Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Maker

How to make a Yu-Gi-Oh! card

A card has six parts, and the maker above asks for them in the order you’d read them: the frame, the name, the picture, the line of icons under the name, the text box, and the numbers at the bottom. You can fill them in any order and nothing is lost when you change your mind about the card type.

1. Pick the card type. The frame colour tells players what kind of card it is before they read a word.
2. Name it. Long names are squeezed to fit the name bar, the same way long official names are.
3. Add the picture. Square pictures fit best. Drag to position it and use Zoom to crop in.
4. Set attribute and Level for monsters, or the icon for Spells and Traps.
5. Write the text. Put summoning materials on their own first line for Fusion, Synchro, Xyz and Link monsters.
6. Enter ATK and DEF, then download.

What each frame colour means

The maker follows these rules for you. Choose Xyz and the stars turn black and line up from the left, as Ranks do. Choose Link and the Level and DEF fields are replaced by a grid of arrows; the Link Rating is counted from the arrows you switch on.

Writing card text that reads like the real thing

Official cards follow a pattern that is worth copying, because players read it without thinking. A colon ends the condition for when an effect can be used. A semicolon ends the cost or the choice of target. What comes after is what the effect does.

Once per turn: You can discard 1 card; draw 2 cards.

Read aloud, that is “when: pay this; get that”. Three more habits make a custom card feel right. Card names inside the text go in double quotes. “Once per turn” goes at the front of the effect it limits. And restraint helps: most printed cards have one to three effects, and a card with six reads as a joke even when it isn’t meant to be.

If you write a lot anyway, the text box copes. It first tightens the letters sideways, then steps down through smaller type sizes, and it keeps the lines justified so both edges stay straight.

Choosing ATK, DEF and Level

For a card that looks plausible, match the numbers to the Level. Level 4 and lower monsters can be summoned without a tribute, so official ones rarely go above 2000 ATK. Level 5 and 6 need one tribute and usually sit somewhere between 2000 and 2600. Level 7 and above need two, and 3000 is the classic ceiling for a boss monster. A question mark is allowed for ATK or DEF on cards whose strength is set by an effect.

The picture

The window is square, 614 pixels a side on the card and twice that in the download, so start with something at least 1200 pixels square if you plan to print. Rectangular pictures work: the maker fills the window and you choose which part shows by dragging.

Use pictures you’re allowed to use. Your own drawing or photo is always fine, and so is a commissioned piece if the artist agreed.

Saving and printing

Download PNG gives you one card as an image for sharing. Copy puts it on the clipboard so you can paste it into a chat or a document. Save keeps the card in a row called My cards under the maker; from there you can reopen it, and print up to nine at real size on one Letter or A4 page. The page on printing custom cards covers paper, sleeves and cutting.

If you’d rather build the card in Photoshop or another editor, the blank card templates are the same frames with nothing on them. And if you have no idea what to make, the random card generator will hand you one to argue with.