Competitive Pokémon TCG Gets Big Changes to Time Rules
Ahead of the North America International Championships, Play! Pokémon has made some big changes to the tournament rulebook. This includes some impactful changes to the handling of time in competitions.
Something that’s always been peculiar in Pokémon competitions — including regionals and other massive tournaments — was the mystery of time left in the round. For a while, more competitive players would start wearing watches in order to know how much time was left since it was against Pokémon’s policy to provide this to the general public. Unless a clock was on display in the vicinity, judges were not allowed to tell competitors how much time was left in a best-of-three match.
The reason that players couldn’t know the time was to hopefully deter players from stalling or slow playing. For example, if someone already won the first match, they may purposefully take their sweet time in the second round to get a tie, meaning they’d win the best-of-three overall.
Now, the Premier event round structure has been changed.
Pokémon Competitors Can Now Know Time Left in a Round
According to the updated rule book, Premier events will no longer have to hide the amount of time left.
The updated text reads: “The time remaining in the round is considered public knowledge for all players. Pokémon Organized Play recommends that round time be publicly displayed at all Premier events.”
It goes on to say that competitors are allowed to ask judges for time and it must be given to them as accurately as possible down to the exact minute.
The Play! Pokemon Tournament Rules Handbook has been updated.
— PokéStats (@pokestatstcg) June 27, 2023
➡️ Time remaining in the round is now public knowledge and can be requested from a judge.
➡️ Match Loss is now a possible penalty, and is recommended for Major Unsporting Conduct infractions. pic.twitter.com/9H6At8zHZW
Some Pokémon players noted that they were given the time before in past regionals while others said that they had judges tell them that they couldn’t tell them. According to a few well-traveled players, judges were allowed to tell the time but it was not required. Now, judges will be required to tell you the exact time if you ask.
Other changes include no longer allowing competitors to make “legal plays” during their turn if it has no effect on the game, further hoping to prevent players from stalling. The rules state that Pokémon players can’t play “unreasonably slow” in an attempt to “manipulate” the remaining amount of time.
This was seen as a possible nerf to Lost Box and stall decks. But it could also be seen as a buff, since opponents can no longer make legal but useless plays and instead will have to allow their deck to run out before time is called.
Nah that’s a buff. I am doing my lost zone stuff as I need but if my opponent is taking five minutes arc dura then I can call them out
— Jonathan Valenzuela (@_jonathanvstar) June 27, 2023
The North America International Championships is coming Friday, June 30. At that time, top players from around the world will gather in Columbus, Ohio in a final attempt to qualify for Worlds in August. The new rules will be in place by then, meaning players will be able to better keep track of how much time they have left in a 50-minute best-of-three match.
Olivia is a long-time esports journalist and editor who covers just about every game but has a deep love for the FGC. Her goal is to find community-driven stories that bring a new perspective to the esports scene. In the past, she has worked for Team Liquid, Rogue, Inven Global, Dot Esports, Upcomer, and more. Outside of esports, Olivia enjoys Kirby, Pokemon TCG, Fallout, and writing science fiction. She can be found trying out new foods, traveling, or hanging out with her two orange cats. Fun fact: Olivia can do some video game and cartoon impressions!