The Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise is known for its card-collecting games, but these games also incorporate the ideas from the original game.
When the first Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters, came out in 2000, its trading card game swept the world. Yu-Gi-Oh! is the seventh time it has been made. Go Rush!! shows that Yu-Gi-Oh! isn’t about to lose its popularity. And for people who want to get better at the card game, there are a lot of video games to play, like Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel, which is more like the TCG, and Duel Links and Cross Duel, which are more like the real thing.
But if you like TCGs and want to try something new, you might want to give games like Yu-Gi-Oh! a try. These include the TCG that the core trading card game was based on, a game that was based on Yu-Gi-Oh!, and other TCGs with more interesting rules for both seasoned players and newcomers.
Magic: The Gathering (1993)
Magic: The Gathering is one of the most popular trading card games, and it has shown over and over again that simple is best. This game has been on the market since 1993, when its first book came out. Since then, more than 20,000 unique cards have come out in the form of expansions, and tournaments and matches have been held in many different places.
In the game, players take on the roles of Planeswalkers, or wizards who can move between different dimensions. In the Magic: The Gathering CCG, Mana used to draw on the power of different “spells,” which can be Creatures that attack or defend, Sorceries and Instants that give effects, and Artifacts that last a long time. Cards that come out over time can share mechanics thanks to keywords, which makes the game easier to play. Magic is a great game for people who like Yu-Gi-Oh! but want a simpler but still strategic game to play.
Pokemon Trading Card Game (1996)
The Pokemon Trading Card Game is one of the most popular card games based on a video game IP. It was first released in 1996 by Media Factory in Japan and Wizards of the Coast in the US. The Pokemon Company is the current publisher of the CCG. More than 40 billion cards have sold around the world, and booster packs are still catching up with the Scarlet and Violet releases.
At first glance, the core mechanics of the Pokemon Trading Card Game and Wizard’s Magic: The Gathering may look the same, but the Pokemon TCG has more active parts. The main way to win is to collect Prize Cards after Active Pokemon “Knock-outs” (0 HP reduction), but many other parts of the game are based on ideas from the Pokemon video game. These include having Pokemon Types on Energy Cards that can used to “play” other cards, Pokemon Tools and Supporter cards that make Pokemon stronger, Stadium and Trainer cards that can change how the game played, and even the ability to evolve Active Pokemon into stronger versions of themselves.
Hearthstone (2014)
Due to the popularity of Blizzard’s World of Warcraft, it makes sense for spin-off products based on Warcraft lore to come out. Since its release in 2014, Hearthstone has been one of these rare hits. Hearthstone is mostly a digital card game based on the Warcraft MMO’s Hearthstone teleportation stones. It has some similarities to Magic: The Gathering, but moves much faster.
Players make a deck based on their Class, which gives them special Hero Powers and a defining element that tells them how to play. For example, Shamans rely a lot on buffs that come from Totems, while Rogues use quick-play strategies. Players can summon Minions and cast Spells by using the Mana they earn each turn. Spells use keywords that usually refer to specific effects.
Future Card Buddyfight (2013)
Future Card Buddyfight from Bushido is an anime about a card game that starts with a strange premise. Gao Mikado is a Buddyfighter from Earth. His story takes place in Chou-Tokyo, Japan, in the year 2030. He fights with his partner, Buddy Monster Drum Bunker Dragon from the Dragon World, against other Buddyfighters from different Affinity Dimensions to decide the fate of the universe.
The real-life card game Future Card Buddyfight is a big part of the anime. Based on how it works, it seems to be a more kid-friendly take on the Yu-Gi-Oh! idea. Due to the world allegiance theme of Buddyfight, the player’s Buddy Monster and world-specific Flag Card are at the heart of how the game is played. These cards add flavor and special abilities that players can use. Players can use spells and give their Buddy Monsters items, but they can also call in regular Monsters to help them fight. In 2021, Bushiroad stopped both making the game and helping people play it.
Shadowverse (2016)
Cygames is no stranger to making games with different IPs. Their biggest card games were Rage of Bahamut in 2011 and Shadowverse in 2016. Even though Granblue Fantasy is the most well-known game by Cygames, Shadowverse is probably the most well-known digital card game it has made. What might be interesting is how the way it works combines the anime style of Yu-Gi-Oh! with the faster gameplay of Hearthstone.
Shadowverse uses “Play Points” to play “Followers,” which are key monsters, “Spells,” which are quick-action cards, and “Amulets,” which are longer-lasting buffs. The game is unique in that Followers get new effects when they “evolve” during a match. Shadowverse also got an anime series in 2020. The main character, Hiro Ryugasaki, is pulled into card games by the mysterious Shadowverse app on a lost smartphone.
Urban Rivals (2006)
Even though it’s old, Urban Rivals is still a good Yu-Gi-Oh! alternative for people who want a faster-paced game with a different look. The game takes place in the made-up city of Clint City, and players put together teams of characters from different “gangs,” each of which has a bigger stake in the city’s politics. Not only do these characters look like they came from a comic book, but they are also usually based on well-known people and figures from real life.
The main way to play the original Urban Rivals game and its updated version, Urban Rivals World, is for players to choose a card to play against their opponent’s card, with the option to improve it with a limited number of Pillz per turn. Cards also have damage values that are done to the opponent’s Life when they win a battle. The game is over when a player has no more Life left. Urban Rivals matches are very fun for both newcomers and experts in the genre because they move very quickly.
WIXOSS (2014)
What if the whole point of Yu-Gi-Oh! was magical girls? This is the whole idea behind WIXOSS, a multimedia franchise based on the same-named card game. In the 2014 anime series WIXOSS, girls called Selectors play the game with magical fighters called LRIGs. After a few wins, the girls can make a wish. Unfortunately, each anime series shows a darker side of what the WIXOSS games are for. The sequel even puts one’s memories and life on the line.
WIXOSS does have strategic depth beyond its potential for fan service in terms of how it works. The player’s avatar is their main LRIG card, and their special abilities are their Arts cards. These cards are put on separate decks from SIGNIs, monsters you can call up, and the Spell cards that help them. In WIXOSS, the goal of the game is to get rid of all of the other player’s Life Cloth (life points), which are usually protected by Guard cards that are thrown away after LRIG-on-LRIG combat.
Bakugan Battle Brawlers (2006)
Even though the first Bakugan anime aired in 2008, the first line of Bakugan toys came out in 2006. Bakugan made by Sega Toys and Spin Master. The game based on small figures in spheres that are attached to springs and “pop” out when thrown onto metal cards. In the anime, these Bakugan creatures come from the world of Vestroia. Because the beast Naga wants to colonize both Earth and Vestroia, Vestroia and Earth are getting closer together. The anime shows how the main character, Dan Kuso, and his friends, the Bakugan Battle Brawlers, try to save these worlds from Naga by playing “Bakugan,” a game they made up after seeing Vestroia’s Gate Cards fall from the sky.
Bakugan was a hit because of how the little figures could be changed, and the different cards added to the game’s overall strategic feel. In most Bakugan games, the goal is to roll Bakugan into Gate Cards to take them. They can choose to use Ability Cards that connected to their Bakugan. The number of points won determines who wins a match. Even though it’s been around for a long time, Bakugan is still a popular board game. Bakugan: Battle Planet is the newest series to come out with new rules in 2019.
Cardfight!! Vanguard (2010)
Cardfight!! made by Akira Ito and Bushiroad, a company that makes CCGs and TCGs. Surprisingly, Vanguard is still one of the best card games out there. Cardfight!! was first released as a card game in 2010. After its first anime season in 2011, Vanguard became a big hit. In the first series, the main character, Aichi Sendou, goes from being shy to not being shy at all thanks to the card game Cardfight!! Vanguard and “Blaster Blade,” the card that is his calling card. During his time as a fighter, Aichi tries to get better so he can beat his rival, Toshiki Kai. His goal of becoming a better fighter leads him to a professional Cardfight!! He has won tournaments and had powers he couldn’t control.
Even though the franchise led to different anime series with different main characters, Cardfight!mechanics !’s improved at the same rate as Yu-Gi-Oh !’s. At the game’s core, players have a “avatar” called a Vanguard and can call on different Units to fight for them. Each Unit has its own skills and traits. The goal of 8 Ball Pool game is to get the other player’s Damage to zero or to use up all of their cards. Even though the mechanics of Cardfight!! seem complicated, the tactical nature of the game is still appealing to players who want more strategic depth than they get from Yu-Gi-Oh! or Magic: The Gathering.
Duel Masters (2004)
Duel Masters, also called Kaijudo in Japan, became an alternative to Yu-Gi-Oh! for card game fans in the early 2000s. The first idea for Duel Masters made by Takara Tomy and Wizards of the Coast as a joint project to promote the popular card game Magic: The Gathering. Wizards of the Coast didn’t like how the manga was about people “playing” Magic instead of taking place “inside” Magic, so they made a whole new game.
The main character, Duel Masters player Shobu Kirifuda, pulled into an adventure to save the world after finding out that he is one of the few Duel Masters players who can make their monsters come to life. At its core, Duel Masters was based on Magic’s Mana and Keyword systems, but it kept things simple for younger players. Cards can now turned into Mana, and “life points” in Yu-Gi-Oh! now Shields or cards that go back into the hand when they are destroyed. If you hit a player whose Shields are all gone, they will lose the game. Even though it has simple rules, Duel Masters is no longer being made, even though it was tried to be brought back in 2012 and 2014.