I love Collecting!
I’ve always been really into collecting. It doesn’t really matter what that thing I’m collecting is. If it’s something I enjoy, I most likely enjoy having a lot of things related to it. Hell, half the reason I collect manga is because I really like the way they look on a shelf. Reasons like this is why I’ve yet to get into collecting any types of figures. I’m too worried about not wanting to stop once I start.
Lots of different companies have picked up on this love of collecting things that I and many others have, so we have lots of gacha games and other stuff to throw money and time at. However, I’ve always valued things I collect that are more “useful” in my mind, which is often a physical thing or something I can use that’s also nice to look at. That’s why DVDs Blu-rays, and books, are pretty perfect for it. However, there’s one type of thing that I was never big into collecting.
Trading cards really should fit everything I just said. They’re physical things that are nice to look at, fun to collect, and there’s even a whole game built around them. However, I never got big into collecting them. I have like three binders of Yu-Gi-Oh cards from when I used to do that. But I don’t much anymore. And despite my love for Pokemon, I never got into collecting those cards much either. But finally, an app came around that changed that.
Another Card App?
Now you might be asking yourself “what there’s another card app?” Well, even if you aren’t the heading is. That was Pokémon TCG Live, which while not being that different from Pocket, is actually very different, and that makes all the difference. TCG Live is the more tradition TCG experience. It’s where you can do proper matches again other players with the cards you’ve obtained in the game. I enjoyed it, I’m not sure why it has like 2 stars on the play store. I guess it crashes, but I never had problem with it or the web app.
TCG Pocket doesn’t really care about the card game aspect of a trading card game. It’s largely just about collecting the cards. Yes, there is a battle system, but it’s a reduced, simplified version to do quick matches against real players or AI to get you into the game. But the main appeal is collecting the cards. The CG takes a back seat to the T, although trading hasn’t been added to the app quite yet.
I can’t explain how nice it feels to just collect cards for the fun of it. It is so, so nice. It honestly gives me real childlike wonder and makes me truly understand the appeal of collecting these cards. Being able to easily see how many cards you have. Seeing how many are left in a set. The simple UI allows you to just focus on the cards. The cute little way you’re allowed to display cards to your friends or have little coins and stuff you collect highlighted on your profile. It feels so wholesome.
Something else I want to highlight is the pricing. This is still a gacha game, but a card gacha. You can get 10 packs for like 11 bucks. It’s pretty much a dollar per pack, which is a price that feels so much better when you spend that other games. It makes me ok buying a pack here and there. One because I want to support this gem, but also because I don’t feel like I’m being robbed every time I do. And with the monthly subscription, you’re basically getting 3 packs free a day. You get 2 free without spending anything every 24 hours. Even the sound effects and music help this joyous little experience.
The best way I can describe TCG Pocket is that it’s like a little dopamine hit adding to my days and life since I started it. Every day I get to look forward to my packs, or I can open my phone and get suddenly reminded that I have some cards to look at. Life is all about the little things, and I get super happy over this little app. Its sole purpose doesn’t feel like it’s to help sell cards or milk your wallet. It’s a game that feels like its whole simple existence is to just add a little more joy to your life every day. It’s really amazing.
And I think this is having an effect on people. TCG Pocket has been really well received, even by people who never had interest in collecting the cards much before, just like me. I love collecting this way more than I did in real life because even if I don’t have the physical cards, I have such a nice an easy way to go in my (TCG) pocket, and grab my phone to see my nice little collection organized in however many ways I want.
Wonder Pick is also such an amazing mechanic. Basically, you get to see the pack that your friends have opened. You then randomly select one of the five cards, meaning you have a chance to get a card you need from a pack that someone else collected. This is such a clever way to help you complete your collection but also creates this sense of community that is so wholesome and cute.
I don’t have much else to say about the app. It’s wholesome, cute, wonderful and I love it, but its beauty is in its simplicity really. I would say anyone even remotely interested should try it. It really helps make life feel simple for brief moments and bring back that innocent joy of collecting while improving your day one pack at a time. It’s lovely.
