The game uses a format known as "Speed Duels" which uses the rules of the trading card game with various modifications. Players have 4000 Life Points, the Main Phase 2 is removed, the number of Monster Zones and Spell/Trap Zones is reduced from 5 to 3, the Main Deck's size is reduced from 40-60 cards each to 20-30 cards each and the Extra Deck is reduced from 15 to 5 (although this number can be increased to 8 by completing certain missions), and players start with a 4 card hand instead of 5. Players can also use Skills that affect duels in various ways. These effects include but are not limited to adding cards to the hand or field, increasing monster stats, increasing life points, adding cards to the deck at the start of the duel, changing the player's starting hand, and revealing the contents of face-down cards. The winner of a duel either reduces their opponent's life points to 0, allows their opponent to run out of cards, or win under special conditions. Players are rewarded with experience points and various items after a duel, with more items earned from winning. The game has the player in a hub where they can choose various NPCs to duel against. From here they can also access the Gate which allows them to duel against Legendary Duelists. The current stage the player is on will also be displayed. By completing missions within the stage, players can advance to the next stage which will gradually unlock more difficult opponents and Legendary Duelists at the Gate. Progressing in stages will allow the player to unlock Character Unlock Missions as well. By completing Character Unlock Missions, players can unlock new Legendary Duelists to play as. Legendary Duelists are based on key characters from the Yu-Gi-Oh series, such as Joey Wheeler, Maximilion Pegasus, Chazz Princeton, and Dr. Vellian Crowler. Each Legendary Duelist comes with their signature card and unique skills. New cards can be obtained for the player's decks from either Legendary Duelists, the in-game Card Trader using various items or from card packs. Card packs are purchased from the in-game shop using Gems. Card packs can also be purchased with real money via microtransactions. The possible contents of a card pack can vary depending on which BOX the player chooses to buy from. Each card has a probability of being pulled based on their rarity. Common N and R cards tend to have weaker effects, while rarer SR and UR cards have stronger effects. The card pool released at launch includes many cards recognizable from the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters anime. As more BOXes were added over time, the card pool expanded to include many cards from more modern Yu-Gi-Oh sets.