Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Yu-Gi-Oh!

Back of an English-language Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game card
Publisher(s)	Japan: Konami (1999−present) US: Upper Deck (2002−08) Konami (2008−present)
Publication date	1999; 26 years ago (1999)
Players	1 vs. 1

The Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game is a super popular collectible card game. It was created by Konami. The game is based on the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga and anime series. In the story, characters play a game called Duel Monsters.

This card game first came out in Japan in 1999. It arrived in North America in 2002. Yu-Gi-Oh! was even named the world's best-selling trading card game by Guinness World Records in 2009. Billions of cards have been sold around the world! There are also faster versions of the game, like Yu-Gi-Oh! Speed Duel and Yu-Gi-Oh! Rush Duel.

How to Play Yu-Gi-Oh!

In the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game, two players face off. Each player has their own deck of cards. You take turns drawing cards and playing them onto a special "field."

Your main deck must have between 40 and 60 cards. You can also have an "extra deck" with up to 15 cards. Plus, there's an optional "side deck" of 15 cards. You can swap cards from your side deck into your main or extra deck between games.

You can only have three copies of any single card in your deck. Konami also has a "Forbidden/Limited" list. This list restricts certain powerful cards. Some cards can only have one or two copies, or none at all!

Both players start with 8,000 "life points" (LP). The main goal is to use your monsters and spells to reduce your opponent's life points to zero.

The game ends when:

• A player's life points reach zero. If both players hit zero at the same time, it's a draw.
• A player needs to draw a card but has no cards left in their main deck.
• Special cards can create instant wins or losses. For example, if you get all five pieces of Exodia the Forbidden One in your hand.
• A player can choose to give up at any time.

Understanding the Game Board Zones

Cards are placed on the game mat in specific areas called "zones." Knowing these zones helps you play!

• Main Deck: This is where your main deck of 40 to 60 cards sits face-down. It holds Normal, Effect, Ritual, and Pendulum Monsters, plus Spell and Trap Cards.
• Extra Deck: If you have one, this is where your 15 Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, and Link Monsters go face-down. Pendulum Monsters that leave the field also go here, but face-up.
• Graveyard (GY): Cards that are discarded, destroyed, or used up (like Spells/Traps) go here.
• Main Monster Zones: There are five spots here for your Monster Cards when you summon them.
• Extra Monster Zones: These zones are for monsters summoned from the Extra Deck, especially Link Monsters.
• Spell/Trap Zones: Five spaces where you can place Spell or Trap Cards. The far left and right zones can also be used as "Pendulum Zones" for Pendulum Monsters.
• Field Zone: This is where you play "Field Spell" cards.
• Banished Zone: Cards that are "banished" by card effects are placed here, outside of the game.

Phases of a Turn

Each player's turn has six steps, called "phases." They always happen in the same order:

• Draw Phase: You draw one card from your deck. (The player who goes first does not draw on their first turn).
• Standby Phase: Nothing usually happens here, but some card effects might activate.
• Main Phase 1: You can summon a monster, activate cards, or set Spells/Traps face-down. You can also change a monster's battle position.
• Battle Phase: This is where your monsters can attack your opponent's monsters or directly attack your opponent's life points. Damage is dealt based on ATK and DEF points. You can choose to skip this phase.
• Main Phase 2: You can do most of the same actions as Main Phase 1. However, you can't repeat actions like Normal Summoning if you already did it.
• End Phase: Some card effects activate here. Once this phase ends, your turn is over.

Remember, the first player cannot enter the Battle Phase on their very first turn.

Types of Cards in Yu-Gi-Oh!

The game uses three main types of cards: Monster Cards, Spell Cards, and Trap Cards.

• Monster Cards are your main fighters. They attack your opponent and defend your life points. Most monsters have ATK (Attack) and DEF (Defense) points, a Level (shown by stars), and an Attribute. They also have a description that tells you their type and any special effects.

* Normal Summon: You can summon a Level 4 or lower monster from your hand once per turn. * Tribute Summon: For Level 5 or higher monsters, you "tribute" (send to the Graveyard) one or more monsters you already control. * Special Summon: Many card effects let you Special Summon monsters. You can do this many times per turn if the conditions are met.

Here are the different kinds of monsters:

• Normal (Yellow): These monsters have no special effects.
• Effect (Orange): These monsters have special powers that change the game.
• Ritual (Blue): You need a special Ritual Spell Card and specific monsters to summon these from your hand.
• Fusion (Purple): These come from your Extra Deck. You use a "Fusion" Spell Card to combine specific monsters from your hand or field.
• Synchro (White): Also from the Extra Deck. You combine a "Tuner" monster with other monsters whose Levels add up to the Synchro Monster's Level.
• Xyz (Black): From the Extra Deck. These have Ranks instead of Levels. You stack two or more monsters of the same Level underneath them as "Overlay Units" to activate their effects.
• Pendulum (Green/Orange gradient): These are special monsters that can be used as monsters or as Spell Cards in your Pendulum Zones. If they leave the field, they go face-up into your Extra Deck. With two Pendulum Monsters in your Pendulum Zones, you can "Pendulum Summon" many monsters at once!
• Link (Dark Blue): From the Extra Deck. These have Link Values instead of Levels. They point to other zones on the field, which can unlock special effects or allow more monsters to be summoned.
• Token (Grey): These are temporary monsters created by card effects. They disappear when they leave the field. You can use coins or other objects to represent them.

Spell Cards (Green) are like magic spells. They have many different effects, like making your monsters stronger or letting you draw more cards. You can play them from your hand or set them face-down.

• Normal: Can only be activated during your Main Phase.
• Quick-Play: Can be activated from your hand during your turn, or set face-down to be used on your opponent's turn.
• Continuous: Their effects stay active on the field until they are destroyed or their conditions are met.
• Equip: Attach to a monster to give it extra powers.
• Field: Placed in the Field Zone and affect the whole game board.
• Ritual: Needed to summon Ritual Monsters.

Trap Cards (Dark Pink) are surprises for your opponent! You must set them face-down on your field. You can only activate them after the turn they were set. They are great for stopping your opponent's moves.

• Normal: Used once and then sent to the Graveyard.
• Continuous: Stay on the field and have ongoing effects.
• Counter: Activated very quickly to stop other card effects.

Understanding Card Chains

A "chain" happens when multiple card effects are activated one after another. It helps manage how different card effects resolve.

When a card effect is activated, your opponent can respond with their own card effect. This starts a chain.

• If your opponent responds, you can respond back, adding another effect to the chain.
• If your opponent doesn't respond, you can add another one of your own effects.

Players keep adding effects until no one wants to play more cards. Then, the chain resolves! Effects resolve in reverse order, starting with the last card played.

It's important to wait for the chain to finish before any card effects actually happen.

Chain Example

Imagine you play Raigeki, a Spell Card that destroys all your opponent's monsters.

1. Your opponent responds with Destruction Jammer, a Trap Card that can stop a monster from being destroyed. This is Chain Link 1.
2. You then respond to Destruction Jammer with Solemn Judgment, a Trap Card that can stop a Spell or Trap, but costs half your Life Points. This is Chain Link 2.

Your opponent decides not to respond to Solemn Judgment. Now, the chain resolves from the last card played:

1. Solemn Judgment activates: You pay half your Life Points, and Destruction Jammer's effect is stopped.
2. Destruction Jammer would have activated, but Solemn Judgment stopped it.
3. Raigeki activates: All your opponent's monsters are destroyed!

Only card effects can be added to a chain. Actions like summoning a monster or changing its position cannot be chained.

Game Formats and Tournaments

Yu-Gi-Oh! tournaments are held by players, card shops, and Konami itself. These events bring together many players who compete for cool prizes, like rare cards.

There are different ways to play in tournaments, called "formats." Each format has its own rules and limits on which cards you can use.

• Advanced Format: This is the most common format for official tournaments. It follows all the normal game rules. It also has a "Forbidden & Limited List." This list bans certain cards that are too powerful. Other cards are "Limited" (only one copy allowed) or "Semi-Limited" (only two copies allowed). This list changes a few times a year.
• Traditional Format: In this format, all cards on the Advanced Format's Forbidden list are allowed, but only one copy per deck. This format is not used much in competitive play.

Konami also introduced "drafting tournaments" with special "Battle Packs." In these, players open packs and choose cards one by one to build a deck on the spot.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Products

You can get Yu-Gi-Oh! cards in different ways:

• Starter Decks: Great for new players, these decks are ready to play.
• Structure Decks: These decks are built around a specific strategy or monster type.
• Booster Packs: These small packs contain random cards. This is the main way to get new cards. Each pack usually has 5 or 9 cards.
• Collectible Tins: Special tins that often come with rare cards.
• Promotional Cards: Sometimes, cards are given out with video games, movies, or magazines.

Booster Packs

Booster packs are the most common way to get new cards. They contain a random mix of cards from a specific set. Each set usually has about 100 different cards. Sometimes, older sets are re-released. There are also special "Tournament Packs" or "Turbo Packs" given out at events.

Duelist Packs

Duelist Packs are like smaller booster packs. They focus on cards used by characters from the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime series. These packs usually have five cards.

Promotional Cards

Some cards are released as special promotions. You might find them included with video games, movies, or magazines. These cards are often very rare or unique.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Speed Duel

Yu-Gi-Oh! Speed Duel is a faster, simpler version of the game. It came out in 2019 and is based on the rules from the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links mobile game. It uses Monster, Spell, Trap, and special "Skill Cards."

Speed Duels are designed to be quick, often lasting only about 10 minutes.

Here's how Speed Duel is different from the main game:

• The field has only three Main Monster Zones and three Spell/Trap Zones (instead of five).
• There are no Extra Monster Zones.
• Synchro, Xyz, Pendulum, and Link Monsters are not used.
• There is no Main Phase 2. The Battle Phase goes straight to the End Phase.
• Your main deck must have 20 to 30 cards (instead of 40-60).
• Players start with 4,000 life points (instead of 8,000).
• Players start by drawing four cards (instead of five).
• Each player can only use one Skill Card.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Rush Duel

Yu-Gi-Oh! Rush Duel is another fast version of the game. It launched in Japan in 2020 with the Yu-Gi-Oh! Sevens anime. Rush Duel uses its own set of cards, different from the main game. It makes the game even quicker and easier to understand.

Here are some key differences in Rush Duel:

• The field has only three Monster Zones and three Spell/Trap Zones. No Extra Monster Zones or Pendulum Zones.
• The turn order is Draw, Main, Battle, and End Phase. There's no Standby Phase or Main Phase 2.
• Players start with four cards. During your Draw Phase, you keep drawing until you have five cards in your hand. If you already have five or more, you just draw one. There's no hand size limit!
• You can Normal Summon and Tribute Summon as many times as you want during your turn.
• Some powerful cards, like Blue-Eyes White Dragon, are "Legend" cards. You can only have one Legend card in your deck.
• New monster types include "Maximum" and "Fusion" monsters. Maximum monsters are three cards that combine into one super-powerful monster. Fusion monsters are summoned from the Extra Deck by combining other monsters.

Yu-Gi-Oh! in Anime and Manga

The Yu-Gi-Oh! card game started in Kazuki Takahashi's manga. In the early manga, the game (called Magic & Wizards) had simpler rules. As the story went on, especially in the "Battle City" arc, the rules became more like the real-life card game.

In the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters anime and its spin-off series, characters play with cards that look like the real ones. However, some monsters or effects are different in the anime. The anime also introduced unique card types or summoning methods that aren't in the real game. For example:

• Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's had "Dark Synchro" monsters.
• Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V featured "Action Cards" picked up during duels.
• The movie Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Dark Side of Dimensions had "Dimension Summoning."
• Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS showed "Speed Duels" with fewer zones, similar to the real-life Speed Duel format.

In Western versions of the anime, the cards on screen are often changed. They only show the picture, level, and ATK/DEF points. This is done to follow rules about showing products in kids' TV shows.

Konami and Upper Deck Lawsuit

From 2002 to 2008, a company called Upper Deck helped Konami distribute Yu-Gi-Oh! cards outside of Asia. In 2008, Konami said that Upper Deck was selling fake Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. Upper Deck then sued Konami back.

A court later ruled that Upper Deck was responsible for making fake cards. Because of this, Upper Deck stopped being the official distributor. Now, Konami makes and distributes all Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game products worldwide. Konami also runs all the official tournaments.

See also

In Spanish: Yu-Gi-Oh! (juego de cartas) para niños