| Publishers | The Pokémon Company |
|---|---|
| Publication | 1996 |
| Type | Collectible Card Game |
| Players | 2 players |
| Random chance | Some (order of cards drawn, dice, coin flip) |
| Cost | 💵💵 Moderate |
FAQ
What is Pokémon 99 ?
In Pokémon 99 you build decks with the cards and play with the rules that existed for the Pokémon Trading card game in 1999. This means base-set and jungle only.
Is it Fun ?
Yes.
Can I play with my Kids?
Yes. Pokémon is a coin flipping game for children. They likely have never played the actual card game though so the first 1-2 games should be strictly for teaching and having fun!
HOW TO PLAY
Here is how to play this Pokémon variant.
TO PLAY YOU WILL NEED
Really you just need 2 pokemon 99 decks. For this page I am documenting my approach which is a deck-building cube that you can bring to friend's house.
- 1 Pokémon 99 Cube (see Instructions below for budget approach)
- 10-30 min for deck-building.
- 45 min for game
- Basic Understanding of Pokémon
PROXY-ING
No human being on this planet can realistically play this format within budget using actual cards. Here is how I set up my Pokémon 99 cube using entirely poxies.
YOU WILL NEED:
- Black and White Printer (HP neverstop. I already had this.)
- 200+ Penny Sleeves
- 100+ Blank Playing Cards (Apostrophe Games Blank Playing Cards (Poker Size & Matte Finish) 2.5" x 3.5" $20 amazon)
- 1 Guillotine Cutter (Swingline Paper Cutter, Guillotine Trimmer, 15" Cut Length, ClassicCut Lite (9315) $35 amazon)
- 200 count card storage box
The Guillotine Cutter is actually a worthwhile investment! I've had the below example one for over a year with no issues!
Assuming your source card graphics are resized to:
- 738 x 1048 pixels (height is a bit off in this screenshot).
- 300 pixels-per-inch resolution.
Make sure you are printing at 100% scale.
Change the copies-per-page to 9. This will allow 8 copies-per-card for a perfect 2 player draft box. The extra card will be a backup.
Cut the cards to size with the Guillotine cutter.
Sleeve the penny sleeves
Here are the penny sleeves I use (Beckett Shield Clear Soft Card Sleeves $10 amazon).
Insert the card proxies into the sleeves and put them in the draft box!
Store the cube in a 2-wide card storage box with 1 side being creatures and 1 side being energy and trainer cards.
Bring it over to a friend's house and either draft some jank decks or recreate the famouse Haymaker deck (which is a very fun mirror match!).
CARD POOL
Here is the Current Card list. Many of these characters and creatures may be familiar.
BASE SET
Cards from the initial base-set release. A now legendary and highly collectible Pokémon set.
