Card Number
| Card Number | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||
| Japanese |
カードナンバー | ||
| Japanese (romanized) |
Kādonanbā | ||
| English |
Card Number | ||
| |||
A Card Number (Japanese: カードナンバー Kādonanbā) is the code found on most OCG and TCG cards, intended to denote the set from which the card originated, its position in that set, the region the card was printed for, and the language the card was printed in.
Card Numbers were introduced in the OCG with Series 2, though several cards have been printed since then without a Card Number.
Contents
OCG/TCG
On most cards, the Card Number is located immediately underneath the artwork, on the right side. Card numbers on Pendulum Monsters are placed in the bottom left corner of the card instead, in line with the ATK/DEF values, as the Pendulum Effects and the Pendulum Scales take up the space where the card number would usually be placed. On Link Monsters, card numbers are moved slightly left of their normal position to allow room for the bottom-right Link Arrow.
Format
The general format for card numbers is "AAAA-RR###", where "AAAA" is the two- to five-character set abbreviation, "RR" is the one- or two-letter region code, and "###" is the set position number.
Set abbreviation
The set abbreviation[1] is normally four characters (either letters or digits). Normally the first two characters are letters, but there are sets for which this is not the case.
- In Series 2, cards use two-character set abbreviations.
- In Series 3, cards use three-character set abbreviations. Some TCG sets have prefixes that differ between languages.
- In Series 4, cards use three-character set abbreviations. They no longer vary between TCG languages.
- From Series 5 onward, cards use four-character set abbreviations.
- Two-character abbreviations were generally limited to Series 2 cards, with two exceptions: the Korean release of Hidden Arsenal: Special Edition, released in September 2011, used the abbreviation "HA"; and Boss Duel Decks, which were distributed to stores in Japan in mid-2014, used the abbreviation "BD".
- Only a single card has been printed with a Card Number containing a five-character set abbreviation: the Duel Art Campaign promotional card "Holactie the Creator of Light", with card number YGOPR-JP001.
Region code
The region code is normally two letters. They were introduced in Series 3, the first series to be released outside of Japan. In Series 3, North American English and Japanese sets do not use region codes, while all other regions use single-letter codes. From Series 4 onward, all regions use two-letter region codes.
Uniquely, the Booster Pack Collectors Tin 2003 and Booster Pack Collectors Tin 2004 promotional cards use the single letter "J" for a Japanese card.
| Region | 1-character code | 2-character code |
|---|---|---|
| Worldwide English | — | EN |
| North American English | none | — |
| European English | E | — |
| Australian English/ Oceanic English |
A | — |
| French | F | FR |
| French-Canadian | C | — |
| German | G | DE |
| Italian | I | IT |
| Portuguese | P | PT |
| Spanish | S | SP |
| Japanese | none | JP |
| Japanese-Asian | — | JA |
| Asian-English | none | AE |
| Korean | — | KR |
| Traditional Chinese | — | TC |
| Simplified Chinese | — | SC |
Set position number
The set position number is normally three digits. The main exception is Series 2 sets, which instead used two-digit set position numbers
For most sets, this is a number that starts at 001, with all numbers up to the highest number corresponding to a card; some sets also include a card numbered 000. Closely related sets that share a prefix, or set with multiple subsets within them (such as Yugi's Legendary Decks), will often replace the first character of the set position number with a letter (different for each set or subset), and number each set or subset separately.
For series of promotional cards, such as magazine promotional cards, instead each new release will use a number one higher than the last promotional card to be released.
Some promotional cards and bonus cards use letters as the first one or two characters to indicate their status as such. (Replacing the first character with "S" is common.) Token Cards will often use TKN as their entire set position number.
The K Series cards appended a capital letter "K" to their set position number, e.g. a print of "Elemental HERO Flame Wingman" had the Card Number TLM-EN035K.
Cards printed without a Card Number
Several cards have been printed without a Card Number since Series 2, often in the same set as cards which did have a Card Number. Many of these have been reprints of cards from Series 1, using the Series 1 layout.
The Ticket Cards have never been printed with Card Numbers, and have always been printed with the Series 1 layout, even for their TCG prints.
| Set | Cards | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" 20th Anniversary Silver Edition | "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" | Printed with the Series 1 layout |
| "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" 20th Anniversary Gold Edition | ||
| 25th Anniversary Ultimate Kaiba Set | ||
| Yugi's Uncut Card Sheet promotion | "Slifer the Sky Dragon" | Korean set; printed with the Series 2 layout; this was the first time this card was printed without a Card Number |
| Duel Overload | Oversized cards printed using a special manga-themed layout | |
| 20th Anniversary Duelist Box | Printed on stainless steel using the Series 1 layout; only included in the Japanese print of the set | |
| "Dark Magician Girl" Special Card | "Dark Magician Girl" | Printed on stainless steel using the Series 2 layout; this was the first time this card was printed without a Card Number |
| "Dark Magician" Special Card | "Dark Magician" | Printed on stainless steel using the Series 1 layout |
| Animation Chronicle 2023 | "Right Arm of the Forbidden One" | Printed with the Series 1 layout |
| Terminal World | "Left Arm of the Forbidden One" | Printed with the Series 1 layout |
| World Premiere Pack 2023 | "Right Leg of the Forbidden One" | Printed with the Series 1 layout |
| Duelist Pack: Duelists of Explosion | "Left Leg of the Forbidden One" | Printed with the Series 1 layout |
| Premium Pack: The Legend of Duelist Quarter Century Edition | Reprinted all 10 cards from Premium Pack and all cards distributed during the Legend in Tokyo Dome tournament, all using the Series 1 layout | |
| Legendary "Black Luster Soldier" GET Campaign | "Black Luster Soldier" | Normal Monster prize card version of "Black Luster Soldier", printed with the Series 1 layout |
| Masterpiece Series: Platinum Blue-Eyes White Dragon | "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" | |
| Masterpiece Series: Platinum Dark Magician | "Dark Magician" | |
| Stainless Steel Egyptian God Cards | English set; printed on stainless steel plates with their manga artworks and English manga names and texts; this was the first time "Obelisk" and "Ra" were printed without Card Numbers |
Yu-Gi-Oh! Rush Duel
Yu-Gi-Oh! Rush Duel cards prefix the card number with "RD/", as in RD/KP01-JP000 ("Blue-Eyes White Dragon"). Otherwise, Card Numbers have the same structure as TCG/OCG cards.
Other media
Card numbers are not featured in the anime or manga. Most video games do not feature the OCG/TCG-style card numbers, though almost all of them do number cards sequentially (see Comparison of video game card numbers (by number)).
Bandai's Official Card Game
Card Numbers are used in Bandai's Official Card Game. Almost all Bandai cards only have a number, without any abbreviations or letters.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Dungeon Dice Monsters
Card Numbers are used in Dungeon Dice Monsters. These consist of a two-character, alphanumeric set identifier, a hyphen-minus, and a two-digit set position number, e.g. ST-00 ("Monster Lord").
Japanese set identifiers were often reused in the English version of Dungeon Dice Monsters, and some of them were also later used in Series 2 of the OCG, meaning many of the Card Numbers used in Dungeon Dice Monsters were ultimately used for several different cards. For example, the Card Number B1-01 was used for "Darkfire Dragon" in the Japanese set Booster 1, for "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" in the English set Dragonflame, and for "Ryu-Kishin" in the Japanese OCG set Booster R1.
| ID | Japanese | English |
|---|---|---|
| ST | Starter Box | Starter Set |
| B1 | Booster 1 | Dragonflame |
| B2 | Booster 2 | Forbidden Powers |
| B3 | Booster 3 | Ultimate Wrath |
| B4 | Booster 4 | Iron Guardians |
| B5 | Booster 5 | Summoned Fury (unreleased) |
| B6 | Booster 6 | Magnetic Storm (unreleased) |
| B7 | Booster 7 | — |
