Yu-Gi-Oh!

**Yu-Gi-Oh!** is a card game published by Konami and made to play in Japan, the United States and many other countries. In the series, Carl and some of his friends and family collect the cards and play with them using Duel Disks rather than play mats like in real life, similar to that of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime series and its spin-offs. Yu-Gi-Oh! cards debuted in Board and Sorcery when Hilda Spellman checks Carl's Hexy-Sack for useful things and decides to play with him using HER cards. It also led to a direct-to-DVD series known as *Carl Cooper: Duel Monsters Masters!*

## How to Play

To play Yu-Gi-Oh!, the players must abide by the following rules:

1. Each player needs their own deck. It can have up to 40 Main Deck cards, and up to 15 Extra Deck cards.
2. Before you begin, separate your Extra Deck monsters from the Main Deck ones. Next, shuffle your main deck really good.
3. Determine who goes first, such as flipping a coin (the characters typically play Monster, Spell, Trap in the series). Whoever goes first cannot attack or draw on their first turn, though!
4. Draw the top 5 cards of your deck for the starting hand. After this, alternate turns with the phases until all 8000 LP (Life Points) are drained, one player decks out or one of them gets disqualified.

## Card Types

The cards come in a variety of types. The color of the cards also determines what kind of card they are.

* **Normal Monsters:** Yellow cards that are summonable/can be Set, butt have no special abilities. Their effect window instead has a flavor text that is just for fun!
* **Effect Monsters:** Orange cards that are summonable/can be Set and have special abilities that change gameplay! Their effect window tells you what to do for their effect.
* **Tuner Monsters:** Tuners can be Normal or Effect Monsters, and are used to combine Levels with non-Tuner monsters (the process is called "tuning") to Synchro Summon Synchro Monsters.
* **Toon Monsters:** Toon Monsters are Effect Monsters that must first be Special Summoned with the Spell "Toon World." They are Special Summoned using the number of Tributes required for a Normal Summon of non-Toon monsters.
* **Union Monsters:** Union Monsters are Effect Monsters that can be played like Equip Spells to certain monsters. They give those monsters new effects when equipped, or can be unequipped and Special Summoned.
* **Gemini Monsters:** Gemini Monsters are Effect Monsters that are treated as Normal Monsters when on the field or in the GY, and gain special abilities when an additional Normal Summon on them is performed.
* **Spirit Monsters**: Spirit Monsters are Effect Monsters that return to the hand when Normal Summoned of flipped face-up during the player's turn. They cannot be Special Summoned.
* **Pendulum Monsters:** Pendulum Monsters can be Normal or Effect Monsters, but have a distinction by being part Spell (symbolized by having green near the bottom). They are Monsters when Summoned, and Spells used for a Pendulum Summon when placed in the first and last Spell & Trap Zones.
* **Ritual Monsters:** Light blue Monsters that require a Ritual Spell to be Ritual Summoned. Unless they have a Nomi Condition, they must first be Ritual Summoned.
* **Spells:** Green cards that can be played right from the hand. They can be categorized as Normal Spells, Continuous Spells, Equip Spells, Field Spells, Quick-Play Spells and Ritual Spells.
* **Traps:** Magenta cards that must first be Set before being used any time and any turn except the turn you Set them in. They can be categorized as Normal Traps, Continuous Traps and Counter Traps.
* **Fusion Monsters:** Purple Extra Deck Monsters that combine (mostly) specifically-listed Fusion Material monsters using the Spell "Polymerization" or another Fusion Summoning spell. Some Fusion Monsters use Contact Fusion, described in the Summoning methods section.
* **Synchro Monsters:** White Extra Deck monsters that are made when a Duelist tunes the Level of their Tuner (or sometimes Tuners) with that of their non-Tuner monster(s) to make these. Some Synchro Monsters can also be Tuners used for an Accel Synchro Summon.
* **Xyz Monsters:** Black galaxy-patterned Extra Deck monsters that are Xyz Summoned when the duelist overlays the required number of monsters whose Levels are equal to that of their Rank (overlaying is represented by not only stacking the Overlay Units on top of each other, but by an Overlay Network emerging and exploding as the Xyz Monster appears). The duelist can then use the Overlay Units (also known as "detaching" the Units) to activate their special abilities.
* **Link Monsters:** Dark blue hexagonal-patterned Extra Deck monsters that are Link Summoned by sending the Link Material from the field to the GY (represented by the monsters turning into cyclones and being set into the Link Arrows while the Link Circuit becomes linked). They have Link Arrows to determine where Pendulum Monsters Pendulum Summoned from the Extra Deck or other Link Monsters can be Special Summoned to. (Fusion, Synchro and Xyz Monsters can be placed in any Main Monster Zone without a Link Monster).

## Trivia

* Carl Cooper (the writer) is a big fan of Yu-Gi-Oh! cards and collects them.
* Each character who appears in the Duel Monsters DVD series has a different ace monster. They will be discussed in their Deck Lists.
* Yu-Gi-Oh! has existed since Egyptian times, and most characters are aware of this.
* Each Duelist in the series speicalizes in at least one type of Summoning.