How long it takes to complete Pokemon TCG Pocket collection without spending any money

Pokemon Trading Card Game (TCG) Pocket has proven really popular already with millions of players just days after the mobile game launched.

The game sees players virtually collect Pokemon cards and build a collection that can then do battle against others.

It's a fairly simple premise with daily card packs, challenges and rewards which has seen people continually coming back for more.

While the game is free to download and play, there are a number of micro-transactions that can be made, such as being able to open more packs than the daily limit of two for example, so all the cards can be collected more quickly.

And a Redditor has worked out how long it would take players to complete the collection without spending a single penny.

- YouTubePokemonTCGPocket allows you to open two booster packs every day at no cost. Collect digital cards featuring nostalgic artwork ...

In short, TCGPCollector ran a number of simulations and found it would take 655 days, almost two years, of continuous playing, or 437 with the premium pass which does cost money and allows for an extra pack a day.

Completing 85 per cent of the set would take 130 days, 87 with premium, though.

TCGPCollector breaks down exactly how they did it, explaining their method and using graphs to illustrate this.

The user said: "I spent my Sunday afternoon building a pack-opening, set-completing simulator to churn through the numbers and figure out just how long it will take to complete a set on average."

TCGPCollector said there are some pitfalls with the simulation but it gives a very good idea of the timelines.

This is all before trading comes into play too.

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