Yu-Gi-Oh!

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Yu-Gi-Oh! (Japanese for "King of Games") is a long-running multimedia franchise that had spawned a line of Collectible Card Game, Animanga series, Video Games, and a lot more.

The franchise started out as a manga by Kazuki Takahashi back in 1996 about the adventures of Yugi Muto, a game-loving high school student whose life was changed forever after he completed a mysterious ancient Egyptian artifact called the Millennium Puzzle. The story involves Yugi and his friends partaking in high-stake games as they unravel the mystery behind the artifact and the dark secrets surrounding it. While showcasing multiple games at first, the story would later focus mainly on the card game "Magic & Wizard" and its ties to ancient Egypt.

While the original manga had ended long ago, the franchise proved to be popular enough to keep on going, even outside of the original continuity. Works in this franchise are:

Anime and Manga

Yu-Gi-Oh! (1996)

The original manga by Kazuki Takahashi, telling the story of Yugi and his friends as they take on various games to uncover an ancient mystery.

Yu-Gi-Oh! (1998)

The first anime series, helmed by Toei. It adapted the first 7 volumes of the original manga.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (2000)

Probably what you're looking for; the second anime series, and also what most people know today.

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (2004)

The first proper anime spin-off and a direct sequel to Duel Monsters, taking place a few years after its ending and starring Jaden Yuki.

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's (2008)

The second anime spin-off set in the far future of the Duel Monsters continuity, starring Yusei Fudo and card games on motorcycles. It's also the last anime spin-off series to continue building up the narratives set by Duel Monsters.

  • Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's (2009): A manga adaptation of 5D's. Just like with GX, it utilizes the same characters, but with a radically different plot.
  • Yu-Gi-Oh!: Bonds Beyond Time (2010): A movie made to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Duel Monsters, it's a Bat Family Crossover between the protagonists of Duel Monsters, GX and 5D's.

Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL (2010)

The third spinoff of Duel Monsters, and the first standalone one. Starring Yuma Tsukumo and Astral, as they embark in a quest to gather the mythical "Number" cards to regain Astral's lost memories. Unlike GX and 5D's before it, ZEXAL's manga was actually published before its proper anime aired, making it the franchise's first inversion of Anime First since the original 1996 manga.

  • Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal (2011): The anime version of ZEXAL, it follows mostly the same main cast and core plotline with some divergence from the manga.
  • Yu-Gi-Oh! D Team ZEXAL (2012): A standalone manga adaptation intended to introduce younger audience to the card game, with less rule-screwing and more chibified characters.

Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V (2014)

The fourth anime spin-off starring one Yuya Sakaki, a dueltainer with a dream to make people smile through dueling. Despite being a standalone anime like Zexal before it, it has a tendency to make indirect references and homages to the previous anime series.

  • Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V (2015): A manga adaptation of ARC-V. Continuing the tradition, it has most of the ARC-V anime cast under a very different story.
  • Yu-Gi-Oh! The Strongest Duelist Yuya (2015): A manga adaptation in the vein of D Team ZEXAL, it has a simpler premise intended for younger audience and presents the card game the way it's played in real life.

Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS (2017)

The fifth anime spin-off starring ordinary-student-slash-professional-hacker Yusaku Fujiki in his journey to unravel the secrets involving his Mysterious Past and the enigmatic Cyberse World.

Yu-Gi-Oh! OCG Structures (2019)

A standalone manga that focuses on regular people playing the the card game normally. Just like D Team ZEXAL and The Strongest Duelist Yuya before it, it greatly focuses on presenting the card game as it's seen in real life. Unlike those two, this manga has a cast of completely original characters spearheaded by Shoma Yusa and mostly panders toward the more competitive crowd.

Yu-Gi-Oh! SEVENS (2020)

The sixth anime spin-off starring Gadgeteer Genius Yuga Ohdo as he fight to bring the fun back in dueling through his invention, the "Rush Duel" format. Unlike the previous anime spinoffs that were used to promote the mainline card game, SEVENS instead focuses on promoting the Rush Duel line.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Rush Duel LP (2021)

A standalone manga starring Taiyo Asobe. It functions similar to OCG Structures, but covers the Rush Duel sub-series instead of the Official Card Game.

Konami's Card Game

For the card game that most people know, as well as products that directly derive from it.

Yu-Gi-Oh!

The famous trading card game released by Konami, and probably the main reason you're here. Called the "Official Card Game" in Asian territories, and the "Trading Card Game" everywhere else.

Duel Terminal

An arcade machine that dispenses, and can be used to scan, specific Yu-Gi-Oh! trading cards to play. It was intended to introduce the audience to the then-new Synchro Summoning method in a more closed environment. Cards dispensed from the machine are illegal for official matches, although legal variants of those would later be released to the official game.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Rush Duel

An Actionized Sequel of sorts to the trading card game. It follows a different set of rules that emphasized high-speed and explosive plays. Has separate lines of products dedicated to it; cards made for this game are incompatible with the OCG, and vice-versa.

Other Real Life Games

Yu-Gi-Oh! (Carddas Version)

The card game based on the first anime series, released by Bandai.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Dungeon Dice Monsters

A dice-based tabletop game that's wholly different from the trading card game.

Video Games

All entries are grouped by series, and then by original release date.

Monster Capsule series (1998~2000)

Notable for being the first Yu-Gi-Oh! video game series ever, this series featured an expanded version of the "Capsule Monster Chess" game from the then-ongoing manga. Take note that despite also being based on the "Capsule Monster Chess", Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monster Coliseum mentioned below isn't directly related to or part of this series.

Duel Monsters series (1998~2003)

Konami's first attempts at making video games based on the pre-OCG rules of then-ongoing manga, which can be seen through many rule differences from the OCG, in particular in the first four entries of the series.

True Duel Monsters series (1999~2002)

Another attempt at a video game series based on the pre-OCG manga rules. The first of the series, Forbidden Memories, was heavily based on Duel Monsters II: Dark Duel Stories in terms of mechanics and card pool, but the similarities end there, and the series diverged both plot-wise and gameplay-wise. The second and third entries both feature gameplays that differ greatly from the OCG, with The Duelists of the Roses featuring tactical RPG elements and The Falsebound Kingdom featuring JRPG and Real-Time Strategy gameplay elements.

World Championship series (2003~2011)

A series of OCG-based video games, first appearing as a Truer to the Text offshoot/follow-up to Stairway to the Destined Duel above before splitting into its own branch focusing on presenting OCG-accurate gameplay. They are the "big boys" of Yu-Gi-Oh! video games during their era, being lauded for their accuracy to the real-life card game and being used for official sanctioned tournaments.

Power of Chaos series (2004)

Among the first games in the franchise that feature 100% TCG-compatible rules, each game in the Power of Chaos series pits the player against a single iconic character from the Duel Monsters anime. Players start with a humble collection of cards to build their deck from, and subsequent wins against the CPU grants the player additional cards.

Online series (2005~2009)

A series of "official Yu-Gi-Oh! card game simulators", these are Konami's first attempt at online sims where players can grind for and/or purchase virtual cards and face other players through the internet. While the series had officially been discontinued, official online sims are still released as of 2021, with Master Duel mentioned below.

Tag Force series (2006~2015)

Arrived alongside the second era of the franchise, the Tag Force series continued being faithful to the established OCG rules. Additionally, this series officially introduced the Tag Duel (2v2) format.

Standalones and other games

See also the drinking game.

And yes, this is the same Yu-Gi-Oh! that spawned Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series.

If you see a link to this page that isn't referring to the series as a whole, please change it to a matching page. If you want to make a red-linked entry a page, go for it! If you can't find a certain entry about the franchise on the list, feel free to add it!