Japanese Modern toys: Pokemon Trading Card Game

The Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) was created by Media Factory in Japan. It was first released in Japan in 1996. Wizards of the Coast, seeing a great opportunity to ride the new Pokémon wave, was licensed the game and introduced Pokémon TCG to North America in 1999. In 2003, Nintendo of America took over the game from Wizards of the Coast, and is currently releasing new sets for it. During the early part of its run, two Game Boy Color games were also released, Pokémon Trading Card Game and Pokémon Card GB2: Here Comes Team GR!, though only the first was released outside of Japan.
A person must build a deck of sixty cards using a combination of various "Pokémon" cards (creatures that do battle), "Trainer" cards (which have special effects on them) and "Energy" cards (a method of cost). To win, a player must take their six prize cards by "knocking out" their opponent's Pokémon creatures. A player can also win when their opponent no longer has any Pokémon creatures on the field, or if their opponent can't draw a card at the beginning of their turn.

Unlike classic card games which use a single deck of 52 preset cards, trading card game (TCG) is constantly and continuously growing. New cards with new games abilities are released at a steady interval in order to keep the game fresh and alive. The only cost of TCG's, however, is that it forces a player to constantly keep in touch with the game, as well as having to purchase new cards from newly released sets. Players who don't keep up run the risk of falling behind other players. The Pokémon TCG requires a deck of 60 cards for standard or tourney play, while short matches can be held via 'half-decks' which consist of 30 cards instead. During a 60 card match, only four of any card (excluding Basic energy cards) is allowed in each deck to keep things fair and challenging. This is limited to two in a half-deck match.

Fans have also created their own game rules and playing methods. Their websites are devoted in providing alternative playing methods for fans.

However, this Pokemon TCG has caused much controversy, especially in the aspect of morality. Pokémon has been criticized by some Christians, Jews, and Muslims; Christian concerns over Pokémon have primarily addressed perceived occultic and violent themes as well as the concept of "Pokémon evolution" (which some relate to the theory of evolution), which is said to go against the Biblical creation account in Genesis. The Vatican, however, has countered that the Pokémon trading card game and video games are "full of inventive imagination" and have no "harmful moral side effects".In the United Kingdom, the "Christian Power Cards" game was introduced in 1999 by David Tate who stated, "Some people aren't happy with Pokémon and want an alternative, others just want Christian games." The game was similar to the Pokémon TCG but used Biblical figures. In 1999, the Jewish civil rights group Anti-Defamation League also pressured Nintendo to edit the image of the Pokémon trading cards for Golbat and Ditto because the cards depicted a left-facing manji, which the League interpreted as antisemitism, although these cards had been intended for sale only in Japan with Nintendo planning to release edited versions in North America the following year. In 2001, Saudi Arabia banned Pokémon games and cards, alleging that the franchise promoted Zionism in violation of Muslim doctrine. Pokémon has also been accused of promoting materialism. In 1999, two nine-year-old boys sued Nintendo because they claimed that the Pokémon Trading Card Game caused their problematic gambling.