Yu-Gi-Oh! Official Card Game

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Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Official Card Game (遊戯王オフィシャルカードゲーム Yugiō Ofisharu Kādo Gēmu), or OCG for short, is the version of the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game manufactured by Konami. It is played mainly in Japan, South Korea, and other parts of Asia including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. The equivalent game outside of Asia is the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game (TCG).

Tournaments[edit]

The OCG and TCG are different card games. TCG cards are not legal in OCG tournaments, and OCG cards are not legal in TCG tournaments. World Championships are a special multi-format tournament in which both TCG and OCG players can compete.

Due to Japanese, Asian-English and Korean cards having different backings, if a player chooses to use a mixture, they must use protective sleeves that cover the back of the cards.

OCG tournaments are divided into three classes: Expert, which has no age restriction; Regular, for senior high school students; and Challenge, for junior high school students.

Since September 2013, the OCG and TCG have had different Forbidden & Limited lists. While there had previously been different lists between the two games early in their history, they had mostly converged up until September 2013.

Regions[edit]

There are several different region prints within the OCG: Japanese (JP), Korean (KR), Asian-English (AE), Traditional Chinese (TC), and Japanese-Asian (JA). Currently, only Japanese and Korean are regularly receiving new prints.

Japanese (JP) cards used to be distributed in all Asian territories, but are now exclusively distributed in Japan by Konami of Japan. Korean (KR) cards are only printed in South Korea, and distributed by Daewon Media. Asian-English, Japanese-Asian and Traditional Chinese cards are distributed in other parts of Asia by Konami of Hong Kong.

Card backing[edit]

Unlike TCG cards (which all use the TCG logo), different regions of OCG cards have different logos on their card backings.

Japanese and Japanese-Asian card backs have a logo containing the Japanese Yu-Gi-Oh! logo (with English Ruby text) and the text Official Card Game Duel Monsters in katakana.
Korean card backs have a Korean Yu-Gi-Oh! logo (with English Ruby text) and the text Official Card Game in English.
Asian-English card backs have a Japanese Yu-Gi-Oh! logo (with English Ruby text) and the text Trading Card Game in English (despite being part of the OCG and not the TCG).

Japanese OCG
Asian-English OCG
Korean OCG

Card layout[edit]

Even though they are OCG cards, Korean and Asian-English cards use the TCG layout and artworks instead of the Japanese OCG's. Traditional Chinese cards follow the same layout and artworks as the Japanese OCG.

Rule revisions[edit]

Official Rules/公式ルール[edit]

These rules were introduced with Vol.1 and were adjusted with the release of the Starter Box: Theatrical Release and Vol.7. They remained in effect until the end of Series 1.

Draw Phase is not conducted on the first turn
Main Deck
Introduction of Normal Monsters
You can Normal Summon monsters without Tribute
Introduction of Magic Cards and Trap Cards
You can only activate/Set 1 Magic or Trap Card per turn
Trap Cards remain on the field after activation unless its effect destroys itself
You may only have 10 cards in your Side Deck
There is no hand size limit
If a match ends with 1 Win and 2 DRAWs, the Match ends in a DRAW
Field Magic Cards are introduced
Only 1 player can control a Field Spell Card at a time
The Fusion Deck and Fusion Monsters are introduced
You can only Fusion Summon with Fusion Materials on the field.
If agreed upon beforehand, you can bet cards and win them during Duels. This also applies to Star Chips.
If a Fusion Monster is bounced, it returns to the hand before returning to the Fusion Deck
You can't activate Quick Effects from your hand (i.e. Kuriboh)

Expert Rules/エキスパートルール[edit]

These rules were introduced in the Official Guide Starter Book on May 5, 1999 and were in effect until the end of Series 1.

Changes:

Introduction of Tributing or "Sacrifice"
Introduction of Tribute Summons known as "Sacrifice Summoning"
Removal of the limit on number of Spell and Trap Cards that can be played per turn
Allowance of selecting Fusion Material from the hand
Allowance of activating Quick Effects from the hand
Introduction of Flip monsters and Effect Monsters
Introduction of FLIP, Ignition, Trigger and Quick Effects

New Expert Rules[edit]

Changes:

Introduction of the Deck out rule
Introduction of the hand size limit
Side Deck size changed from 10 to 15
Scoring 1 win and 2 draws in a Match results in a win, rather than a draw

Master Rules[edit]

The Master Rules were in effect during Series 6 and the beginning of Series 7.

Changes:

Introduction of Synchro Monsters
"Sacrifice" renamed to "Release"
"Sacrifice Summon" renamed to "Advance Summon"
"Fusion Deck" renamed to "Extra Deck"
Main Deck size changed from 40+ cards to 40–60 cards
Extra Deck size changed from 0+ cards to 0–15 cards
Side Deck size changed from 0 or 15 cards to 0–15 cards

Master Rules 2[edit]

The Master Rules 2 were in effect during the end of Series 7 and during Series 8.

Changes:

Introduction of Xyz Monsters
Deprecation of the term "priority" in favor of Fast effect timing

Master Rules 3[edit]

The Master Rules 3 were in effect during Series 9.

Changes:

Introduction of Pendulum Monsters
Addition of Pendulum Zones
Removal of the word "Card" in Zone names
Draw Phase no longer conducted on the first turn
Field Spell Card rule changed to allow each player to have an active Field Spell Card at the same time
Reclassification of Flip effects

New Master Rules[edit]

The New Master Rules were in effect during Series 10.

Changes:

Introduction of Link Monsters
Addition of Extra Monster Zones
Relocation of Pendulum Zones to Spell & Trap Zones

Master Rules (April 1, 2020 revision)[edit]

The Master Rules, revised April 1, 2020, are in effect during Series 11.

Names[edit]

Language	Name	Romanization	Subtitle translation	Language or Region ID
Japanese	遊☆戯☆王（YU-GI-OH!）オフィシャルカードゲームデュエルモンスターズ	Yūgiō Ofisharukādogēmu Dyuerumonsutāzu	Duel Monsters	JP (formerly omitted)
	遊☆戯☆王（YU-GI-OH!） 5D’s（ファイブディーズ）オフィシャルカードゲーム	Yūgiō Faibudīzu Ofisharukādogēmu	Five D’s
	遊☆戯☆王（YU-GI-OH!） ZEXAL（ゼアル）オフィシャルカードゲーム	Yūgiō Zearu Ofisharukādogēmu	Zeal
	遊☆戯☆王（Yu-Gi-Oh!） ARC-Ⅴ（アーク・ファイブ）オフィシャルカードゲーム	Yūgiō Āku Faibu Ofisharukādogēmu	Arc Five	JP (Japan), and JA (other Asian regions)
Korean	유☆희☆왕（Yu-Gi-Oh!） OFFICIAL CARD GAME	Yuhuiwang OFFICIAL CARD GAME		KR (formerly K)
	유☆희☆왕（YU-GI-OH!） 5D’s（파이브디즈） 오피셜 카드 게임	Yuhuiwang Paibeudijeu Opisyeol Kadeu Geim	Five D's
	유☆희☆왕（YU-GI-OH!） ZEXAL（제알） 오피셜 카드 게임	Yuhuiwang Jeal Opisyeol Kadeu Geim	Zeal
	유☆희☆왕（Yu-Gi-Oh!） ARC-V（아크 파이브） 오피셜 카드 게임	Yuhuiwang Akeu Paibeu Opisyeol Kadeu Geim	Arc Five
Asian-English	遊☆戯☆王（YU-GI-OH!） TRADING CARD GAME	YU-GI-OH! TRADING CARD GAME		AE (formerly omitted)
Chinese	遊☆戯☆王（YU-GI-OH!） ZEXAL（ゼアル）公式卡片遊戲	Yóuxìwáng Zearu Gōngshì Kǎpiàn Yóuxì Jau4 hei3 wong4 Zearu Gung1 sik1 Kaat1 pin2 Jau4 hei3	Zeal	TC
Chinese	遊☆戯☆王（Yu-Gi-Oh!） ARC-Ⅴ（アーク・ファイブ）公式卡片遊戲	Yóuxìwáng Āku Faibu Gōngshì Kǎpiàn Yóuxì Jau4 hei3 wong4 Āku Faibu Gung1 sik1 Kaat1 pin2 Jau4 hei3	Arc Five	TC