Yu-Gi-Oh! is a two-player card game. Each player starts with 8000 Life Points (LP), and you win by bringing your opponent’s LP to 0. Everything else in this guide is about how you get there.
What you need
- A Deck of 40 to 60 cards (your Main Deck). The official rulebook recommends staying close to 40, because a bigger Deck makes it harder to draw your best cards when you need them.
- An Extra Deck of up to 15 cards. This holds Fusion, Synchro, Xyz and Link Monsters, which you can summon during the game if you meet their requirements. It doesn’t count toward your 40-card minimum.
- A Side Deck of up to 15 cards (optional). After each duel in a match, you can swap cards between your Side Deck and your other Decks. Your Side Deck must have the same number of cards before and after.
- You can have up to 3 copies of the same card across your Deck, Extra Deck and Side Deck combined. Some cards are restricted further by the Forbidden & Limited list.
A coin and a die help for cards that need them. Konami also suggests a calculator to track LP, and matching card sleeves so no card can be identified from the back.
How you win
You win a duel if:
- Your opponent’s LP drops to 0,
- Your opponent has to draw a card and can’t, or
- A card’s effect says you win.
If both players hit 0 LP at the same time, the duel is a draw. A match is best two out of three duels.
Setting up
- Shuffle your Deck. Your opponent may shuffle and cut it, and you may do the same to theirs.
- Show each other your Side Decks and count them face-down to confirm 15 or fewer cards.
- Play rock-paper-scissors or flip a coin. The winner chooses to go first or second. In later duels of the match, the loser of the previous duel chooses.
- Each player draws 5 cards.
The player who goes first cannot draw on their first turn and cannot conduct a Battle Phase on their first turn. Going first lets you set up before your opponent acts. Going second gives you a draw and the first chance to attack.
A turn at a glance
Every turn moves through the same phases in order:
- Draw Phase: draw 1 card.
- Standby Phase: some cards have effects or costs here.
- Main Phase 1: summon monsters, activate cards, Set Spells and Traps.
- Battle Phase: attack with your monsters (optional).
- Main Phase 2: the same actions as Main Phase 1, for anything you haven’t used up.
- End Phase: resolve “during the End Phase” effects. If you have more than 6 cards in hand, discard down to 6.
Our phases of a turn guide covers each one.
The three kinds of cards
- Monsters battle and protect your LP. Many have effects that matter more than their ATK.
- Spells are normally activated during your Main Phase.
- Traps must be Set first and can’t be activated the turn you Set them. Their big advantage is that you can activate them on your opponent’s turn.
See Monster, Spell and Trap cards explained to learn how to read any card.
Summoning
Once per turn you can Normal Summon or Set one monster from your hand. Level 5 and 6 monsters need 1 Tribute, and Level 7 or higher need 2. Special Summons have no limit per turn: Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, Link, Pendulum and Ritual Summons are all Special Summons, and many card effects Special Summon too. Our summoning guide walks through each method.
Battle
Each face-up Attack Position monster you control can attack once per turn.
| You attack… | Your ATK is higher | Equal | Your ATK is lower |
|---|---|---|---|
| An Attack Position monster | It’s destroyed. Opponent takes the difference | Both destroyed. No damage | Your monster is destroyed. You take the difference |
| A Defense Position monster | It’s destroyed. No damage | Nothing is destroyed. No damage | Nothing is destroyed. You take the difference |
If your opponent has no monsters, you can attack directly and they take damage equal to your monster’s ATK.
Responding to your opponent
When a card or effect is activated, the opponent always gets a chance to respond. Responses stack into a chain that resolves in reverse order, last card first. It’s the rule new players find hardest, so it has its own guide: How chains work.
Your first few duels
- Start with a pre-built Deck. It teaches the basics before you have to make deck-building decisions. See Your first deck.
- Read each card slowly. Card text is precise. In the official format, text before a colon (:) is the condition, text before a semicolon (;) is what you do to activate, and the rest happens when the effect resolves.
- Always give your opponent a chance to respond before resolving your card. The rulebook calls this out specifically.
- Learn the phases, summoning and battle first. Combos come later.
When you’re ready to play other people, Your first locals tournament covers what to expect.