Local tournaments (“locals”) at your nearby game store are where most players start competing. They’re officially meant to be a friendly place to learn: Konami’s tournament policy says these events “should function as a learning experience for newer Duelists.”
Finding a local tournament
Konami keeps a list of Official Tournament Stores (OTS) for the US and Canada on its website. The free Yu-Gi-Oh! NEURON app also finds nearby stores and upcoming events. Our events page lists the ones we know about too.
Store locals are Tier 1 events, the most casual level of official play. Bigger events like Regional Qualifiers (Tier 2) and the Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series (Tier 3) come later.
Before you go: get a CARD GAME ID
You need a CARD GAME ID to play in official events. Download NEURON and it will create one for you, or link the one you already have. Since April 1, 2026, NEURON is required to register for events at Official Tournament Stores. Link your CARD GAME ID to your KONAMI ID so you never lose it.
What to bring
From Konami’s tournament policy:
- A tournament-legal Deck. Check it against the current ban list.
- Extra card sleeves
- Paper and a pen to track Life Points and fill in match result slips
- Any dice, coins, counters or tokens your Deck needs
- Your CARD GAME ID, personal ID, and the entry fee if there is one
You can use a calculator or NEURON’s calculator to do the math, but both players must also keep a paper record of every Life Point change.
Sleeves
Sleeves are optional at locals but required at Tier 2 and up, and most players use them everywhere. The rules:
- Every sleeve in your Main and Side Deck must be identical in color, wear and design. Your Extra Deck can use different sleeves.
- One card per sleeve, all facing the same way.
- No mirror-like or holographic sleeves, and nothing that hides the card text.
- Worn or damaged sleeves can count as marked cards. Replace them when they start to wear.
How the event runs
- Rounds are 50 minutes, and each match is best of three duels.
- Most locals use Swiss rounds: you’re paired against players with the same record, and you keep playing even after a loss. You can drop out between rounds.
- The number of rounds depends on attendance. For 4–8 players it’s 3 rounds; for 9–16, 4 rounds; for 17–32, 5 rounds. Some events add a top cut playoff, announced before the start.
Starting each duel
- Shuffle your Deck thoroughly in front of your opponent. No sorting or arranging.
- Hand it to your opponent to shuffle. Then you can cut it, and they cut it again.
- Both players count their Side Decks face-down so each knows the size.
- Use an agreed random method, like a die roll or rock-paper-scissors, to decide who chooses to go first. Decide before anyone draws. If the chooser draws first, they automatically go first.
- For duels 2 and 3, the loser of the previous duel chooses.
Side decking
Between duels you can swap cards between your Side Deck and your Main or Extra Deck, one for one, so the counts stay the same. A Main Deck card can’t go into your Extra Deck or the other way around. You have less than 3 minutes to side and shuffle. You can’t side before the first duel of a match, and after each round you must put your Decks back the way they started.
Table etiquette
- Say what you’re doing out loud: phases, activations, targets. Give your opponent time to respond. See How chains work.
- Call a judge if you disagree about a ruling. It’s normal and nobody minds.
- Keep your phone away except for NEURON, and keep it in your opponent’s view while you use it.
- No food or drinks on the play tables.
After the event
Write down what beat you and why. Every loss at locals is information for your next deck change, and most players are happy to talk through the game afterward.