Dear Pojosama,


Here is something you might like to put up.  It doesn't really fit into your
other categories, but is the sort of thing I like to read on your site and
others.  Let me know if it suits you.


--------------------------------------


To all,


      I am a sailor in the US Navy.  I have been playing and collecting
Pokemon with my son since it came out last Christmas.  My son is four years
old, and is learning to count and make sensible trades with his collection.
He is a sharp little cookie.  I find it a little intimidating to play with
the kids down at the local hobby shops, as I have to make sure I don't
overwhelm some of the younger players while not getting the stuffing beat
out of me by the older ones!   I am pretty old, but have not been told (yet)
that I am too old to play!  Most of my opponents are either adults,
teenagers or cocky youngsters.  My most satisfying experiences are when I am
able to teach a younger player the game, or put a braggart in his place.
The biggest downers are when players cheat.  A lot of players complain about
"Pokeparents", but I have only seen one, and he had a complaint about the
alleged poor quality of a foil card his son had pulled from a booster pack.
Even though I suspected his indignation was a sham, and his claim a scam, I
sent him away with a First Edition Clefairy rather than watch him rant and
rave at the poor, overworked staff of the WOTC store.


      My ship visited San Diego recently.  I jumped at the chance to visit
the local game scene, and here is what happened.


      The first time we pulled in was in late October.  I immediately went 
to Hazard Center's Game Empire.  But,as usual, it was hopeless.  Unless you
are
a roleplayer, a wargamer (and a regular), a videogame fan or play Legend of
the Five Rings, there is little room for you as a gamer there.  I recall
spending entire days, a couple of years back, painting miniatures for
young Warhammer players while waiting (in vain) for Magic players to show
up.  Years later, I wait in vain for someone to show up to play Pokemon.  I
spent six hours there before giving up in disgust.  I found out through my
friends back home about a WOTC shop in the area.  But it had to wait until
next time...


      The second time we pulled into San Diego, I decided to check out that
WOTC Game Center, in Mission Valley.  I took off about 0830 on Saturday
morning.  First the walk from the ship to the gate, then a short ride on the
bus to downtown San Diego, then a wait for the Trolley to Mission Valley
Center.  It is one stop past Hazard Center.  The trip was worth it.  While
the WOTC store had a larger playing area than the one in Kitsap County, they
could only handle about 55 players.  It was okay.  Everyone got a chance to
play, the Gym Leaders handled folks quickly and expeditiously, and the
parents seemed content to read paperbacks or watch the games while the kids
went at each other with gusto.  For my registration, I paid only a dollar,
as I already had a book.  Thing is, they wouldn't allow me to buy another
book or just pay the five bucks so I could get the Aerodactyl promo card.
Resigned to my fate, I was pleasantly suprised when the Gym Leader handed me
a promo Aerodactyl anyway!  My good luck netted a new card for my son!
      The WOTC Center sponsored League play on Saturday from 1030 to 1230 
and from 1430 to 1630.  You could play in only one of these slots.  Play was
my
main goal, but I also wanted to pick up a few new Fossil cards for my little
boy.  However, I found it difficult to trade with the kids down there, for
the same reasons as I did with the kids back home.  They don't know what
they want, and if they do, they always seem to want too much for what they
offer.  And even if they don't want too much, it's tough to get them to make
a decision.  The kid is almost always surrounded by his friends, and anxious
to be seen making a good trade (which usually means stealing me blind)
versus "getting punked" (getting ripped off by me).  There doesn't seem to
be a middle ground for these poor kids, where we both come out happy and
neither feels ripped off.  My ultra-rare Japanese "Here Comes the Rocket
Patrol!" sparked some interest.  I was offered a bunch of American foil
cards (actually, about six) for it and probably should have taken them.  But
I didn't.  I got the distinct feeling that this kid was too eager, trying to
hurry me into the trade, which made me suspect the card was worth more in
the area than he'd let on.  I'd already sat through four hours of kids
bragging to each other how much they'd ripped "some stupid kid" of his best
cards.  Not wanting to get "punked" myself, I held off.  Maybe some other
time.  No one offered cash, unfortunately.


      When it came to play, I was doing the usual eggshell dance.  I mean, I
had to go really easy on some of the kids I played.  The first young man to
do battle got only a single Jigglypuff out versus one of my milder decks
(the Roundup Waltz).  My Wigglytuff mercifully finished things quickly, but
before I could set up for the second match, he got up and left without a
word, glaring at me as if I had cheated or something.  After the first three
players, I stuck to adult opponents.  I lost just one of six matches, using
a different deck each time.  My Raindance variant nearly decked itself
against a Psychic deck featuring Mr. Mime - fortunately for me, Gust of Wind
appeared at just the right times.  My Yellow Peril deck ran fast, but I
discovered it lacked staying power when it ran into Clefable.  Zapdos just
can't handle being slapped around by his own 100-point attack.  It didn't
help that I had populated the bench with pretty much all the "Big Zs" the
deck had.  Gust of Wind, boom!  Gust of Wind, boom!  Add the prizes he was
picking up each time I "Buzzap"ed with Electrode, and it was small wonder I
had to concede!  I am considering replacing that deck's Kangaskhans with
Clefairy and Clefable, just to see if they're as effective for me as they
were for my opponent. He handed me my only loss of the day.


      One of my adult opponents was a quiet, self-assured fellow.  Wanting 
to give it a test, I ran my improved Haymaker (the Hitmonchans were swapped
out
for Fossil Magmars, the Fighting energy for Fire energy) against a deck
which featured, of all things, Psyduck!  Needless to say, Magmar suffered,
and if it had not been for really poor coin flips on my opponent's part, he
would have been an early casualty of Fury Swipes.  Each time I would retreat
Magmar, he found himself willy-nilly Gusted back into the hotseat!  I
managed to finish the match in my favor with a couple of Scythers, but that
quirky deck gave me more trouble than I thought possible!  I wish I had
asked to copy it - I respect effective decks which make extensive use of
oddballs like Psyduck.


       I was disappointed to find that some of the players thought nothing 
of the occasional cheat - or at least they tried various tricks on me.  One
"accidentally" drew more than one card, on more than one occasion, getting a
good, long look at the top cards of his deck.  I caught one young man
dipping his prize cards below the table and looking at them before putting
them down.  When I noticed this, he was in the process of re-shuffling them
for the second time because he didn't like the cards which had ended up as
prizes.  Another kept dropping his hand below the table each time he drew a
card.  I don't know if he had cards in his lap or not, but I have seen this
trick done by Magic players who DID.  Yet another "accidentally" drew nine
cards on his opening hand, then when caught, selected two and buried them.
The fellow at the table next to me thought that if you used the second or
third attack listed on a Pokemon's card, the damage and effects from the
first and second listed attacks were included!  I don't know where these
kids get these variants on Pokemon play, or the desire to cheat, but I
suspect the local school lunchroom is the culprit.  A couple of kids
expressed relief when they discovered that players at the Game Center didn't
play for "keeps" (the winner taking the loser's discard pile)!


      After playing my little heart out, and trading for what I could
(Kabutops is not popular trade bait around here, it seems), I made for the
mall Burger King.  There, I ordered two kid meals, snagging two different
Pokemon toys for my little son (Koffing and Tugapie).  Afterwards, I stopped
at a Starbucks, where I met a little boy (Alex) and his dad, who'd just come
from the Pokemon movie.  Dad highly recommended it, and the little boy was
very proud of his promotional cards!  The promotional cards were a mixed
bag.  For art, Pikachu is the best, followed by MewTwo and Electabuzz.  I
even saw a few of these cards in play at the Game Center!  But the Dragonite
card was just plain silly-looking.  It looks like they dipped Barney in
orange paint!  I traded some cards with Alex, and while he got the better of
me (he got at least two foils and a First Edition Dragonair), he also was a
happy little boy.  I cannot wait until I get home, to help my son John with
his newest additions!



Regards,
Steven Satak
Centurion13@hotmail.com
ssatak@emh1.lincoln.navy.mil


Regards,


Steven Satak