Middle America's Worldview

Since my daughter seems to be getting more interested in Yu-Gi-Oh, I figured I better analyze it.

As a former Magic Card player (more than 10 years ago), I can see similarities. The Yu-Gi-Oh, has some distinct differences that, I believe, helps drive its continued success. There is an actual storyline where the kids or adults follow. This is propelled mainly in the cartoon but also in comic and books. Since I have not read any printed material on this game, I can only base my analysis on the cartoon aspect of the subject.

The creator of the Yu-Gi-Oh phenomenon was created by Kazuki Takahashi.
Some history of Kazuki Takahashi can be found here.

The cartoon is 30 minutes in length. However, if you take in consideration the following it’s more of 20 minutes. The first 3-4 minutes comprise of a recapture of what happened in the prior cartoon, commercials, ect. Also I noticed a lot of verbage or talking in the cartoon. So I suspect the story line is only roughly 6 minutes per episode. The main theme is comprised of the duel. There is at least one major duel per episode (from what I have seen). This does too things; brings action to the game and introduce new cards to the audience. This is a great marketing tool for Bandai.

The card game itself is a strategic game, similar to chess. The two opposing foes battle it out by the cards in their deck (which they themselves create by buying the different cards) and how they play it. However, unlike chess, this is more of a visual battle with many many possible sentries. Note also rather than the king on the board in chess, you play the king and your life points pulls you into the game more so. There is a feeling of the player being more part of the game. One of the chief things I see where Bandai did right compared to the Magic cards is the strength of the cards. I noticed that Magic cards continued to go upwards in strength. After awhile the buyer gets tired of the race for newer and stronger cards. There is only so much you can reach. Bandai, however, limits the strength, but expands the cards horizontally. They create more cards for the buyer, but in such a way to allow more strategy in play, rather than power and strength. Note this is also a statement from Yu-Gi-Oh, in the cartoon as well. “There is more in the cards than strength and power.”

I have not played the game myself. This is only a brief synopsis of a dad trying to understand what drives my kids in this subject.

Conclusion: Yu-Gi-Oh’s drive is two fold. It has a storyline that pulls you into the subject and there is an element of power when you strategically beat an opponent in this game.

You can purchase Yu-Gi-Oh from Amazon.com here.