How Do You Know What Cards to Combine Together in Yu-Gi-Oh!?

Stack the Yu-Gi-Oh cards in a deck. Shuffle and cut the deck. Place the deck face down on the game mat. Then flip a coin to decide who goes first; the winner of the toss can decide who goes first.

Draw five cards from the top of the deck.

Draw a card from the deck to start the Duel Phase. Notice the different types of cards in your hands. Monster cards are yellow and orange and are used to attack your opponent and reduce his or her Life Points from 8000 to zero. Green cards are spell cards and contain instructions. The purple cards are trap cards that also have instructions to decrease your opponent's chances of destroying your monster.

Summon or draw one monster card from the five cards that were drawn in order to begin the Main Phase 1. Look in the right hand corner of the monster card for one that has four stars or below; you can draw one of these monsters. A monster card with five stars and up can only be summoned once one of your monsters has already been sent to the graveyard.

Place the card horizontally face down if you want the card to be in Set Defense position; monsters in this position will protect your Life Points from attacking monsters. If the monster has low Attack Points, place it in Defense Position. This means that if your opponent's monster summons a monster with Attack Points higher than your Defense Points, those points can't be deducted from your total Life Points. You can also place the monster on the mat face up and vertical to signal that it is in Attack Position if you are confident in your monster's number of Attack Points.

Remove one of the spell or trap cards from the deck and set it face down in one of the spell or trap zones. If the card is in Defense mode, place a spell or trap card that will allow you to counter an attacking monster.

Allow the opponent to draw five cards from the top of the deck. The game now enters the Draw Phase.

Allow your opponent to draw one monster card from his or her hand in the Standby Phase and place it on the mat. The opponent must choose a level 4 or lower monster and place it either face up to attack or face down.

Allow your opponent to remove one of his or her spell or trap cards from the deck and set it face down in one of the spell or trap zones. If the card is in Defense mode, place a spell or trap card that will allow you to counter an attacking monster.

Flip any monster cards on the board face up. You should do this if any were face down.

Calculate the damage. If the opponent's monster card has more Attack Points -- located in the bottom-right corner of the card -- than yours, that monster is destroyed. Destroyed monster cards must remain face up in the graveyard section of the game mat. Take note that no Life Points are taken from you if the monster was in Defense mode. If the first player's monster's Attack Points are higher, subtract the difference of the Attack Points from his or her total Life Points. For example, if your monster has 1600 Defense Points and the opponent's monster has 1300 Attack Points, subtract 300 Attack Points from the opponent's total Life Points. Nothing happens if both monster Attack Points are equal.

Flip over the spell or trap cards. You or your opponent can keep your monster card by flipping over a spell or trap card that is more powerful than the monster. For instance, the Dimensional Prison trap card allows you to remove the attacking monster from play, no matter what. This play is optional and should only be used to collect especially powerful monsters.

Enter Main Phase 2. Replace the cards used with one or two new cards so that there are five in your hand. You can change the position of any monster still on the mat and not in the graveyard, or summon a new monster card from your hand. Repeat the process of drawing a monster card and placing a trap or spell card. If one of your monster cards was sent to the graveyard, you can employ a more powerful monster with five or six stars. Allow the opponent to draw his or her cards. Then calculate the damage.

Continue to battle until one player has lost all of his or her Life Points. Conversely, continue playing until one player has no more cards to draw from his or her deck.