On Half Decks and Full Decks

Next on the "four fours" agenda for this month, which as mentioned last week would deal with bits and pieces of TCG aspects, I want to discuss deck structure - not the content, but more relating to the number of cards. Like any (thematic) card game, there is a set number of cards in use when playing in a general context, but it is possible to have a different number in a certain special context. These contexts are what brings in play the two terms mentioned in the title of this post, being "full deck" and "half deck" respectively. 

The standard play, whether low-level casual play or high-level tournament play, certainly requires the full deck, which is always 60 cards in total and for which six cards will become Prize Cards during a match. But in the specialized context where shorter gameplay is needed, that is where the half deck comes in. Predictably, it's exactly half of the full deck, totaling 30 cards; the Prize Cards are also three cards to suit. This shorter context is in some ways not official, but it remains workable with the half deck.

Readers of this blog, if they are astute enough, will certainly remember my (Ash's) visit to PFJ where they had duplex versions of the half decks for training and promotion, and that's one instance where the context of the half deck comes into play. Then there was the time at this year's Akazora Fest, which got me hooked up with a local group through a half deck battle. Soon, there will also be the TCG Pocket, which will invariably feature shortened gameplay and thus imply the use of a half deck for its purposes, if the title doesn't already do so.

Whatever the case, all roads point to the eventual use of a full deck, particularly for regular standard play. The half deck with its shortened gameplay serves well for training and promotion as above, as well as very informal play like what may be about to come with the TCG Pocket. In that sense, the half deck provides a point where one can then "jump off" to the full deck as the standard after having gotten used to the gameplay of the cards in general, although it can still make short (though non-standard) games possible.

For all its intricacies, the fact that the TCG is playable even with half the number of cards it's supposed to be playable with, at least in regular cases, is a testament to its simplicity - even though advanced regular gameplay may just cast all that aside. It's still a neat way of structuring the game for special needs and contexts - furthermore for getting people interested in it or just for having a quick play - and the general needs and context with its fullness can then come on (more) easily.

One year ago: Spoiler Alert

Two years ago: Longing for Pokémon Donuts

Three years ago: The Fate of My Local Pokémon Hangouts

Four years ago: Competitor Ranks of the Silph League Arena

Five years ago: Personal Branding

Six years ago: To Judge and Be Judged

Seven years ago: Catering to Old and New Players