The Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game is a collectible card game developed and published by Konami Digital Entertainment, based on the manga series Yu-Gi-Oh! created by Kazuki Takahashi and Studio Dice. The card game is based on the fictional game of Duel Monsters (originally known as Magic & Wizards), which appears in portions of the manga series and is the central plot device throughout its various anime adaptations and spinoff series.

As the Official Card Game (OCG), it was launched by Konami in 1999 in Japan. It was later launched in March 2002 in North America, where it was originally sold under license by the Upper Deck Company until they lost rights in 2009. It was named the top-selling trading card game in the world by Guinness World Records on July 7, 2009, having sold over 22 billion cards worldwide. As of March 31, 2011, Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. Japan sold billion cards globally since 1999. , the game is estimated to have sold about cards worldwide. Yu-Gi-Oh! Speed Duel, a faster and simplified alternate format, was launched worldwide in January 2019. Another faster-paced variation but with different cards and rules, Yu-Gi-Oh! Rush Duel, launched in Japan in April 2020.

Gameplay

In the Trading Card Game, players draw cards from their respective Decks and take turns playing cards onto the field. Each player uses a Deck containing forty to sixty cards, and an optional "Extra Deck" of up to fifteen cards. There is also an optional fifteen-card Side Deck, which allows players to swap cards from their Main Deck and/or Extra Deck between games. Players are restricted to a maximum of three of each card per Deck and must follow any additional restriction of the format they are playing in. Each player usually starts with 8,000 "Life Points" (LP), though the players can decide to start with a different number in casual games. The main aim of the game is to use monster attacks (and sometimes card effects) to reduce the opponent's Life Points. The game ends upon reaching one of the following conditions: When a player's LP reaches 0, That player then loses the Duel. When a player runs out of cards in their Main Deck and has to draw, either through their draw phase or by card effect. This is called "Decking Out", and that player loses the Duel. When the conditions on certain cards have been met to trigger an automatic win or loss for a particular player (e.g. having all five cards of "Exodia the Forbidden One" in one's hand, or having a monster Summoned by the effect of "Relay Soul" leave the field). When a player's Deck Master leaves the field (if playing using "Deck Master" rules). When a player surrenders the Duel to their opponent. If both players trigger a win/lose condition at the same time (e.g. both players' Life Points reach zero), the game ends in a draw.

For beginners, the most practical way to start is with an official Structure Deck or Starter Deck rather than random booster packs, as these provide a coherent strategy, a clear win condition, and a lower barrier to understanding the game's fast pace, chain system, and Extra Deck restrictions under the current Master Rules.

Zones

In a Duel, cards are usually laid out on a table between the players, or on a playmat with the dedicated zones marked out. They are as follows:

Main Deck: The Main Deck is placed here face-down. Main Decks may contain anywhere from 40 to 60 cards, which includes Normal, Effect, Ritual, and Pendulum Monsters, as well as Spells and Traps. During a Duel, players may not look through their Main Deck, unless allowed to do so by a card's effect. When that effect resolves, the player must shuffle their Deck. Extra Deck: The Extra Deck is placed here face-down (if a player has one). Extra Decks may contain up to 15 cards, consisting of Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, and Link Monsters. Unlike the Main Deck, players may look through their Extra Decks at any time during a Duel to search for and Summon monsters from it, if able. Pendulum Monsters are also placed face-up over the Extra Deck if they would be sent from the field to the Graveyard. Graveyard (shortened to GY on card effects only): The Graveyard is where cards are sent to if they are discarded or destroyed. Most monsters which have been Tributed or destroyed by battle are sent to their owner's Graveyard face-up. Spells and Traps are also sent to the Graveyard, once their effects have been resolved. The cards in a player's Graveyard are public knowledge, and may be checked by either player at any time, but the order of the cards in the Graveyard may not be changed. If multiple cards would be sent to the Graveyard, their owner player decides on their order. Main Monster Zones: A row of five spaces where Monster Cards are placed when successfully Summoned. Prior to the addition of Link Monsters, any kind of monster could be placed there at any time. After Link Monsters were introduced, monsters from the Extra Deck could only be Special Summoned from the Extra Deck to the Extra Monster Zone, or a Main Monster Zone a Link Monster "points to", up until the rule change for April 2020 onward, where only Link Monsters, and Pendulum Monsters Summoned from the Extra Deck while face-up, follow this restriction. Extra Monster Zones: Introduced with Link Monsters, this is a zone where monsters from the Extra Deck can be Summoned. An Extra Monster Zone is not a part of either player's field until they Summon a monster to the Extra Monster Zone, meaning they are shared between the players. Spell & Trap Zones: Five spaces in which either Spell or Trap Cards can be placed. The leftmost and rightmost Spell & Trap Zones can optionally be treated as "Pendulum Zones" by placing Pendulum Monsters there, allowing players to use Pendulum Effects and perform Pendulum Summons. The Pendulum Zones previously were their own zones at the left and right sides of the field when introduced, but were integrated into the Spell & Trap Zones with the release of Link Monsters. Field Zone: A zone where Field Spell Cards are placed. Banished cards: Where cards that are "banished" by card effects are sent. Previously known as "cards removed from play", banished cards are considered out of the game instead of destroyed (though there are some effects that can recover them anyway, and even cards with effects that activate upon being banished), and officially being in no actual zone or location. Because of this, card effects simply refer to it as the "banishment".

Phases Each player's turn contains six phases that take place in the following order: Draw Phase: The turn player draws one card from their Deck. Standby Phase: No specific action occurs, but players may activate or resolve card effects and maintenance costs during this phase. Main Phase 1: The turn player may perform any of the following actions: Normal or Tribute Summon a monster in face-up Attack Position (the monster is placed face-up on the field, oriented vertically), or Normal or Tribute Set a monster in face-down Defense Position (the monster is placed face-down on the field, oriented horizontally). The turn player may do either of these only once per turn, unless allowed otherwise by card effects. Change the battle position of a monster Summoned on a previous turn. A face-up Attack Position monster is changed to face-up Defense, but a face-down Defense Position monster is changed to face-up Attack, which constitutes a "Flip Summon". Play Spell Cards from their hand. The turn player may use them on the same turn, or Set them face-down on the field to use at a later time. Set Spell or Trap Cards face-down, for use at a later time. Activate monster effects, or cards that were Set on previous turns. Battle Phase: The turn player may choose to attack their opponent, using any monsters on their field that are in Attack Position. Depending on the position of the opponent's monster, the attacking monster's ATK (Attack Points) are taken into account against the opponent's monster's ATK or DEF (Defense Points). The turn player can choose not to conduct their Battle Phase – in this case, they progress straight to the End Phase of their turn. If both monsters are in Attack Position, the monster with fewer ATK is destroyed and its owner takes battle damage equal to the difference between both monster's ATK. The battle damage is subtracted from the owner's LP. If both monsters have the same number of ATK, they are both destroyed, and neither player takes damage. If both monsters have zero ATK, neither monster is destroyed. If the opponent's monster is in Defense Position and has fewer DEF than the attacking monster's ATK, it is destroyed, and its owner takes no battle damage, unless the attacking monster is able to inflict "piercing" battle damage. In the latter case, the defender takes battle damage equal to the difference between the two values. If the opponent's monster is in Defense Position and its DEF are equal to or higher than the attacking monster's ATK, neither monster is destroyed, and the attacker takes battle damage equal to the difference between the two values. Some monsters (such as "Elemental HERO Rampart Blaster" and the "Superheavy Samurai" monsters) may attack in face-up Defense Position. These cards will specify which of their values is used for damage calculation, usually being the DEF. If the defending player controls no monster, or an attacking player's monster has the ability to do so, a player may declare a direct attack on their opponent's LP. The defender loses Life Points equal to the attacking monster's ATK. During the Battle Phase, the number of monsters on the field may change at any time. When this happens before the beginning of the "Damage Step", a replay occurs. During a replay, the attacking player has the choice to continue their attack on their original target, choose a new target, or cancel their attack. Main Phase 2: The player may do all the same actions that are available during Main Phase 1, though they cannot Normal Summoning or Set again if they already did so, nor change the battle position of a monster that was Summoned, has battled, or already had their battle position changed during the same turn. This phase is only accessible if the turn player conducted their Battle Phase. End Phase: The player declares the end of their turn. Certain card effects and maintenance costs may activate or resolve during this phase. If the turn player has seven or more cards in their hand, they must discard until they have six left, which is known as the "hand size limit".

At the start of a Duel, the player going first does not draw in the Draw Phase nor attack. They may only do so on their subsequent turns.

Card Types Gameplay revolves around three types of cards: Monster, Spell, and Trap Cards.

Monster Cards Monster Cards represent beings which are Summoned to the field by players to attack opponents and defend themselves. Typical Monster Cards have their name, Attribute, Types, Level, ATK, and DEF printed on them, which may affect the way they interact with other related cards and their effectiveness in a Deck. Most players (in real life, manga, and anime) use Decks that are themed around certain Attributes, Types, or archetypes (words shared in the card names).

The name, Attribute, and Level are printed at the top of the card. The Attribute is a colored sphere with a kanji character inscribed within, which represents an alignment to one of six elements (LIGHT, DARK, EARTH, WATER, FIRE, WIND). The Level is represented by orange and yellow stars aligned to the right of the card; these (roughly) indicate the monster's relative power, and whether it needs Tributes to be played.

The Types are in the middle, between the artwork and effect. The first Type is a general descriptor of the monster's appearance (e.g. Warrior, Machine, Reptile), while the other ones are gameplay-related labels.