Can AI Play TCGs Like a Pro? The Pokémon Company Wants to Find Out
A new challenge is being issued by the Pokémon Company itself: can AI learn to play the Pokémon TCG like a pro?
Trading card games are massively complex systems: more linear games like chess have had AI innovations for a while now. However, AI chess programs (while they can play chess better than even the best human chess players) haven’t replaced humans. Yet, they do help chess players play better. Could the Pokémon TCG benefit from the same thing?
The Pokémon Company wants to know. Shared via an official post on the Pokémon Japan account, developers are being tasked with creating an AI capable of thinking through the complexities involved in a typical Pokémon TCG match, and coming out on top.
Prizing for what is being called the “AI Battle Challenge” is pretty attractive: $30,000 per team to teams that make top eight, while the second round winner will take home $50,000. The battle will take place using an altered version of the standard Pokémon TCG format, with a limited card pool of 1000 cards.
For full rules and prizing, check out the official AI Battle Challenge webpage.
Will AI be good for the Pokémon TCG?
As is often the case with anything AI-involved, skepticism abounds about whether or not AI will be good for the Pokémon TCG. Although it’s no secret that Pokémon is currently a massively popular TCG, it’s also heavily played, with massive tournament circuits that are both competitive and prestigious.
However, fears that AI will “replace” humans in these competitions are largely unfounded. AI has been available in chess, for example, with even chess legends like Magnus Carlsen openly admitting he can’t beat these AI systems.
Yet, having AI programs to train with could open up new avenues for players, as well as for trading card game companies to more effectively playtest decks and strategies before releasing them to the public.
Theoretically, involving AI in the TCG development process could even solve issues like power creep, meta balancing and the like.
It’s a bold move by the Pokémon Company – we’ll see if AI is the next step in TCG innovation or not.
