By Sachin Mehta

Today, I'm going to discuss some of the commons things you will probably see people using at your local Yu-Gi-Oh tournament, and you should probably be using these as well.

The Playmat

Ahhhh, the playmat :-). Although some people use their fancy prize one (like in the picture) for top the top 8 at massive events as a way of showing off and showing that they are a great duelist and better than you… most do not. The main use for a playmat is to...

A. Keep your cards and sleeves protected from dirt, sticky stuff, and those little black things your sleeves always seem to pick up.

B. To look cool :-).

C. Yes, even use it as an intimidation factor.

Most players use their Regional mats, but I have a plain white one with markings showing card zones that I got on eBay for a bargain at £7.00 inc. postage. Some people also get their friends to sign their mat with their signature.

The Dice

The dice is the Swiss army knife of Yugioh. That is, now that Magical Scientist is gone :-). You can use your dice for MANY different things; I have listed the most common ones below...

A. To decide who goes first.

B. They can act as Goat Tokens, if you have 3 left, put the die on 3, 2 left, put it on 2, etc.

C. A lot of cards NEED dice for their effect; it also helps to have dice for the effects of; Swords Of Revealing Light, Wave Motion Cannon, and Zombyra The Dark.

Dice are considered "Must Haves" when going to a tournament, whether it is a Local tournament, or the next Shonen Jump tournament. There are MANY different things to do with dice, as you can see.

The iPod/Other Mp3 Player

Music can be your best friend during a long regional tournament, or Shonen Jump Event. When you get finished with the 1st Round with 30 minutes left on the clock and there is no food stall to be found, you will be glad and sit down and drift away listening to your favourite songs.

The Wrist Watch

This sounds kinda funny at first, but it makes a lot of sense to have one of these, especially at big events. We have all heard the horror stories of someone not being aware of time during a round, and losing because of it. This will never happen if you have one of those nice cheap Wrist Watches that have an alarm clock built in. At one event I was at, the clock wasn't even in view of the players, as long as you use the stop watch function on your watch, and start it when they say start playing, you should be ok :-). However stopwatches are not always necessary, as long as you can concentrate on the duel and the time, you’ll be fine!!

The Back Pack

The backpack is the duelists best friend during any type of Yugioh event. Some people prefer those little Ultra Pro bags that hold about 6-8 Deck Boxes, but it seems smarter to have a Backpack, as not only can you chunk about 30 deck boxes in it, you can also hold your Playmat(s), Music Players, or anything else you want to bring to your next event. This can also hold your folder and trades easily so they don’t get squished up and ruined.

The Calculator

The calculator is an almost have to have accessory when your playing yugioh. You can use those little ones or upgrade to a nice big scientific one.

The Notepad and Pencil/Pen

Ah, the perfect companion to the calculator. This one is simple, use the calculator to make sure you get the right life points count and then jot it down with the notepad!! If there is a life point dispute, and you have your calculator, notepad, and writing utensil, you can't lose :-).

(This is the first in a series of articles from members of the Barnet and Enfield YuGiOh! Club, written by duellists for duellists!) please send suggestions to me). (ps well done Sachin - very good article!)