To celebrate this fun event, we're cooking up a great new contest! Keep watching for information, or follow us on Twitter and Facebook to learn the details.

What else would this number of cards cover? Get out your calculators and check my math or let me know how you'd compare the size of Yu-Gi-Oh's total card sales!

Redakai day!

Finally! We've been waiting for this release for months, and at last, Redakai is here! This is your chance to get in on a great new trading card game from day 1 - and that day is TODAY! Be ahead of all the planned expansions to come. Years from now, you'll be telling new players, "yeah...I've been playing since launch!"

Newbie in the Magic Tourney, Round 2!

Well I haven't played since last Friday, but I went again to try my hand again. And hey...I'm getting better at this! My deck is too!

[caption id="attachment_807" align="alignnone" width="171" caption="These make all the difference. "][/caption]

I arrived early and bought 7 booster packs to try to build the deck I want. At first, I was a little disappointed - I got some duplicates that weren't needed and 4 cards I'd been hoping to see. That wasn't fantastic, but then I realized why you should always get to the tournament early...

First-ever Friday Night Magic Tournament - a total newbie perspective

I've been intrigued by Magic: The Gathering for many years, but always hesitant to try it. With  no idea how to approach the game as a complete beginner, I was just afraid to jump in. Because seriously - who wants to purchase cards, then walk up to strangers and risk feeling foolish for not knowing how to play?

Well guys, I'm here to tell you, it isn't like that at all. I had a short learning session at  Comic Con in New Orleans back in January and took home a few promo decks, but I still wasn't quite ready. My fellow blogger and good friend Jackalope has been playing a lot lately, though, and encouraging me to try. After his last post, I decided to go for it. Oh, not at our ToyWiz retail location in NY, but down in Albany, LA at a shop called Chuck's Field of Dreams. Yes, a nice anonymous place to go embarass myself, I thought.

Just so you know, I'm a friendly, but cutthroat player in any game I pursue. Maybe I'll post another day about my history with MMORPGs, for example, but suffice it to say that I probably blow away any stereotypes you might have about female gamers! So jumping into something new is a big deal for me  -  There's no way I'm playing anything without making a serious effort to master it and to be a fierce competitor.

You can go home again.

Jackalope here with a brief trip down memory lane for today’s post. I loved Magic: The Gathering, I played it casually for many years and have few regrets. I got my start with a starter of Beta or Unlimited (I can’t remember other than one of my rare cards was Personal Incarnation) and a pack of Arabian Nights.

[caption id="attachment_770" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Ah, sweet memories."][/caption]

I didn’t really get into Magic until Revised when the rest of the geek world caught on that this game was something amazing. I played at the local game shop’s tournaments for about a year and soon began working there; any competitive aspirations were quickly dashed as I always had to work during our tournaments. Time passed and I played less and less, until finally my last constructed deck was a fun little Sneak Attack Deck built at the end of the Urza block.

YuGiOh 5D's 2011 Duelist Tin

Jackalope here with…Ohhhh New Duelist Tin!

[caption id="attachment_732" align="alignleft" width="120" caption="Just sitting here on my desk, asking to be opened…"][/caption]

I’ve always been a fan of the duelist tin product from both a retailer’s and a consumer’s point of view. Why you ask? Value, this product has solid value to it and what means is you as the consumer get great value for your dollar. Let’s take a look at one of the tins (along with pictures of the tin I’m opening for this post).

 

 

 

As you can see you get several things in the tin: