YuGiOh - Christmas Gifts

OK, so you've asked the dreaded Christmas question. The answer is, "Person X is currently into YuGiOh!." Help! You don't even know what YuGiOh! is, never mind what you're going to buy for them. Fear not! We're here to help with some impartial advice on the best YuGiOh! gifts on the market this holiday season. Sure, you could cop out and buy a scarf, but just think how cool you'll be when you pick an excellent YuGiOh! gift for that YuGiOh! fan.

We'll start with the question you're itching to ask. "What is YuGiOh!?" Not an easy question to answer, unfortunately. Lets give it a try:

YuGiOh! was originally a comic book about a card game.

Then came an animated cartoon about a card game.

Then there was the card game, which was all about the action from the cartoon.

Oh, and don't forget the console games, which are all about - you guessed it - the cartoon and the card game.

If you've been told that Person X 'plays YuGiOh!' they're probably refering to the card game, however people who are into YuGiOh! are usually fans of the anime, play the card game and play the console games too. The good news is that this leaves plenty of room to find a great gift that will be enjoyed by a YuGiOh! fan. Whether your YuGiOh! fan is new to the game or a seasoned veteran, you'll find great YuGiOh! Gift Ideas here. Read on for a guide to your options...

There have been many hundreds of episodes of the YuGiOh! cartoon, broken into 4 'generations' if you like. Firstly there was the original YuGiOh! series, featuring the trials and tribulations of Yugi Moto and his friends.

Next came YuGiOh! GX - this time the action centered around a Duel Academy for the world's finest YuGiOh! players and featured as it's main character, Jaden Yuki.

Then there was YuGiOh! 5Ds, set in the future from the first two sets of episodes and centering on the adventures of Yusei Fudo.

Recently launched was YuGiOh! Zexal, but there's no DVDs out yet.

There's also been movies along the way too. New fans may appreciate the older epsiodes that they may not have seen, long term fans will want the very latest episodes to hit the screens. Either way, you're unlikely to go wrong by grabbing a YuGiOh! DVD or two, for a fan.

This one's a little trickier and might require you to ask a couple of questions of the recipient first. Most fans buy the newest games as they hit the market and older games will be for obsolete consoles that the YuGiOh! fan you're buying for may or may not have. I'd probably avoid buying the console games, unless you've been told specifically which one to get.

Anyway, here's a selection of currently available YuGiOh! games from Amazon...

The most common way to buy YuGiOh! cards is in booster packs. Each standard booster pack contains 9 cards, of which at least one will be a rare card of some description. Building that great YuGiOh! playing deck requires plenty of packs of cards, so if you're looking for a bigger present, one of the things that appeals greatly to players is a sealed box of booster packs. ie A box containing 24 packs, all sealed up as they normally arrive in a store.

The advantage to buying this way is that the very rare cards from the set are packed in strict ratios, so a box, aside from getting loads of other great cards, will contain one of the rarest cards in that particular set. Look out for Starstrike Blast, which comes out mid-November and will be the current booster pack at Christmas 2010.

There's often bargains to be found on sealed boxes on eBay. here's some that are available right now...

Every year, YuGiOh! produce a number of collector's tins for players. In 2011, there are four of them and they always contain great stuff for any fan. Whilst you may find that a new player has collected all of this year's tins as they've been released, tracking down an old one they wont have could make a pretty cool gift. Or if you're feeling adventurous, one of the tins from YuGiOh!'s native Japan - sure the cards inside are in Japanese, but it's a cool thing to own that not many of their fellow players will have.

Here's a selection of collector's tins currently available on Amazon...

A great game mat is something that serious players really enjoy. The official YuGiOh! ones are given to winners of tournaments and crop up for sale on eBay from time to time - they're always pretty sought after.

There's also some fantastic unofficial ones produced too. Here's a selection of both types from eBay...

The rare, unusual or just plain cool YuGiOh! gifts for the very special presents...

This guide was brought to you by BSTS - a toy and hobby retailer based in the United Kingdom. We're passionate about YuGiOh! and are an official event location.

If you live in the UK, you can browse our wide range of YuGiOh! cards here.

Did you find this guide useful? What are you going to buy? Anything cool we've missed? Just want to say 'hi'? Here's the place...

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