Card layout

A card's layout is standardized, and has undergone several changes since Konami's OCG/TCG card game and the anime was first introduced.

Description

 * Card type
 * Card name
 * Attribute symbol
 * Monster Level/Rank stars
 * Spell/Trap type and type symbol
 * Card image
 * Card image border
 * Edition text
 * Set number
 * Card text box
 * Card text box border
 * Monster type
 * Effect or flavor/lore text
 * ATK and DEF
 * Card number or limitation text
 * Copyright text
 * Eye of Anubis hologram

Series 1 layout
This was the first version of layout for cards, lasting from the initial release of the Official Card Game with Vol.1 to the end of OCG Series 1 with the release of Premium Pack 2: Dark Ceremony. This layout was used in early episode of the second series of Yu-Gi-Oh!

Cards with this version of the layout are characterized by a larger card image and, for Monster Cards, two half-width boxes below the picture, side-by-side, with the left one for the monster's card effect or lore, and the right one for its ATK and DEF, which use the terms (kōgekiryoku "Attack Strength") and  (shubiryoku "Defense Strength"). The card name box, image, and effect/ATK/DEF area are all equal width. Non-Normal Spell and Trap Cards do not have property symbols; only Field Spell Cards have their property indicated, with the word フィールド (fīrudo "Field"). The Japanese font used for most texts on the cards is the original DFLeisho font, though it's the DFKakuTaihi font to be used for the ATK and DEF digits.

Series 1 cards lack set numbers and the Eye of Anubis Hologram.

Series 2 layout
The next version of card layout was used for the duration of OCG Series 2, being introduced with the release of Magic Ruler and lasting until Pharaonic Guardian and Structure Deck: Pegasus (which were released on the same day).

The main difference between this version and the first one is the widening of the effect/lore box on Monster Cards to about two-thirds of the card's width, featuring a new look of the box border, and a corresponding narrowing of the ATK/DEF box, achieved mainly by shortening the terms for "ATK" and "DEF" to just (kō "Attack") and  (shu "Defense"), and a slight widening of the card name box and effect/ATK/DEF area. All non-Normal Spell and Trap Cards, instead of just Field Spell Cards, indicate their property with symbols, though some Equip Spell Cards use the word モンスター (monsutā "Monster") for their property.

This version introduces set numbers and the Eye of Anubis Hologram.

Series 3 layout
The third, and by far longest-lived, version of card layout was introduced with OCG Series 3, beginning with Limited Edition 4, and is the card layout that the TCG was introduced with. It has been used in the latest episode of the Yu-Gi-Oh! second series anime, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, and Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.

This version is marked by a shorter, square card image and a unified, taller box for the card effect/lore and ATK/DEF. OCG cards feature the English text "ATK" and "DEF", and three-character set abbreviations (with the uses of one of the Matrix fonts) and three-digit set card numbers are introduced (with the uses of one of the ITC Stone fonts). As later sets were released, the DFLeisho font used for Japanese cards' texts has its Latin letters and digits featured in the card name originated in the DFKaku-Taihi font.

A much smaller change happened with the release of Power of the Duelist, when four-character set abbreviations began to be used, presumably as a result of dwindling abbreviation possibilities for three-character abbreviations.

Series 7 layout
Introduced with OCG Series 7 with the release of Starter Deck 2010, a few more small changes were made. These included lightening the background of the effect box to make the text easier to read, and making the effect box taller and wider to allow for cards with longer effects. The card image and name box were shifted slightly upward to allow for the larger effect box, and the name box was widened to maintain roughly equal margins on its sides and top. They are used in Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

Series 8 layout
Introduced with OCG Series 8 with the release of Starter Deck 2012, other small changes were made. These include larger artwork and Level/Rank stars on Monster Cards, with greatly reduced padding around the stars and attribute icon. Also, on cards with a short card effect or flavor text, the lore is printed in a larger font size, making it easier to read. On TCG versions of Token Monster, the bar over the ATK and DEF signs is added, while OCG ones' look become much more like Normal Monster layout with Token's name, Attribute symbol, Level stars, ATK and DEF signs added and the lore is more detailed than just "This card can be used as any Token." Take a very close look and you'll see the positions of the Kanji letters of the Spell and Trap symbols on Japanese cards are slightly changed, more centerized than before; Konami still uses the same symbols as before for TCG cards, though.

Anniversary layout
In celebration of Yu-Gi-Oh!'s fifteenth anniversary, several cards were released with a modified layout: the OCG Anniversary Pack, the Weekly Jump Magazine Promo versions of "Dark Magician" and "Magi Magi ☆ Magician Gal", the V Jump Magazine Promo versions of "Obelisk the Tormentor", "The Winged Dragon of Ra", and "Slifer the Sky Dragon", and the Duel Art Campaign Promo "The Creator God of Light, Horakhty". The Anniversary Pack was later released in the TCG (with the exception of "Dark Magician Girl") and the other cards as Shonen Jump Magazine Promos (with the exception of "The Creator God of Light, Horakhty" and "Magi Magi ☆ Magician Gal").

The biggest difference between the main layouts and the anniversary layouts is the distinctive lack of a border around the card image, which instead only has a drop shadow to distinguish it from the card's background, and Kazuki Takahashi's signature, which is usually included in the lower right-hand corner of each card's artwork. The artwork is a special variant drawn by Takahashi himself in celebration of the anniversaries. "Magi Magi ☆ Magician Gal" and the legal Egyptian God cards have no number in the lower left-hand corner.

Anime
In the English-language dub of the anime, card layouts are changed due to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations. Monster Cards are edited to include only the artwork, Level/Rank and Attribute symbols and ATK/DEF values, removing any text that was visible in the original version. Similarly, Spell/Trap Cards are edited to remove virtually everything, leaving only the artwork and a Spell/Trap symbol in an empty text box. Some furigana letters still remain in Attribute symbols and the Spell symbol.

Yu-Gi-Oh!
Early episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! placed the Level of Monster at the center of the space betwen the left side of the card and the Attribute symbol. In later episodes, the Level is really centered, with exception to monsters that debuted in early episodes. Monsters with a Level higher than 10 do not have their Level centered, due to space constraints. Some monsters ATK/DEF values are right aligned.

Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light
This follows the same layout as the series 3 real-life layout but with no card nor Set number.

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Yu-Gi-Oh! GX follows the same layout design as the later episodes of the second series anime.

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's follows the same layout design as the previous series anime.

Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL
In Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL, the Rank of an Xyz Monster is not centered and is instead left aligned. All other cards have followed the layout of the previous series.

Manga
In the Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's and Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL mangas, the layout is fairly different from the anime and TCG/OCG ones. The texts aren't separated by lines and rectangles, and the Types and Attributes are not shown.
 * The monster cards' layouts consist of the card's name, its Level (with the stars not being pictured inside a sphere), a double-border square with the artwork, a lore and the ATK/DEF (aligned horizontally).
 * Normal Monsters doesn't have a lore.
 * The color of the card doesn't change, except for Xyz and Token Monsters.
 * Fusion, Synchro and Xyz Monsters don't have their Materials listed in the lore.
 * The Spell/Trap Cards consist of the card's name, type (it only is shown if the card is either a Spell or Trap card, and doesn't specify its Type; also, it is centered, instead of aligned to the right), a double-border square with the artwork and a lore.

In the Yu-Gi-Oh! D Team ZEXAL manga, the card images are taken directly from the OCG.