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What is Yu-Gi-Oh?
Please visit our Story Line page to
gain a quick understanding of the game's story line and our
Yu-Gi-Oh
Cards Explained page for a brief overview of the cards.
Should I Purchase Yu-Gi-Oh for My Children?
Two general types of questions surround purchasing Yu-Gi-Oh. The first type
are specific to this game, the second are general questions surrounding the
purchase of toys, use of time, etc.
- Is it the proper age level for my child?
Most Yu-Gi-Oh products are marked for a specific age level.
Although the starter sets are often labeled for kids 4 to 10 years,
you need to remember it has about a 35 page instruction manual.
Young kids can enjoy looking at the cards, but if they are not
pretty unusual kids, the game is going to be above them. It is
probably more appropriate for 8 and up. Most kids are probably
9 and up.
- Is the content appropriate for my child?
The Japanese versions of Yu-Gi-Oh (at least the early ones) were a bit racy and included
some concepts that might not be appropriate for some children. U.S.
versions have been sanitized by the licensees to remove any inappropriate
content. We do not think many parents would have trouble with the current content,
but encourage you to make your own informed decision.
- Is the game's Story Line appropriate for my child?
Please visit our Story Line Page to
gain a quick understanding of the story line. We do not think many families
would have problems with the story line. Plus, it is not really in the forefront
during play. The story line just sets the background and play focuses on
dueling with the cards.
- Is it a good use of my or my child's money and time?
That is a tougher question. We think children should understand the
value of time and money. The money question comes down to alternatives,
do they need other things worse or should they be saving the money?
That is a question for discussion by you and them.
Plus we suggest you set some sort of total spending budget for
the game, otherwise they may be thinking about buying a lot of
card packs in the future. This game has one thing going for it in that
respect. It is more based on strategy than on the cards you assemble.
Similarly for time. We do not think it a great idea to have your children
spend every waking hour doing any one thing. You may need to exercise some
time controls. On the other hand, you have the possibility they will rapidly
tire of Yu-Gi-Oh and get little use for your or their hard owned money.
To date, it appears many have stayed with the game. The major U.S.
marketing arm is the same group the promoted Pokemon. The game
is still going very strong in Japan. It would appear the game will have
some staying power in the U.S., but you never know.
- Is this game familiar to any game my children may have played
before or that I may have seen before?
Yu-Gi-Oh is somewhat similar to Pokemon. It is more complex than Pokemon.
Plus while Pokemon emphasized collecting ALL the monsters, Yu-Gi-Oh
emphasizes strategy (hopefully easier on the pocketbook).
- Yu-Gi-Oh involves frequent addition and subtraction (attack and defense ratings)
which might slightly help your children in that area (if they play the game with out a
calculator). But overall, its value as an educational toy is probably minimal.
- The game is played reasonably quietly (involves some strategy) compared
to many other games for this age group.
- Like Pokemon, part of Yu-Gi-Oh's attraction to teens is it creates a secret world beyond
their parents, complete with its own language and terms.
- The cards are moderately durable and there are no small parts to lose.
But, under heavy play the cards will wear. You might consider getting some card
protectors, especially if you have younger children.
- The game console versions, Forbidden Memories (Play Station) and The Eternal Duelist
Soul (Gameboy), are reasonable substitutes for the card game and keeps your kids from continuing
to spend money on cards forever (allows play on a known budget). Most find the console
games a bit more confusing than the trading card version. But if your family already has a
game machine, you can just rent a game and see if the kids like it. Then buy the game if
they do. One plus for the console versions are they can be use for single person play.
- If you children do play the game, you may also lose them to the TV show. In addition
to time spent playing the game, the younger kids will probably also want to watch the
Warner Brothers Yu-Gi-Oh show which is now (Fall 2002) on daily at 4:30 pm in our area.
In terms of violence, its all animation, but the TV show certainly conjures up more violence
than the trading card game does. The TV show focuses on monster fights and the
struggles of Yugi. While once you play the game several times, it becomes more of
a strategy card game, than fighting monsters (at least for the older crowd).
The topics above might make for a good parent child discussion before
purchasing significant amounts of Yu-Gi-Oh products.
As an Associate of Amazon Book, we sell many Yu-Gi-Oh items. If you do decide to
purchase Yu-Gi-Oh products, we would be honored if you would consider purchasing them
from our Yu-Gi-Oh Store.
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