Yu-Gi-Oh TCG + Video Games!

Hi there everyone.

Today I want to talk about my favourite japanese Trading Card Game!
Yu-Gi-Oh

A very well-known manga and anime-series that has also established it's own Card Game.


Now why do I like this game so much?
IMO it is so much easier to understand and to play than other Trading Card Games, like "The Pokémon TCG" or "Magic: The Gathering".
Of course, it still has a rather complex rule-system when compared to games like "Mau Mau" and friends.
But one should understand the basics quite well quickly and figure out powerful card combinations and due time.

I just like the basic gameplay of this card game.
And I also love the appearance of many of the cards.
(One of my favs being the "Blue-Eyes White Dragon". )


I haven't followed the series for a long time tho, ever since the trash-fest of a plot that the "Yu-Gi-Oh GX" anime eventually turned into.
The sheer freakazoid-plots, that came from that point on, put me off this franchise to an extend.
I only come back to it every once in a while these days.

As such, I am not completely familiar with all the changes that have been made, specifically the inclusion of "Synchro Monsters" and "Xyz Monsters".
But I did my research and know how they work, more or less.


But still, while the anime has turned into trash plot-wise, the trading card game remains solid and enjoyable for me.


If you want to start out with this trading card game, then here are a few links for you.
Official Rulebook V8 (online pdf-file)
http://www.yugioh-card.com/uk/rulebook/3R03803_-_SD21_YGO_RuleBook_EN.pdf

This is the newest version of the Rulebook, featuring all the current basic rules. Including all currently existing Monster Types.
An essential read, if you want to start out.

Yu-Gi-Oh Wikia
http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page

The ultimate Yu-Gi-Oh encyclopedia.
Has intel on EVERYTHING Yu-Gi-Oh-related. Manga/Anime info, characters bio's and TCG-based stuff.
It also has a card-database that lists EVERY Yu-Gi-Oh card in existence and even gives tips on how to use them most effectively.
Be sure to give it a read.



HOWEVER, like pretty much every Trading Card Game, it involves buying Starter Decks and Booster Packs to contuniously boost your decks.
Which is a cash-miller, obviously.

So personally, I do not recommend buying real-life cards. Since it costs way more money and trouble than it's worth.

Instead I recommend buying the "Video Games".
The one closest to current standards and also with the most cards (video games never have every card in existence, due to space limits) is "Yu-Gi-Oh Tag Force 6" for the PSP.


Also, two more unofficial games worth mentioning are "YGOPro" and "Dueling Network"

"YGOPro" seems to be the most solid one in terms of basic gameplay.
But apparently, connecting to other players seems to be really inconvenient.
So I didn't follow it further and as such am unfamilar with how it works.

"Dueling Network" is a 100% online game. That does NOT require a download.
You play it with your web-browser.
The only thing it requires is a register.

And then you can duel others in the network.
You can freely build your decks there.

However, the gameplay, compared to other games, is rather inconvenient.
As you need to do EVERYTHING manually. Wheras in other games, certain things are done automatically.

But even still, the best unofficial YGO-game at this point, with the most solid community it seems.



And that is all that I have to say for now.
If there is any more you wanna know, feel free to ask.

Ya know, I wouldn't mind giving Yu-Gi-Oh another shot with you guys via LackeyCCG. It's a free program for playing trading card games online with all the cards right at your fingertips.

http://www.lackeyccg.com/

Yu-Gi-Oh! plugin: http://www.lackeyccg.com/yugioh/

Let me know here or in the IRC chat if you'd like to enlighten me on the fine arts of dueling

In all honestly, lackeyccg looks even more inconvenient than Dueling Network, since there is no field and you have to position the cards manually it seems.

So I'd either go for Dueling Network or YGOPro.

However, YGOPro looks like the better solution, since it is automatic AND you can even freely choose opponent via programs like hamachi and stuff.

YGOPro requires a download tho. But I just assume that this is no problem for you.

Hmm, I think I'd prefer a local software client, honestly. =P Once I've read over the rules, I'll see if YGOPro works well under WINE on Linux. ^_^ From what you've told me on IRC, this beats the Pokemon Trading Card game at everything it does.

All this is definitely new to me, but interesting nonetheless. XD And I'll bookmark that Yu-Gi-Oh wiki for later reference, it looks handy. ^^ New things FTW!

Glad to know.


Tho I think we need to resort to Hamachi + LAN, if you want to play privately.
But I don't think this will be a problem.

Alright, I have the links up now.
I had to split it into 5 parts, due to the size limit of MediaFire.

YGOPro Download links (newest version at this point):
Part 1: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?vaqi0b0mngv37bs
Part 2: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?dqmva49iufnqv3p
Part 3: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?8dd7pw9h8761xui
Part 4: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?58p2r4t0qjbx7kv
Part 5: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?b88yngt6bq1jqqz

Just download all of the parts and start unpacking with the first part.
It should unpack everything then.

Please give me feedback on whether or not this works.

If not, I can try sendspace.


If that doesn't work either, then I am afraid you will have no choice but to resort to the download-link that the official page gives you.
Which might have everything in just one package, but also downloads EXTREMELY SLOW.
So be prepared to download for an hour or two, if you do.

I'm happy to report the links, and the game inside it, work quite well right out of the box. YGOPRO even works great under WINE with the anti-aliasing set to 0! It's UI is fast, intuitive, and looks easy on the eyes. On either Linux or Windows, it runs great for me, I love it. ^^

To anyone who extracts it, it has nearly 18,000 files, because of all the game card images and LUA scripts, so make sure you're not doing anything else on the desktop while it's doing its thing. It shouldn't be hard on your system unless you're installing it to a flash drive; I'm not sure what it would do to your poor flash memory's partition, but the game is portable nonetheless; no installing required.

Got YGOPro and Hamachi downloaded, I'd say I'm ret-2-go on my end.
I've had a quick look at the rules, and once I get to finishing the starter deck I'm putting together, perhaps we can start arranging duels in the IRC chat

Looking forward to that, Nai. ^^ That reminds me, I've got to put together some better decks myself too, Paragon was epicly creaming my beginner deck in every way you could imagine earlier tonight. XD Ojama's are king, that's for sure. =P

Glad we have you aboard too, Nai.
But be warned. you will need some good cards and strategy to beat my decks.

Ojama's are king, that's for sure. =P

LOL.
Not to mention they are humor-oriented characters.
Especially in the anime.

Gotta thank Yoshi and Luke once more for showing me the ropes (even though the Ojama strangled me with said ropes ).
I was definitely surprised by how smooth and easy YGOPro handled everything, and I wouldn't mind dueling again in the future once I've spent a little more time refreshing myself with the rules and experimenting with more cards

Okay this one can be important to implement.
YGOPRO-PLAYER, PLEASE READ!!!

There is a bug in the latest version, which, for some reason, makes Synchro- and Xyz-Monsters unsummonable.
Even if you meet the requirements, the Extra Deck won't trigger them as summonable.
Ýou simply CAN'T summon them in the latest version.

There is no official bugfix for this now.
However, there is a little workaround.

You simply have the replace the "pics" and "script" folder, with the ones from the previous version.

I uploaded those files to Mediafire.
DOWNLOAD-LINKS!!!
Part 1: http://www.mediafire.com/?7hw6mk37x6ew2n4
Part 2: http://www.mediafire.com/?glbm0y4fbaz49oa
Part 3: http://www.mediafire.com/?ae8ndrdei05xr67
Part 4: http://www.mediafire.com/?a721akc6e95g2u3

Unfortunately, as you can might tell by the number of parts, this involves downloading ALL card-images and script-files from that previous version.
Which are both the biggest and the most files.

Plus, you'd have to forfeit the two latest cards that were added the game.
But then again, I don't think it's much of a loss.


So if you want to be able Synchro and Xyz Summon, replace those folders.
(But be sure to make backups!)

Interesting, I didn't know this was a problem. #_# Are you sure the image files have to be replaced too? And it's not game-breaking if other clients don't have these files like another player, is it? I have a lot of questions swirling around in my head from all the files that'd have to be replaced, this is almost funny. XD

If it's not necessary for everyone to update their files, as in only affecting their ability to use the cards, then I'll hold off on updating to these until I'm experienced enough to handle Xyz and Synchro monsters to begin with. I'm barely fighting off Paragon's decks as it is. =P

Nai255 wrote:(even though the Ojama strangled me with said ropes )

I know what you mean from experience! Ojamas are pure trolls. XD

.Luke wrote:Are you sure the image files have to be replaced too?

By the looks of it, yes.
Since the previous version also had some anime-exclusive cards, that were omitted in the newest version.

And it's not game-breaking if other clients don't have these files like another player, is it?

That I cannot say, unfortunately.
Though I figure there might be some problems, if people with the "bugfix" would play a card that is not in the newest version.
But as long as we don't use those cards, we might be fine.
I cannot say for sure though...

If it's not necessary for everyone to update their files, as in only affecting their ability to use the cards, then I'll hold off on updating to these until I'm experienced enough to handle Xyz and Synchro monsters to begin with. I'm barely fighting off Paragon's decks as it is. =P

Okay. Fair enough.

I know what you mean from experience! Ojamas are pure trolls. XD

Now I would've posted an Ojama-Trollface image. Unfortunately I couldn't find one.
But I think the faces of Ojama Yellow and the Ojama King are as trollface'ish as they can get.

If me not updating my client's files breaks the game, we'll find out tomorrow for sure. XD I'm sure you won't have any problems using it on your end, though, if it only breaks the ability to simply summon the cards onto the playing area.

Paragon-Yoshi wrote:Now I would've posted an Ojama-Trollface image. Unfortunately I couldn't find one.
But I think the faces of Ojama Yellow and the Ojama King are as trollface'ish as they can get.

Haha, you just gave me the most evil idea for my next meme. (Unless you want to do it? > : D)

I got my trollface on now!:

You've just triggered my troll card!



But seriously, I'm enjoying my time with the game so far and appreciate you guys being patient with me as I continue to grasp the basics. I'm gonna work on more decks over the course of this week. As Yoshi's shown me, there seem to be a lot of unique strategies to take towards the road to victory, and I look forward to testing them out soon