For nearly 25 years, Yu-Gi-Oh! games on console, PC, mobile, and beyond have been taking the gospel of Konami’s card game franchise to massive audiences. From testing tactical titles starring the heroes of the anime, to straight-up duelling sims that leave Kaiba and Yugi on the touchline, there’s plenty of different titles in which it’s almost always time to duel.
So, we’ve put together a list of the best Yu-Gi-Oh! games on Switch and mobile so you can pick up five cards and start your turn on the front foot. Whether it’s a duel-driven game you can get competitive with on the go, or a more story-driven title that takes you back to the long and illustrious lore of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime series, there’s something for everyone on this list.
For more nostalgia-fuelled titles that can take you back to the rose-tinted 1990s, be sure to check out our picks for the best Pokemon games and Digimon games you can play today. Or, if you’re a little tired of Yugi, Jaden, and the rest of the gang, you can see what else is on offer with our list of the best mobile card games.
With that out of the way, now it’s time to d-d-d-duel with our list of the best Yu-Gi-Oh! games.
The best Yu-Gi-Oh! games
Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel – Switch and mobile
The ultimate duelling sim, with thousands of cards, competitive online play, and a wealth of solo challenges that only the finest strategic minds will make it through, Master Duel is the best way to play Yu-Gi-Oh! in its traditional format in this day and age. As with Duel Links, and Cross Duel, Master Duel is also a free-to-play title, so you can pick it up and play your way through both challenging online battles, as well as all the solo content. If that hasn’t sold it, maybe our Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel review will.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Rush Duel: Dawn of the Battle Royale – Switch
A perfect entry point for the little Yugi in your life, or even a fine time to return to those who think the main series has seen a litany of over complications, Rush Duel is a slimmed-down Yu-Gi-Oh! title that offers the most entertaining storyline of any on this list. You might not recognise the characters as well as you do Yugi and the gang, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a fascinating story of their own, filled with duel monsters, powerful enemies, and as ever, friendship. You can’t have card games without the power of friendship.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duel – mobile
I must be seeing double – four duellists?! No, that’s right, Yu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duel, the latest live service card game title out of Konami, takes the rules you think you know and turns them on their head for an experience like no other. It’s not got quite the community of Duel Links or Master Duel, but the raid duels mechanic makes for a new way to play that feels like it’s finally pushing the series forward, while the ranked duels require a high-level strategic nuance to take on three players at once. If you still need convincing, check out our Yu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duel review.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links – mobile
Konami made a few attempts at finding the mobile Yu-Gi-Oh! formula before Duel Links arrived, but nothing before or since has matched up to the reimagined format perfect for handheld devices. With quicker duels, fewer cards, a host of in-game events, special anime-inspired storylines, a dedicated community, and competitive meta, there’s no surprise this is currently Konami’s most refined mobile title, with years of content ready for you to catch up with.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution – Switch
It might be one of the older titles on this list, but for a classic Yu-Gi-Oh! experience without too many bells and whistles, you can’t go wrong with Link Evolution. As one of the last non-free-to-play titles out of Konami’s card game franchise, Link Evolution charts a path through all the main beats in the anime series, from Yugi’s first duel against Kaiba to the apex of Vrains’ complex narrative. It also features one of the deepest card pools from the games on this list, so ideal if you’re looking to spend hours crafting complex decks complete with killer combos.
With that, you should have enough Yu-Gi-Oh! games to fill your card game catalogue with Konami’s finest titles. For some extra insight on how the latest Yu-Gi-Oh! title came about, check out our Yu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duel interview with developer Yuya Takayanagi. Or, if you need to learn the rules before jumping in, check out this how to play Yu-Gi-Oh! guide.
