How to Play the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card
Game
By: Jeremy Cummins
iii
Table of Contents
Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................................... iii
Why to Play Yu-Gi-Oh and how this manual can help you. .......................................................................... v
Learning the Types of Cards .......................................................................................................................... 1
Learning the Types of Cards .......................................................................................................................... 3
Monster Cards........................................................................................................................................... 3
Normal Monsters .................................................................................................................................. 3
Effect Monsters ..................................................................................................................................... 4
Ritual Monsters ..................................................................................................................................... 4
Fusion Monsters.................................................................................................................................... 5
Synchro Monsters ................................................................................................................................. 5
Xyz Monsters ......................................................................................................................................... 6
Monster Summary ................................................................................................................................ 6
Spell Cards ................................................................................................................................................. 7
Normal Spell Cards ................................................................................................................................ 7
Quick-Play Spell Cards ........................................................................................................................... 7
Continuous Spell Cards ......................................................................................................................... 8
Field Spell Cards .................................................................................................................................... 8
Ritual Spell Cards................................................................................................................................... 9
Equip Spell Cards ................................................................................................................................... 9
Spell Card Summary .............................................................................................................................. 9
Trap Cards ............................................................................................................................................... 10
Normal Trap Cards .............................................................................................................................. 10
Continuous Trap Cards ........................................................................................................................ 10
Counter Trap Cards ............................................................................................................................. 11
Trap Card Summary ............................................................................................................................ 11
Card Summary......................................................................................................................................... 11
Getting Connected to the Game and Building a Deck ................................................................................ 13
Getting Connected to the Game and Building a Deck ................................................................................ 15
Places to play Yu-Gi-Oh!.......................................................................................................................... 15
Getting Connected to Learn .................................................................................................................... 15
iv
How to Play Yu-Gi-Oh!
Building a Deck ........................................................................................................................................ 15
Main Deck ........................................................................................................................................... 16
Extra Deck ........................................................................................................................................... 18
Side Deck ............................................................................................................................................. 19
Learning the Game Phases.......................................................................................................................... 21
Learning the Game Phases.......................................................................................................................... 23
Draw Phase ............................................................................................................................................. 23
Standby Phase ......................................................................................................................................... 23
Main Phase 1 ........................................................................................................................................... 23
Battle Phase ............................................................................................................................................ 24
Main Phase 2 ........................................................................................................................................... 24
End Phase ................................................................................................................................................ 24
Index............................................................................................................................................................ 25
v
Why to Play Yu-Gi-Oh and how this manual can help you.
The main reason that many people play the game of Yu-Gi-Oh! is to make new friends and meet
new people. Along with the aspect of friends, many people play t to make some extra money on
top of their normal job. Most people play the game to have fun, which it is as much fun as you
make it.
This manual is geared to get you acquainted with the game of Yu-Gi-Oh! and get the basics of
the game. This is also used to get a very basic deck built to give you an idea of how to create one
on your own.
Learning the Types of Cards
Learning the Types of Cards
3
Learning the Types of Cards
Monster Cards
The first type of card we will discuss Monster Cards. There are several different subsections of
monsters cards as well. The first and most basic type of monster is a Normal Monster.
Normal Monsters
These monsters have no special ability; all they can do is be used as resources for other cards if
needed and declare attacks. These monsters are a light yellow color around the picture and text
boxes. They can also be differentiated by the italicized text in the lower text box.
Level
Name of Monster
Attribute
Set prefix for the card
Card Lore
Type of Monster
Monsters’ Attack and Defense points
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How to Play Yu-Gi-Oh!
Effect Monsters
Following these monsters are the basic effect monsters. These monsters have a special ability,
which is given by the lower text box under the picture of the monster. Some effects have certain
conditions that will be needed to be able to use them. As part for the effect certain cards may
have “summoning conditions”. An example of a summoning condition is “This card must first
be Special Summoned (from the hand), by banishing 1 LIGHT and 1 DARK monster from your
graveyard.” If this condition is not met the monster cannot be summoned. These monsters are
recognized by the darker yellow orange color around the text boxes and picture.
Monster effect text
Ritual Monsters
The next type of monster that can be used is Ritual Monsters. These monsters can only be
summoned by using a spell card that allows them to be, while having both the monster and
spell card in your hand. These monsters are recognized by being a sea blue color. Some of these
monsters have effects and some do not; the card text will tell you if it does or not.
Ritual Monster
Spell card to summon
“Black Luster Soldier”
Learning the Types of Cards
5
Fusion Monsters
The next type of monster that can be used in the game is called a Fusion monster. These
monsters are placed in the Extra Deck (explained in detail later). They can only be summoned in
special situation. These cards will display the requirements to summon the card as well as any
effects the monster may have. They are bordered in a purple color to distinguish them.
Required monsters
Synchro Monsters
Another type of monster that goes into the Extra Deck is Synchro monsters. These monsters are
white in color around the text boxes. These monsters can only be summoned in special ways
just like Fusion monsters. The requirements are different than Fusion monsters and will be
explained in detail in a later chapter.
Required Materials
6
How to Play Yu-Gi-Oh!
Xyz Monsters
The final type of monster that goes into the extra deck is an Xyz monster. These monsters also
have special circumstances to be able to be summoned. They are distinguished by the card color
being black and the “level” actually being a “rank” and on the left side of the card instead of the
normal right side.
Rank
Materials Needed
Monster Summary
The first three types of monster, Normal, Effect, and Ritual, all go into the Main deck. The last
three types of monsters, Fusion, Synchro and Xyz, go into the Extra deck. Some monsters have
special abilities, while others do not. The Normal and Effect monsters can be summoned from
the hand to the field unless the monster says otherwise. Ritual monsters need a special spell
card to be summoned and monsters in the Extra deck can only be summoned in special
situations.
Learning the Types of Cards
7
Spell Cards
Spell cards are used to aid your monster cards or to hurt your opponent. There are different
types of Spell cards just like there are different types of Monster cards. The difference between
Spell cards is not as apparent as it is in Monster cards; the difference is in the icon next to the
text “[SPELL CARD]” underneath the name box.
Normal Spell Cards
The most common type of Spell card used is a Normal Spell Card. Theses can only be activated
during your turn, during the Main Phase 1 (explained later). These cards will not have an icon
next to the “[SPELL CARD]” text under the name.
Quick-Play Spell Cards
The second most commonly used spell card is a Quick-Play Spell card. This type of card can be
activated at any time from the hand on your turn. This card can also be activated during your
opponents turn, but only if it is set in your Spell and Trap Zone (explained later) during one of
your prior turns. Quick-Play cards can be singled out by having a lightning bolt looking icon
next to the “[SPELL CARD]” text.
Icon to determine
type of Spell
8
How to Play Yu-Gi-Oh!
Continuous Spell Cards
The third type of Spell Card is a Continuous Spell card. This card is played and then stays on
the field until it is destroyed. These cards can be determined by having an infinity sign as the
icon next to “[SPELL CARD]” text.
Field Spell Cards
Another type of Spell card that can be used is a Field Spell Card. This card also stays on the field
until it is destroyed. This card is not placed in the Spell and Trap Card zone it is placed in the
Field Card Zone; this will be explained in more detail later. The Field Spell cards will have a
cross type icon next to the “[SPELL CARD]” text.
Learning the Types of Cards
Ritual Spell Cards
The next card type is a Ritual Spell card. This card is to summon a Ritual Monster. The Ritual
spells can be determined by having a fire looking icon next to the “[SPELL CARD]” text.
Equip Spell Cards
The last type of Spell card is an Equip Spell card. These cards can only be activated during the
Main Phase 1. They are equipped to a monster card and the effect of that equip card is stated in
the text box below the picture. The icon of an Equip Spell is a plus sign inside the icon.
Spell Card Summary
The majority of Spell cards can only be activated during your turn. The only type that can be
activated during your opponents turn is a Quick-Play Spell, but only if it was set in your Spell
9
10
How to Play Yu-Gi-Oh!
and Trap card zone on a prior turn. Spell cards can change the game into your favor if used
correctly; the spells that can do this are classified by most players as “power cards”.
Trap Cards
Trap cards are used mainly to protect you from different things from your opponent. There are
only three different kinds of Trap cards but the uses are far more expansive. These cards must
be set in your Spell and Trap card Zone for at least one turn before they can be played. They can
be activated at any time unless the card specifically says otherwise.
Normal Trap Cards
The most commonly used Trap card is the Normal Trap cards. They can be activated at any
appropriate time. They will not have any type of icon next to the “[TRAP CARD]” text.
Continuous Trap Cards
The next type of Trap is a Continuous Trap card. These, just like the Continuous Spells, stay on
the field until they are destroyed. These cards can be activated at any time as well. These Traps
will also have an infinity sign next to the “[TRAP CARD]” text, just like the Spell versions.
Learning the Types of Cards
11
Counter Trap Cards
The last kind of Trap card is the Counter Trap Card. The Counter Traps can be activated in
response to certain things in the game based on the Counter Trap. These cards will be
recognizable by having a swooping arrow next to the “[TRAP CARD]” text.
Trap Card Summary
Trap cards can be used to protect yourself and to hinder your opponent. Many Trap Cards are
considered “power cards” like some Spells are, however because they have to be placed on the
field prior to activation, they can scare your opponent.
Card Summary
The three types of cards, Monster, Spell, and Trap, are all very important in the game and
affecting the game play in their own way. Each card has a use and most have effects that are
intended to help you or hurt your opponent. To create a good deck, you must find the right
combination of Monsters, Spells, and Traps that give you the best chances of consistently
winning or at least having a chance to win the game.
Getting Connected to the Game and Building a Deck
Getting Connected to the Game and Building a Deck
15
Getting Connected to the Game and Building a Deck
The best way to learn how to play this game is to just jump right in, into a game. To start a
game, obviously you need an opponent. If you have no friends that play Yu-Gi-Oh that is no
problem, there are places to o and play with other people.
Places to play Yu-Gi-Oh!
First you can go online and search on Google to find a local card shop that has Yu-Gi-Oh
tournaments during the week and go play there and meet new people. After that option is
looked at you have two options for playing from your home online on your computer. Your
first option is calling Dueling Network (DN). Dueling Network is exactly what it sounds like. It
is an online site that allows you to play random people from all over the globe. To be able to
play on DN you will need to register a username and E-mail address; they do not send you any
E-mails at all. The second online option for playing Yu-Gi-Oh, is a downloadable program call,
DevPro YGO or DevPro for short. DevPro is a better option to most people because it is
automatic. Meaning that the game state is passed automatically, when in DN there is no real
structure and everything is manually done. To sign up on DevPro all you need to do is
download the program and register an E-mail and username.
Getting Connected to Learn
One of the easiest ways to learn the game is to just play and learn from reading the cards. One
easy way to do this is to get on YouTube and watch videos. The Yu-Gi-Oh YouTube, YuGiTube
for short, community is huge, and there are a lot of really educated players that share their
knowledge of the game on YouTube in a clear and very understandable way. There is a vast
amount of information on YouTube about cards and how to build a deck.
Building a Deck
To build a deck, you need to buy some cards. The best way to get a lot of cards for a minimal
amount of money is to buy a structure or starter deck. Either one will come with around 40
cards which is the minimum number of cards needed to be in the Main deck. The main deck
must contain no less than 40 cards, but no more than 60. The Main deck can be any combination
of Normal, Effect, and Ritual monsters, Spells, and Traps. To complement the Main deck, you
should consider an Extra deck. The Extra deck is a combination of 15 Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz
monsters that you choose to play with. The Extra deck can change dramatically depending on
the cards you put in your Main deck.
There are an incredible amount of cards in the game of Yu-Gi-Oh. For this example of building
a deck I will build a Fairy Agent deck. This is a good example for beginners because it is a good
deck that can use very strong monsters and very powerful extra deck cards. The easiest way to
get the majority of the cards you need for this deck is to buy three structure decks. They will
cost you around $30 for all three of them. The structure decks will come with most of the cards
16
How to Play Yu-Gi-Oh!
you will need for the main deck. There are some cards that you will need to get for the deck that
are not in the structure deck. These cards are not expensive, seeing as they have so many
different printings. These cards are what many people consider “staple” cards that should go
into any deck that you build. Some of the staple cards are Dark Hole, Heavy Storm, Monster
Reborn, Solemn Judgment, Solemn Warning, and Mystical Space Typhoon. Many of the
“staple” cards might have restrictions as to how many can go into a deck. The general rule for
any card in the game is a maximum number of three copies between the Main deck and the Side
deck. However there are cards that are considered to be really good or bad for the game. These
cards are limited in the number of copies that are allowed in your deck. An example of this is
Dark Hole. A player can only have one copy of Dark Hole in their deck, it does not matter if it is
the Main or the Side deck, only one copy is allowed. To get the list of limited and forbidden
cards you can go to http://www.yugioh-card.com/en/limited/index.html. The list is updated
every six months in March and then in September.
Main Deck
For most decks, playing the minimum of 40 cards is the best option to be able to get the cards
you need when you need them. Some people will say playing up to 42 is okay depending on the
type of deck you are playing. For our example, we will be building a 40 cards deck to keep
things simple. After you make your purchase of the three Lost Sanctuary structure decks, you
must decide on what cards to use to make your deck. You will be able to choose from these
cards to make your main deck, unless you have other cards from before:

Monsters
o Master Hyperion
o Agent of Mystery – Earth
o Agent of Miracles – Jupiter
o Agent of Judgment – Saturn
o Agent of Wisdom – Mercury
o Agent of Creation – Venus
o Agent of Force – Mars
o Mystical Shine Ball
o Splendid Venus
o Tethys, Goddess of Light
o Victoria
o Athena
o Marshmallon
o Hecatrice
o Shining Angel
o Soul of Purity and Light
o Airknight Parshath
o Nova Summoner
Getting Connected to the Game and Building a Deck


o
o
o
o
Spells
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Traps
o
o
o
o
o
o
17
Zeradias, Herald of Heaven
Honest
Hanewata
Consecrated Light
Cards from the Sky
Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen
Terraforming
Smashing Ground
The Sanctuary in the Sky
Celestial Transformation
Burial from a Different Dimension
Mausoleum of the Emperor
Solidarity
The Fountain in the Sky
Divine Punishment
Return from the Different Dimension
Torrential Tribute
Beckoning Light
Miraculous Descent
Solemn Judgment
For many competitive players, a lot of these cards are useless and are just going to be thrown in
the trash or a trade binder of really cheap cards. For our example we are only going to use the
cards that come in the structure deck. For this build we’re going to be building a funcompetitive deck. To make the deck really competitive you will need cards to go into your Extra
deck that will greatly improve the deck and the power of it. But we will start with the main
deck using only the cards that you got with the three structure decks.
The first thing to do when building a deck is to read all the cards you have at your disposal and
decide which ones are good and which ones you think are bad. We are going to start with
deciding what Trap cards to run. All of the cards are good cards. Solemn Judgment is one of the
best cards in the game in various ways, which is why it is limited to one copy in the deck.
Torrential Tribute is another really good card that can gain you advantage if used properly.
This card is limited to two copies so we will use both of them. Beckoning Light is a good card
but it is not needed, so we will only use one of them. We will only use one more Trap card and
that is going to be the only copy of Return from the Different Dimension allowed. This brings us
to five Trap cards, Solemn Judgment, two Torrential Tribute, Beckoning Light and Return from
the Different Dimension.
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How to Play Yu-Gi-Oh!
Now we will get our Spell cards. Because we will be Banishing a lot of monsters with the effect
of Master Hyperion, Burial from a Different Dimension is a good card to add, but only one since
it is limited to one. Cards from the Sky will allow you to draw more cards which is always good
in Yu-Gi-Oh, so add two of those. Smashing Ground is a good card to be able to remove
monsters from your opponent’s side of the field so you can attack without any opposition, so
add three of those. To make getting your big monsters on the field faster we will add three
copies of Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen. This will bring our Spell count to nine cards and the total
deck count to 14.
Now we will choose our Monster cards and fill any other whole we have left. The main
objective of an Agent deck is to get Master Hyperion and other strong monsters on the field.
Because of this we will max out on the number of each Agent to give us the best chances of
getting Master Hyperion and the Agents on the field. That will give us three Master Hyperion,
two Agent – Earth, three Agent – Venus, and three Agent – Jupiter. To add to the speed of the
deck we will add three Mystical Shine Balls. The vast majority of players will tell you that any
deck that has a lot of Light monsters in it should run Honest, and I agree with that, so Honest
will go in at one since it is limited. Because we are running three copies of Valhalla, Hall of the
Fallen, we are going to want to add three Hecatrice so we can search through the deck to get it
faster. To give you monsters that will allow you to stop your opponent from getting to your Life
Points so you do not lose, you can add one copy of Marshmallon, two Nova Summoners and
two Shining Angels. This will give the deck 23 monsters, and 37 cards total so far. As stated
previously, the minimum number for cards need to make a main deck is 40. The last three cards
you need to add you did not get from the structure decks, and those are Dark Hole, Heavy
Storm and Monster Reborn. These cards can be obtained very easily for only a couple dollars
and your local card shop or from a friend for free.
Now that you have your deck and it is ready to use, it is time to learn how to actually play the
game. Be sure to familiarize yourself with all the effects of the cards you have in your deck so
you do not miss a play that can be made.
Extra Deck
The Extra Deck is an extra 15 monster cards that are separate from the Main Deck because they
have special condition to be summoned. The 15 cards can be any combination of Fusion,
Synchro, or Xyz monsters. For an Agent deck, you will want to get a few Synchro and a few Xyz
monsters to help the deck. Some of the good Synchros to get are Stardust Dragon, Scrap
Dragon, Black Rose Dragon, Ally of Justice Catastor, and Armory Arm. Some good Xyz
monsters to try to get are Wind-Up Zenmaines, Leviar the Sea Dragon, Number 17: Leviathan,
Number 20: Giga-Brilliant, Gachi Gachi Gantesu, and Daigusto Phoenix. These monsters will
allow you to beat your opponent faster and easier while also opening more options for you.
(Synchro Summoning and Xyz Summoning will be explained in Chapter 3: Learning the Game
Phases). Many players will tell you that a deck cannot be competitive unless you have a fully
Getting Connected to the Game and Building a Deck
19
functioning Extra Deck. These cards have really great effects that can tip the advantage of the
game into your favor in one single move.
Side Deck
An important part of any good competitive deck is a Side deck. This is an additional 15 cards
that can be any card. You can out Effect monsters and Synchro monsters and any other type of
card in the Side deck. The Side deck is supposed to help you be able to beat certain decks that
your deck may have a hard time playing against. The Side deck cars you choose to use should
not hurt your deck in any way, they should only help you beat your opponent. During match
play, or best two-out-of-three, in between duels you will have a few minutes to be able to swap
cards from your Side and Main decks. The cards in each must be the same during each duel, so
if you have 41 cards in your Main deck and 15 cards in your Side deck for the first game, there
must be 41 cards in the Main and 15 in the Side deck for game two and three if it is needed.
Learning the Game Phases
Learning the Game Phases
23
Learning the Game Phases
To start the game you must decide who is going to go first. Many people will roll a die and the
person who rolled highest gets to choose who goes first. Once you and your opponent have
chosen who is going first it is time to start the duel.
Both players pick up five cards from the top of their deck; this is your starting hand. Each
player starts with 8000 Life Points. To win the duel you must reduce your opponents life points
to 0. Once each player has five cards, the player going first takes their turn starting with their
Draw Phase.
Draw Phase
During the Draw Phase, you draw one card from the top of your deck. Also during this phase
you or your opponent may activate a Quick-Play Spell card or a Trap card that has been Set in a
previous turn. Once the turn player draws and no other action is taken, the player moves to the
Standby Phase.
Standby Phase
During the Standby Phase, certain cards may have effects that take place during this phase. As
well as activating any Quick-Play Spell cards or Trap cards that have been previously Set. After
the Standby Phase, the turn player proceeds to the Main Phase 1
Main Phase 1
During the Main Phase is where most of the game takes place. The turn player may Normal
Summon or Set one monster per turn. To Normal Summon a monster, the monster must be
Level 4 or lower; when Normal Summoning a monster it must be placed in Face-Up attack
position and to Set a monster it must be placed in Face-Down defense position. To Normal
Summon a monster that is higher than Level 4 you must Tribute a certain number of monsters
depending on the monster that is being summoned. For Level 5 and 6 monsters you must
tribute 1 monster on the field. And for monsters that are 7 or higher, they require a tribute of
two monsters, unless the card says otherwise. The turn player may also Special Summon as
many times as they want. Special Summons include Fusion Summons, Synchro Summons, and
Xyz Summons, as well has any other Special Summons by card effects.
To Fusion summon a monster you must use a card that says that it will allow you to Fusion
Summon. An example of this card is “Miracle Fusion” and “Polymerization”.
To Synchro Summon a monster, you must have a Tuner monster and the required Non-Tuner
monsters on the field that the Synchro monster requires. For example, to summon Stardust
Dragon, you will need 1 Tuner monster and enough Non-Tuner monsters on your field to equal
Level 8 exactly.
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How to Play Yu-Gi-Oh!
To Xyz Summon a monster you must have to correct monster on the field. For example, to
summon Heroic Champion – Excalibur, you need two Level 4 Warrior monsters on your field.
To summon the Heroic Champion – Excalibur you place one monster on top of the other and
place the Xyz monster on top of those.
The turn player does not have to summon any monsters during the Main Phase 1. They may
activate any Spell cards from their hand and any Trap cards that may have been previously Set.
Once the turn player has completed the Main Phase 1, they enter the Battle Phase, unless it is
the first turn, which you may not attack your opponent during the first turn.
Battle Phase
During the Battle Phase, the turn player may attack their opponent. Only monster that are in
Face-Up attack position may attack. During battle between two monsters that are in attack, the
player that has the monster with the least Attack Points loses Life Points Equal to the difference
in the Attack Points. During battle between a monster that is in attack position and a monster
that is in defense position, no damage is dealt to either player unless the attacking monster has
an ability to do so, or the monster in defense has more Defense Points than the attacking
monster’s Attack Points; this will cause the attacking monster’s owner to lose Life Points equal
to the difference of the two stats. Once battle is complete a player proceeds to Main Phase 2.
Main Phase 2
During the Main Phase 2, you may conduct anything that can be conducted in Main Phase 1.
However if you have already Normal Summoned in Main Phase 1, you may not Normal
Summon a second time during Main Phase 2. Once Main Phase 2 is completed the turn player
enters the End Phase to end their turn.
End Phase
During the End phase, some cards may have effects that resolve. You may also activate QuickPlay spells and Traps that were Set in Prior turns. Once all effects have resolved and are
finished, the turn ends and the next player starts their turn at the Draw Phase taking the same
steps.
Index
25
Index
Battle Phase ................................................ iv, 24
Continuous Spell card .................................... 8
DevPro YGO .................................................. 15
Draw Phase ......................................... iv, 23, 24
effect monsters ................................................. 4
End Phase .................................................... iv, 24
Equip Spell card .............................................. 9
Extra Deck ............................................. iv, 5, 18
Field Spell Card ............................................... 8
Fusion monster ................................................ 5
Main deck ....................................... 6, 15, 16, 19
Main Phase 1 ................................. iv, 7, 9, 23, 24
Main Phase 2 ............................................... iv, 24
Monster Cards............................................... iii, 3
Normal Monster.............................................. 3
Normal Monsters .......................................... iii, 3
Normal Spell Card .......................................... 7
Quick-Play Spell card ............................... 7, 23
Ritual Monsters .......................................... iii, 4
Ritual Spell card .............................................. 9
Spell cards .............................. 7, 8, 9, 18, 23, 24
Standby Phase .......................................... iv, 23
Synchro monsters ..................................... 5, 19
Trap card
Trap cards .................................. 10, 11, 17, 23
Xyz monster ............................................... 6, 24
Yu-Gi-Oh ........................................ 1, iii, v, 15, 18