For Parents: Organized Play

Frequently Asked Questions About Organized Play

• What Are Organized Play Events?

  There are lots of Organized Play events to choose from, so it may seem tricky to pick the right tournament.

  Most parents begin with the more casual events, and let their child determine what he or she enjoys the most – you know your own child, and best understand his or her interests and social tendencies. Does your child prefer to relax and have fun with friends, rather than focus on serious competition? If so, you should look for Duelist Leagues, small local tournaments, Yu-Gi-Oh! Extravaganza events, and Sneak Peek events that cater to the casual fun of playing the game.

   

• Organized Play Event Information for the Casual Player

  Duelist Leagues are events designed for young and inexperienced players. At a Duelist League event, children and new players of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME get together and play against one another in a short Swiss tournament. Players are never eliminated from a Duelist League tournament, and each participant receives at least one Duelist League promotional card just for playing. These promotional cards are only given out at Duelist League events and feature cards whose card names are printed in different colors, not available in any other product!  Although any child eligible to compete in Dragon Duels may also participate in a Duelist League event, an older player may only participate in an Official Tournament Store’s Duelist League until he or she wins three of that store’s Duelist League tournaments. This helps to keep the tournament environment friendly for young and inexperienced players. Duelist Leagues are the perfect place for children and new players to just relax and have fun. Click here for a list of Duelist Leagues near you!

  Local Tournaments vary in size, structure, length, and level of competition. Some local tournaments run with 8 or fewer players, while others draw several dozen Duelists. Regardless of the size and level of competition, local tournaments always attract players interested in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME. That’s what makes local tournaments perfect for the casual player looking to take his or her game to the next level. While most local tournaments give competitors a structured environment to play in with small prizes at stake, the majority of players who attend are there to hang out, chat, and casually face off against people with a common interest in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME. Click here to find a local tournament for your child to attend!

  Yu-Gi-Oh! Extravaganza events are big events hosted by Konami, run in cities around the world. Normally, Yu-Gi-Oh! Extravaganza events are held in conjunction with other conventions, such as Gen Con, and are comprised of different types of small and short tournaments that are each only a couple of hours in length. Yu-Gi-Oh! Extravaganza events give casual players the perfect opportunity to meet other fans of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME while participating in as many or as few tournaments as they’d like. Tournaments at Yu-Gi-Oh! Extravaganza events award cool prizes including exclusive game mats to winners. Click here to see if there’s a Yu-Gi-Oh! Extravaganza event coming near you!

  Sneak Peek events give players a chance to use upcoming Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG booster sets before their official release date. Participants in each Sneak Peek receive 5 booster packs of a not-yet-released booster set, and use the cards they open in those packs to play against other Sneak Peek participants. Sneak Peeks are extremely casual. Win/Loss records aren’t tracked, there are no set pairings, and time limits aren’t imposed. That makes Sneak Peek events the perfect place for children to meet other Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME players in a casual setting, while adding some brand new cards to their collection. In addition to 5 booster packs, each Sneak Peek participant receives a special promotional card and is entered into a raffle for an exclusive Sneak Peek Game Mat. Click here to see if there’s a Sneak Peek coming near you!

  Does your child take hobbies more seriously, seeking to get better and better through stronger competition? Then you should look for events with a more skilled player base, like Regional Qualifiers, Official Tournament Store (OTS) Championships, and Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series (YCS) events.

• Organized Play Event Information for the Competitive Player

  Regional Qualifiers are much larger than most local tournaments, and generally have tougher competition. Regional Qualifiers attract the top players in the area, so if your child wants to test his or her skills against the best players around, Regional Qualifiers are the perfect place for it. Regional Qualifiers are big tournaments that often have hundreds of participants. Top finishers receive an exclusive game mat, an exclusive Deck box, and an invitation to compete in an even more competitive tournament: The World Championship Qualifier. To learn more about the World Championship Qualifier and the road to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME World Championship, check out the Organized Play section of the New to Yu-Gi-Oh! area. Some Regional Qualifiers also host Dragon Duel tournaments, which are run just like Regional Qualifiers, but restrict entry to younger players. Click here to find a Regional Qualifier near you!

  Official Tournament Store (OTS) Championships are high-level tournaments hosted by specially chosen stores. At OTS Championships, players compete for exclusive game mats and invitations to the World Championship Qualifier. Click here to learn more about OTS Championships and find an OTS Championship near you!

  Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series (YCS) events are big events hosted by Konami, run in cities all around the world. They’re a lot like Yu-Gi-Oh! Extravaganza events, but in addition to holding lots of small tournaments called “Public Events” at each YCS, the main attraction is a gigantic, highly competitive tournament that typically draws between 600 and 2000 competitors. Each YCS spans an entire weekend. The main tournament starts on Saturday morning and continues on Sunday for the competitors who play well enough to advance to the second day of competition. The main YCS event is always intense, requiring victory-hungry participants to play non-stop for long periods of time. The stakes are also high, since top finishers receive popular electronics, extremely rare promotional cards, and other valuable prizes. Even though highly competitive players frequently travel around to compete in YCS events all over the world, each YCS also attracts many casual players, some of whom are new to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME. Many of these casual players participate in the main tournament only for as long as they wish, or take part in short Public Events all weekend. Click here to see if there’s a Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series event coming to a city near you!

• Organized Play Event Information for the Young Player

  Young children sometimes prefer to play the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME only with kids their own age. Dragon Duels make that possible by restricting participation in tournaments to children born after a certain year. If your child is most interested in meeting kids his or her own age and participating in tournaments with his or her peers, Dragon Duels are perfect for your child.

  Dragon Duel events are enjoyed by most young kids, whether or not they have a competitive spirit. At Dragon Duel events, your child will meet other young Duelists with a wide range of skill levels. Whether your child practices playing the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME each week or is brand-new to it, your child will find kids with whom he or she can relate. Dragon Duel tournaments are hosted at all different types of events, including some local tournaments, some Regional Qualifiers, all Yu-Gi-Oh! Extravaganza events, and all Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series events. Young Duelists who excel in Dragon Duel tournaments are invited to compete in the more competitive Dragon Duel World Championship Qualifier. Top finishers in the Dragon Duel World Championship Qualifier win invitations to compete in the most competitive Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG Dragon Duel World Championship. Check out the Organized Play section of the new to Yu-Gi-Oh! area to learn more about Dragon Duels and the road to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG Dragon Duel World Championship.

  Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG Duelists enjoy fun and competition, and most participate in a mix of all that Organized Play has to offer.

• How Can My Child Get Ready to Participate in Organized Play?

  Once you’ve found an event to attend, there are a few things you’ll need to do to help your child get ready. You’ll both enjoy the event much more if you know what to expect and are fully prepared—reading over this section will give you the basic information you’ll need to get the most out of an event.

  If some of the terms seem unfamiliar, you can check out our glossary, which provides a more detailed explanation of these terms.

  What should my child bring to a tournament?

  

  A Deck

  Most tournaments are Constructed events. This means that your child will need to bring his or her own Deck in order to play. A Deck is not just a random handful of cards from your child’s collection – a well-built Deck includes good cards and strategies. In addition, the Deck must meet certain requirements in order to promote fair play. For his or her first Deck, your child will probably enjoy playing one that contains his or her favorite cards, perhaps with some strong cards recommended by other Duelists. You can also purchase a ready-made Starter Deck or Structure Deck that is ready to play right out of the box.

  Most Duelists like to put card sleeves on the cards in their Deck to keep the cards clean and in good shape. Card shops and most other stores that sell trading cards carry these sleeves, as well as Deck boxes in which to store Decks.

  If your child would like to build his or her own Deck, help him or her make sure that the Deck meets all the rules. You can do this by reviewing the Format List page. This format will change periodically to promote new Deck ideas and to keep the game exciting for Duelists. Click here for a link to the Format List page, which will explain which cards your child can use in a Deck.

  Once you find a local Official Tournament Store, you will usually meet a judge, Tournament Organizer, or more experienced player who can give your child some additional assistance with his or her Deck.

  Tournament Supplies

  In addition to his or her Deck, there are a couple of other things your child should bring to an event.

  First, your child should bring a Deck box in which to keep his or her Deck. A Deck box gives your child a place to store all of the cards in his or her Deck, so that the cards in his or her Deck are always together, and don’t get mixed in with the rest of his or her collection.  In a competitive tournament, the Deck that your child is playing with must be kept separate from the rest of his or her collection.

  Second, your child might want to put the cards he or she brings to a tournament in card sleeves. Card sleeves help protect cards from becoming damaged as kids play with them. Although your child doesn’t need card sleeves or a Deck box to play the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME, most players have them, because using a Deck box and card sleeves is the best way for them to protect their cards from getting damaged, especially if they want to trade those cards later.

  Third, your child should bring a pencil and paper. This will allow your child to keep track of each player’s Life Points. Using pencil and paper to keep track of changes in the score will make your child’s games go a lot more smoothly. Instead of using pencil and paper, some kids use a calculator.

  Fourth, your child should bring any Tokens or dice that the cards in his or her Deck may require. Some cards in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME will put special “Tokens” on the field, or will require a player to roll a die. If your child uses any of these cards in his or her Deck, it’s always best to bring Tokens and dice to tournaments.

  Finally, your child should keep all of these things in a bag or backpack which he or she can keep track of easily. For first events, your child doesn’t need to bring every card he or she owns – it can be hard to keep an eye on a lot of possessions at an event, and you don’t want your child to lose anything.

• What Can I Expect After Arriving at a Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME Event?

  Okay, so you’re taking your child to an Organized Play event. What now?

  First off, make sure you arrive before the starting time. If a player arrives late to a tournament, he or she may not be allowed to enter, or may be entered into the tournament with an automatic loss for the first round.

  Secondly, check if your child needs to fill out a registration slip or Deck List. At some local tournaments, your child can participate simply by telling the tournament organizer that he or she would like to play, and paying an entrance fee (if there is one). At many events, however, your child will need to fill out a registration slip before he or she will be entered into a tournament. A registration slip is a small sheet of paper that asks for basic information, like your child’s first name, last name, and birthday. It’s used to help the tournament organizer keep track of who is playing in the tournament, and enter each player into the tournament software.

  

  The registration slip may also ask your child for his or her COSSY ID number. COSSY is the global ranking system for the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME. Your child’s COSSY ID identifies him or her as a Duelist, and lets you track his or her performance in sanctioned tournaments. Your child can get a COSSY ID for free at any Konami Official Tournament Store, or any event that requires Duelists to have a COSSY ID number to participate.

  Depending on the type of event that your child is entering, he or she may need to fill out and submit a “Deck List” before the event, along with his or her registration slip. Deck Lists list every card that is used in a player’s Main Deck, Side Deck, and Extra Deck. They’re most commonly required at Tier 2 events, which are the most competitive Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME tournaments. Deck Lists are used to make sure that a player does not change the contents of his or her Deck throughout the duration of a tournament. For more information about filling out a Deck List, click here.

  

  After all of the players have registered and handed in their Deck Lists (if Deck Lists are required), there might be a Player Meeting. During the Player Meeting, tournament officials talk to all of the players at once to give them important information about the tournament. Players are usually seated alphabetically for the Player Meeting. After the Player Meeting concludes, pairings for Round 1 of the tournament are posted, and the tournament is underway!

  Each table in the tournament hall is usually numbered, and the pairings indicate at which table each player in the tournament will be playing. Have your child find his or her name on the pairings sheet, and then report to the table at which he or she will be playing. Pairings will be posted before every round of the tournament. Your child needs to check the pairings each round to find out where he or she is playing.

  

  Although some parents participate in the same tournaments that their children enter in order to stay as busy as their kids, many parents do not. Most events have an area where parents who aren’t playing can wait for their kids, so bring along something to read or do while your child plays in the event. You can also choose to watch from the side of the tournament to see how your child is doing.

  If you do decide to watch your child play, remember that you cannot interfere in any of your child’s Matches. If you are concerned about something going on during the game, you can always alert a judge, who can investigate. Before the tournament begins, make sure your child knows that he or she is always welcome to call over a judge too, if he or she is concerned about something. You can certainly talk to your child about their Duels when the Match is over, but offering advice or suggestions during the Match is not allowed.

  

  It’s a good idea to stay at the event with your child, at least for the first few events. Remember that store owners and employees or tournament staff cannot be responsible for looking after your child for the duration of the event. Judges and tournament officials are often a great source of information about the tournament and the game in general, but try to hold any questions that aren’t directly related to what is going on during the games until after the tournament is over, so they can stay focused on the event.

• What Can I Do After My Child’s Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME Tournament is Over?

  When the event is over, make sure to celebrate your child’s accomplishments! Congratulate him or her on examples of good sporting conduct, games won, exciting trades, or making a new friend.

  If you talk to your child about each event after the event is over, your child will also be able to learn important life lessons from every event that he or she enters. In all types of competition, it’s important to lose gracefully and be humble in victory. Talk to your child after each competition to make sure that he or she understands this. Players that display good sportsmanship typically have the most fun and make the most friends at Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME events.

  If your child is feeling discouraged by his or her losses in a particular tournament, make sure that he or she understands that it’s impossible to win every time. Even the best Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG player in the world sometimes faces defeat. People must cope with losses in competition throughout their entire lives. A child’s loss at a Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME tournament creates the perfect opportunity for a parent to teach his or her child the importance of brushing aside a loss and moving forward.

  At high levels of competition, the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME requires players to have strong math skills and develop complex strategies in order to succeed. Make sure your child understands that the more he or she practices playing the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME and the more he or she develops his or her math and critical thinking skills, the better he or she will become at the game.

  If your child had a good time and would like to go back, find out about upcoming events and mark them on the calendar.

  If you didn’t participate in your child’s tournament, next time consider joining in the fun! You can always build your own Deck and enter the tournament alongside your child, or become a volunteer at an upcoming event. Many judges and other tournament staff become involved in the game in order to share in their child’s interest.