I really didn't see it coming that a Pokémon would be added to my list of favorite games in 2024, after the series has left me shrugging my shoulders more and more for years. Buthas managed to awaken my urge to collect for a long time. The app is opened every day and I'm as happy as a little child when one of the now only a few missing cards ends up in my deck.
However, since the game requires a lot of patience due to its leisurely style of play, it's even nicer when you can open more than two packs a day thanks to an event or a completed task - and that's now happened thanks to new friends!
Friends in TCG Pocket? I don't need that!
When it comes to video games, I've been playing almost exclusively alone since my big Empire Earth and Age of Mythology phase in the early 2000s. Losing yourself alone in strange worlds is exactly what I do.
So inviting friends to play in a trading card game that doesn't support cooperative play at all didn't even remotely occur to me.
Latest news about TCG Pocket
After the big collecting fever broke out in the GamePro editorial team - especially with Annika, Linda, Rae, Basti and Hannes - it happened that friend codes were happily shared and invitations were sent in the game.
And accepting it was not only a fantastic decision, but also came with one of the coolest surprises.
120 pack hourglasses!? I guess I'm not seeing it right!
When I finally brought myself to accept my colleagues' invitations about two months after the release of TCG Pocket, shortly after the Mew expansion was released, the big surprise came.
A completed mission popped up and a total of 120 pack hourglasses were washed into my item bag. Those werea whopping 10 additional booster packs, which I was able to open at the start of “Mysterious Island”. For someone like me who only gets 10-20 new cards every day, that's a hell of a lot.
But how could this even happen?
Oh, there were still missions open...?
Admittedly, I've been diligently collecting my cards every day since October, just like in the best Panini days, but at that point I hadn't yet delved very deeply into all the mechanics of the game. I also only fought to complete events and I only really got into the meta decks over Christmas.
That's why I didn't even notice that some of the advanced missions were still open.
What I didn't know:Anyone who completes 9 of the 12 extended missions will be rewarded with 120 pack hourglasses - by the way, you have to master the beginner missions first. And to complete two tasks you have to be friends with one or three other players.
If only I had known that sooner!
Although! Actually, it couldn't have turned out better. Because I was really happy about the unexpected packing hourglasses and was able to use them to properly increase my Mew collection right after the release. I'm currently only missing 4 normal cards from the "Mysterious Island" expansion and I'm really excited to see if I can get hold of them in the coming weeks.
Have you also fallen into the collecting craze and if so, how many cards are you still missing?
