How to Play Yu-Gi-Oh!:
A Guide for Parents and New-Gi-Ohs
Yu-Gi-Oh! Rules
Multiple Cards: You can only use 3 copies of one type of card. Anymore of one type of card in your deck can get you disqualified, and there are some cards that you can only have one of (or none of) in your deck. You'll learn more about these as you get used to the game.
Play: Whenever you use or activate the effects of a card, change the Attack/Defense Position of a card, or place a card on the field, you are executing a "Play." When you play a card, its effect is immediate.
Set: when you place a card face-down on the field, it is "Set." A Set card's effect is not activated immediately. Also, a Set Monster Card is not "summoned" until it is turned face-up. A Set monster must be placed horizontally, in face-down Defense Position (monsters summoned normally are placed vertically, in face-up Attack Position). You can also set a monster in face-up defense position (horizontally). Set Magic and Trap Cards are placed vertically on the field.
Destroyed: A card that is sent to the Graveyard is destroyed, but if a card on the field allows it to be removed from play instead of going to the Graveyard, that is an option, and some cards state that they can be kept from the Graveyard, and instead removed from play.
Removed from Play: A card that is removed from play is not sent to the Graveyard. Instead, it is set aside and is not allowed to re-enter the current Duel (unless the card specifies otherwise). Some cards have the power to bring back removed-from-play cards.
Sacrificial Summoning: Sacrificial summoning is where you sacrifice a monster or multiple monsters to summon another monster. How many monsters you have to sacrifice is based on the level and effect of the monster you're summoning. For instance, Levels 1-4 you don't need to sacrifice a monster. For Levels 5 and 6, you have to sacrifice one monster in order to summon them. For Levels 7 and 8 you have to sacrifice two monsters to summon that monster For Levels 9 and 10 you need to sacrifice three monsters. for Levels 11 and 12 you have to sacrifice four monsters.
Where to Place Your Cards
The cards are placed according to the numbers on the Game Mat (see left): Each number corresponds to the cards that should be placed there. For instance:
1) Field Card Zone
Field Magic cards are played here. Only 1 Field Magic Card can be in play at any one time. If a Field Spell card is already on the Field and you activate a Field Spell card, then the first Field Spell card is destroyed (unless that card states that it cannot be destroyed).
2) Monster Card Zone
Monster Cards can be played (face-up) or Set (face-down) in the 5 spaces of the Monster Card Zone following the rules in Main Phase 1. In Main Phase 1, a Player may, on his or her turn:
- Normal Summon, Tribute Summon, or Set a monster.
- Special Summon a monster(s).
- Manually change the Battle Position or perform a Flip Summon on a Monster Card, provided it was not Set or Summoned this turn.
- Activate effects, such as those of "Barrel Dragon" or "Blowback Dragon".
- Activate or Set Spell and/or Trap Cards of any speed. Quick-Play Spell Cards and Trap Cards cannot be activated in the turn they are Set.
- If a particular monster wasn't Summoned this turn, the Turn Player can flip it face-down using its effect (such as with "Guardian Statue"), and then perform a manual Flip Summon on it, since the rules state that only one manual Battle Position change may be performed per turn; Battle Position changes by effects do not count towards this.
After Main Phase 1 has ended, the Turn Player may choose to enter the Battle Phase. If he/she chooses not to, play automatically proceeds to the End Phase (he/she may NOT enter Main Phase 2).
Important! The Monster Card Zone has a 5-card limit. Once all 5 spaces in the Monster Card Zone are occupied, no further Monster Cards can be played or set until there is an open Monster Card space in the Monster Card Zone.
3) Graveyard
When cards are destroyed, they are discarded face-up on this space. The contents of the Graveyard are public knowledge, and your opponent can look through it at any time. Be sure to get your opponent's permission before going through their Graveyard.
4) Fusion Deck Zone
If you are playing with Fusion Monster Cards, put your Fusion Deck face-down in this space.
5) Magic and Trap Card Zone
Magic and Trap Cards can be played (face-up) or Set (face-down) on the 5 spaces of the Magic & Trap Card Zone following the rules in Main Phase 1.
Important! The Magic & Trap Card Zone also has a 5-card limit. Once all 5 spaces in the Magic & Trap Card Zone are occupied, no further Magic (except Field Magic Cards) or Trap Cards can be played or Set until there is an open Magic & Trap Card space in the Magic & Trap Card Zone. This 5-card limit includes any Equip Magic Cards used to equip your opponent's Monster Card.6) Deck Zone
Place your Deck face-down in this space. Your Side Deck (if you're using it) is not placed on the Duel Field. You can also play Yu-Gi-Oh! without a Duel Field. Just be sure to place the cards and Decks in the indicated positions.
Psst! For an easy way to learn how to play Yu-Gi-Oh! Check out the School of Duel Yu-Gi-Oh! Training DVDs in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Movies section of my site. -- MaxHow to Play Yu-Gi-Oh!
While Yu-Gi-Oh! can seem like a pretty complicated game at first, it just takes practice. And the basic rules are easy enough that you can get started playing right away, then add strategies as you learn more.
If you're a New-Gi-Oh (just getting started with Yu-Gi-Oh!), you probably will want to buy a starter deck because these come with a Yu-Gi-Oh! starter rule book, which will tell you how to start playing the game. Then you can add to this deck with booster packs, or individual cards. There are also structure decks which have a slightly more advanced rule book. Their cards are also a little bit harder to understand.
How Many Cards?
One of the most important parts to becoming a dueling master is to have a lot of cards so you can build decks that work together. You can never have enough Yu-Gi-Oh! cards!
In the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game, each player uses spells to summon powerful creatures that do battle against his or or her opponents. These creatures can be dragons, or other imaginary beasts.
There are hundreds and hundreds of Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, which makes it possible to play all different types of creatures, both powerful and weak.
How Many Players?
Yu-Gi-Oh! requires at least two people to play, but it is possible, and fun, to play with more! Everyone can play against each other, or you can play in teams. Because of the variety of cards and deck combinations available, each person can bring something different to the game.
There are hundreds of local and regional tournaments each year. There are even some national tournaments available. Yu-Gi-Oh! tournaments provide a great opportunity to meet new people and win prizes!
There are several sets of cards in the Yu-Gi-Oh! universe, making it easy to customize your deck to be totally unique. The ease of play and ability to personalize your style make Yu-Gi-Oh! a great game for people of all ages.
Getting Started with Yu-Gi-Oh!
As I mentioned, you'll want a starter deck for two reasons: (1) It gives you cards to start with! and (2) you'll have the rule book to refer to. I'll explain the rules here, but it helps to have the Rule Book at hand, at least when you're first starting out.
So here's what you'll need:
1) Starter Deck (plus as many additional cards as you want: each player needs to have at least 40 cards).
2) Rule Book (comes with Starter Deck)
3) Opponent(s)
4) Your Side Deck (optional): your side deck contains 15 and only 15 cards. This deck is your secret weapon and you can swap them for cards already in your deck after the first round. Personally I never duel with a side deck; for one thing, I'm not sure it's authentic, for another, I find it really boring. I think there's more joy in drawing cards and seeing what you're going to get. If you know what you're going to draw, it's not as much fun.
5) A Game Mat (optional: see below), or, if you choose not to use a game mat, just be sure you place your Yu-Gi-Oh! cards in the correct position as if there was a game mat (see "Where to Place Your Cards" below.
Above is a Yu-Gi-Oh! Card, Armory Arm. See if you can answer these questions: 1. Can you tell what type of card it is? (Monster, Trap, Spell)?
2. How many Levels does it have? 3. How many Attack points?
4. How many Defense Points?
This site is copyright protected and all rights are reserved. Yu-Gi-Oh!, the Yu-Gi-Oh! characters, and Yu-Gi-Oh! symbols and names are all trademarks of Konami, and all of their copyrights are protected. This site is not affiliated nor endorsed by Konami.
This site is made possible by the cool epublisher dudes and dudettes at Knowledge Base Publishing.
Answers to Quick Yu-Gi-Oh! Quiz: 1. Monster card, 2. 4 levels, 3. 1800 ATK, 4. 1200 DEF.
