Play! Pokémon sanctioned organiser · Run by Professors Lee & Jo · Venues: Dice & A Slice · ACE Comics
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Same game. A few new rules.
Everything you need for Saturday, in about five minutes. If you've never played a Pre-Release — or never played Pokémon at all — read this and you're ready.
Mega Evolution: Delta Reign · Dice & A Slice, Colchester · Saturday 31 October 2026
The short version
40
cards in your deck
Not 60. Exactly 40.
4
Prize cards
Not 6. Games go fast.
∞
copies allowed
No 4-copy limit. Open 5 of a card? Play 5.
30
minutes to build
Only if you want to change your deck.
Your entry is your cards. Everyone gets their own sealed box, and everything in it is yours to keep:
Which one will you get?
There are 4 different decks, each with its own unique promo — and you get one at random. Half the fun is seeing who got what.
Easy mode
Play the deck straight out of the box
The 40-card deck is already legal and ready to go. You don't have to open your boosters or change a thing — shuffle up and play. Perfect for first-timers and younger players.
Build mode
Open your packs and tweak
Crack your 4 boosters and swap in anything good. You get 30 minutes to build. Mix your deck and your pulls however you like — the only rule is you finish on exactly 40 cards, and every card has to come from your own box (plus our Basic Energy).
Energy is on us. We put out a big pile of Basic Energy — grab as much of whichever type you need. You don't have to hope you opened the right Energy.
| Normal Pokémon | Pre-Release | |
|---|---|---|
| Deck size | Exactly 60 | Exactly 40 |
| Copies of one card | Max 4 | No limit (unless the card says so) |
| Prize cards | 6 | 4 |
| Basic Energy | Bring your own | We supply it — take what you need |
Everything else — turns, attacking, Evolving, Trainer cards — is the Pokémon you already know.
With only 4 Prize cards, every Knock Out matters a lot more. Before you put a big Pokémon in your deck, think about what it costs you if it goes down:
Ordinary Pokémon
1 Prize
= a quarter of the game
Pokémon ex
2 Prizes
= half the game
Mega Evolution Pokémon ex
3 Prizes
= three-quarters of the game!
Top tip
Re-read any card that mentions Prize cards. Something like “if your opponent has 3 or fewer Prizes left” switches on after just one Knock Out in a 4-Prize game — some cards get a lot stronger at Pre-Release.
Best of one
Each round is a single game. Win it, take the round. With 20 players this keeps the afternoon moving.
30 minutes + 3 turns
That's each round. When time's called, the player whose turn it is counts as turn 0, then you play 3 more turns between you.
5 rounds of Swiss
You're paired with someone on a similar record each round, so you play all 5 — nobody gets knocked out early.
Why best of one?
Lots of you are new, and we want it to be a fun afternoon, not an endurance test. 5 rounds of best of one comes in at around 4½ hours including the build — best of three would be closer to 6.
Everyone
Your whole Build & Battle Box
Deck, promo, boosters — every card you opened is yours to keep.
Everyone who plays every round
+3 booster packs
Handed out at the end to every player who stays to the finish — win or lose.
Heads up: that's the full prize pool. Dice & A Slice has no extra stock of the new set at the moment, so there's nothing more to buy or win on the day — the packs above are everything.
Still stuck on something? Ask any of the Professors on the day — that's what we're there for. Event details are on the events page.