UPDATE: 2023/06/16 - 29 NEW CARDS ADDED!
I have been teaching my special needs kids comparatives and superlatives, and also big numbers lately and wanted to combine them all into one game to help them practice and remember!
Top Trumps is a staple British comparison game and fits the bill nicely.
I modified the original starter set of Pokémon cards to use for the game as my kids are big Pokémon fans.
There's a fair bit of cutting out so ideal if you have a lot of downtime one day and need something to do!
I printed the cards out on thick paper used for certificates and put them in clear trading card sleeves to make them durable. You can simply cut out and flip one half over the other to make a card. I personally prefer this way to laminating as it is much easier to cut out, and saves a bunch of time, but folk who prefer laminating feel free to modify accordingly.
How to Play
The game works best with up to four players as there are a limited number of cards, and you don't want the students sitting doing nothing for long periods of time while they wait for a game to end.
- Deal all the cards out face down to each player until everyone has an equal number.
- Decide the first player however you like (I like to ask students a question like "Who is the youngest/oldest/tallest?" etc.
- The first player chooses a stat they think will be the highest number from Speed / Strength/ Size and says it aloud ("Strength 72!"), then reveals the card.
- One at a time, the other players look at the number for that stat on their top-most card and answer if it is more or less using comparatives (e.g. My Pokémon is weaker/stronger/faster/slower/bigger/smaller than yours.) revealing their card.
- The card with the highest number wins (My Pokémon is the strongest!) and that player collects all the other player's cards and adds them to the back of their deck along with their winning card.
- The winner of the round then chooses a stat from the next card and repeats all the above steps.
- When a player runs out of cards they are out, the overall winner is the player that ends up with all the cards!
Extra/Alternative Rules.
Instead of the winner of the round choosing the next stat to play you can go around each student to make sure everyone gets an equal turn. This tends to significantly increase the length of the game.
If you happen to get cards with the same number as the highest stat (quite rare unless you are playing two player), all the played cards are left in the middle of the table and another round is played, the winner of that round then takes the cards as normal, and additionally the cards from the middle of the table.
You can include the HP number at the top of the card as an additional stat to choose from (mine has more/less/the most health). Thanks user otmshank for reminding me to include this rule!
Instead of playing the game until one student holds all the cards you can instead play a limited number of rounds (I find around five to ten rounds is a good number) and then everyone totals up the number of cards they are holding, most cards wins. This ensures students aren't sitting with nothing to do while the game plays out, and as a bonus is good counting practice.
My students had a lot of fun with this and always have a good laugh, especially when Mewtwo shows up or gets beaten!
When I get time I will be adding more cards so check back for updates if you want the latest cards!
Great cards. I've been using top trump for years for comparatives. It is always a hit.
Could you upload the file in another format? Can't open .pub on my school computer.
@midnight26 Just added a pdf version. Sorry, I assumed schools would have access to the entire Microsoft Office suite!
Thanks, these look great!
Just played this with my kids and they loved it. The second time playing I added the HP as a 4th stat to balance the cards and it works great.
Would you be willing to make more cards please? I’d like the game to last a little longer than it does
@kiran I'll definitely make more when I have some downtime. Keep your eyes peeled!
Thank you!!
Do you happen to have the ‘how to play’ in Japanese?
@kiran No, sorry. My Kanji skills leave a lot to be desired. I explained in English then did a couple of practice turns, then my JTE explain in more detail in Japanese if the kids really don't get it. I tend to find the students catch on pretty quickly how to play though if you show them by doing.
Ok, thank you :)
Why is Charizard faster and stronger than Blastoise?
@ArtemC All the stats are based of the base stats from the Gen1 Pokemon games, so I guess ask Gamefreak? XD
I guess Charizard can fly so that would be why it's faster.
Thank you so much for this wonderful activity! I was wondering if you could upload the .pub file so that I can make changes to suit my classes.
@mike_c Uploaded!
Thanks for this! Helped kill time for my test day:) Can't wait to try it out with the kids!
Hi there, these cards look great! Well done! I'd like to use them in my 2nd grade classes but I'm not sure how many to print. How many cards did you prepare for each group? The whole set? My school can be a little strict on printing, especially in color so I just thought I would make sure first.
@ChaseSensei I printed one set and played with my special needs class (five students). The game isn't really ideal for large classes as it's a lot of printing and laminating as you say!
@onighost I completely skipped the first sentence where you said you were doing this with your special needs class...that makes a lot more sense on the numbers. Hmm I'll have to think if it's possible to do something like this with a large class or not. Thank you so much for your reply though. I was also wondering what program or website you used to make these cards. They are so well made that I would like to make some extras of my own that aren't already included in here. It does look a little difficult though.
@ChaseSensei I use Photoshop to edit images. In this case I used the content aware healing tool to erase as much of the original card as possible, and clone stamp tool to fix any weird bits the algorithm couldn't handle. Then just added the new text in Publisher.
I also use Affinity Photo which is very similar to Photoshop and has most of the same functionality, but it's a one time purchase instead of rolling monthly subscription.
If you let me know any specific cards or series/generation of cards you want in particular, I can always try to make them if and when I get some downtime!
the cards took forever to maaaaake! BUT I laminated them so that I can keep using them for future lessons, and it was super fun for my classes! thanks for making this :)
The kids loved it! My J teacher loved it so much he wanted to use it for the special needs class. But then the special needs homeroom teacher kinda got upset with the whole copyright thing... has anyone ever had this problem?
@Aobajhs I've never had any problems from teachers using copyrighted properties. In fact most of the teachers at my school use it themselves! It helps keep the kids engaged when they see characters/material they are familiar with and enjoy.
It sounds like your special needs homeroom teacher is a bit of a stickler.
I tried this comparative game with my students but I made some modification since I have large number students. Alternatively, i used Kahoot! and had a pre-selected cards for comparison. Nonetheless, my students were excited playing this game especially when they heard the word "Pokemon". So thank you so much for this great idea @onighost.
@ChaseSensei sharing below kahoot link. I hope this is helpful.
https://create.kahoot.it/share/gotta-compare-em-all-pokemon/1216db8e-9351-4ffd-8be2-70ba17c61d18
I used the older version of these cards with 4 stats(age,height,weight,strength) and did it a little differently. Have 40 students so I had to make 10 decks.
1. In the group they shuffle cards and deal 4 cards to each student.
* Students dont know the keyword yet (tall,short,strong,weak etc)
2. Each student chooses 1 card and puts it face down in the center.
3. I choose a keywork and ask "Which Pokemon is the ～est?"
4. They turn the cards over and check the stats.
The winner says the sentence using the winning pokemon. "Pikachu is the shortest Pokemon."
* for 2nd grade I made that a dictation challenge for the other students on a small simple worksheet.
5. The winner collects all the cards and can use them in the the next round(s) if they want.
When a student runs out of cards the can choose 2 more from the deck of extras.
As for the keywords, once used they're finished. adds a little strategy into the game.
@Imario82 Sounds like a fun take on the game! Glad you could get some use out of the cards. I don't envy you having to make enough decks for 40 students though! XD
@onighost, yeah it gets a little loud but it was fun. I didn't touch scissors again for a month after that tho.
First, thank you for making this activity. I used it yesterday and the kids loved the Pokemon cards.
Second, I couldn't figure out how to print your cards on double-sided to get the Pokemon logo on the back correctly...so I reworked them into a Word file and new PDF file that is easier to print.
I also made an animated PPT with a lot of handholding as my students need more guidance.
I'll link it here. I hope it's okay that I adapted your activity!
https://www.altopedia.net/activities/5779-pokemon-battle-card-game