Question: How long do pre-releases run?

[immewnity]

I need to know; less than 5 hours, but can I get a better estimate?

 

[Politoed666]

Including the distribution of packs, announcements, rulings, deckbuilding, blah blah blah, and the tournament itself... probably about 3-4 hours.

 

[MasterKenobi]

Instead of creating a new thread, I also have a question about pre-releases.

How do you find when and where they are taking place?

Also, are they very expensive? I was watching a video on Youtube with a girl rambling on about how much free stuff she got but she also had to pay the entrance fee for her boyfriend but ended up getting all of his stuff too.

 

[Politoed666]

Instead of creating a new thread, I also have a question about pre-releases.

How do you find when and where they are taking place?

Also, are they very expensive? I was watching a video on Youtube with a girl rambling on about how much free stuff she got but she also had to pay the entrance fee for her boyfriend but ended up getting all of his stuff too.

They generally cost $25. Total, you get about eight packs, free sleeves, and a promo card. There are often door prizes which can net you even more packs. It's a good deal.

As to where you can find them taking place, check the Pokémon website. It's pretty easy to navigate. You'll eventually get to a page where you can search for an event near you. They take place one to two weeks before the set is officially released.

 

[MasterKenobi]

Thanks, it looks like I found it. Here is the Leagues, Tournaments and Events locator:

http://www.pokemon.com/us/organized-play/events/

They call them pre-release tournaments so does that mean that you must compete in the tournament or could I just go to get the cards?

For example here is the news article for when the HeartGold and SoulSilver Expansion was released:

http://www.pokemon.com/us/organized-play/tournaments/pre-release/

I'm guessing the next one probably won't be for quite awhile then.