Hey everyone, this is The_SynchroGuy, and I’m here to talk about something that’s been talked about a lot, but I wanted to put in my take on it. When it comes to playing games, there’s usually those that are playing it just to get some enjoyment out of it, and those that take it seriously (or at least more serious than those other people). In this post, I’m going to dive into these two things and talk about what they mean for those that identify themselves as one or the other. And who knows, if you don’t know where you fall in, maybe you will after reading this. So let’s get into it!
Let’s start by viewing the causal side.
Casual
What is a casual player? Well, if you Google the definition of the word casual, you get… well, quite a couple of different meanings. But the main one we’re using here is the first one. That is, “relaxed and unconcerned”. This type of player plays Yu-Gi-Oh simply because he/she is looking to have some fun. A moment where they can sit back, relax, and just enjoy the moment.
These types of players would usually use decks that they find to be fun due to their: playstyle, gimmick, or because they saw it in the anime. They will play or use whatever card/deck they want because they like it, for whatever reason. And they’re usually not looking to win. At least, not a whole lot. Sometimes just having that one moment of victory is more than enough for them.
Even so though, there are some cool things about being a casual player. As I mentioned, they like to use some type of gimmicky deck that they created. While it may not be good in the competitive scene, it’s still cool to see these things when they go off because you will hardly ever see something like that happen.
Or sometimes they’ll do some kind of random event duels with their friends. Like, you can only use monsters with less than 500 ATK, or you can only use Spell Cards. Stuff like that. Just pure randomness. Or even come up with their own rules. Albeit, I’m not the biggest fan of this one, but knowing how the rules of Yu-Gi-Oh work, can you honestly blame them for it?
Sometimes they might get told stuff like, “Your deck is bad,” or, “Stop making custom rules and such, they’re terrible.” But I’m willing to bet that they know that already, and they probably don’t care. If you’re one of those people, don’t bother trying to convince them otherwise. They’re just having fun in their own way. If that’s how they want to have fun, I’d say let them. It’s not like they’re going to force you to play with them. And it’s not like they’re going to become criminals or anything, so what’s the issue? If they ever want to change and go one step further, they’ll decide that for themselves.
And to all of you that identify yourselves as casual players, be careful on who you ask to play to Yu-Gi-Oh with, and/or who you ask to review stuff like your gimmick decks, or your custom rules/cards/banlist. If the player you ask is someone who is competitive, they’re probably not gonna be helpful in terms of what you’re looking for. Speaking of competitive players…
Competitive
According to Google, the definition of the word “competitive” means, and I quote, “having or displaying a strong desire to be more successful than others.” That definition is not far from the truth. When it comes to competitive players, they are not looking for some random gimmicks. They’re looking for whatever deck they believe to be best so that they can win.
This type of player usually keeps up to date with the latest meta craze, knows exactly how this game works, and is always looking to try to win in their duels. Any deck that’s not meta, to them, is completely lackluster.
Now one thing I want to clear up about is the idea that competitive players care more about winning than having fun. That’s not entirely true. While, yes, competitive players want to try to win in all of their duels, that doesn’t always mean they’re not having fun. Sometimes, to them, winning is fun. Heck, they probably have fun doing other things too.
I’m not gonna lie, though, by saying that “not all competitive players are meta try hards that only care about winning”. There are players like that in this world (and not just in Yu-Gi-Oh). But not all of them are like that. There are some nice competitive players out there. But if you are unable to find one in your area, maybe you should consider being that person. Be the person that you want to see in others.
Between being a casual and a competitive player, if I had to choose between the two, then I definitely identify myself as a competitive player. One reason is because I’m a sore loser. I’m always going to try to go for the win. But it’s not like I’m not having any fun while doing it.
For me, I truly believe people have the most fun when they’re trying to win. Like, you’re hitting your opponent with your best strategy, they’re hitting you with theirs, and you just don’t know what’s gonna happen. And it’s just so much fun, to me, when you’re giving it your all.
Before I end this, there is one other thing I would like to introduce to you. Now again, if I had to choose between being a casual or competitive player, I would choose competitive. But if I can have it my way, then I would go for something else; I would choose the middle path. That is: casually competitive.
Casually Competitive
(Real quick, as I was doing my research on this topic, funny enough, I discovered that there’s a Magic the Gathering YouTube channel called “Casually Competitive”. Here’s a link to them if you want to check them out.)
Now there’s no real definition for this. But, if I could make the definition, it would go something like this:
“A casually competitive player is someone that is competitive. They will try to win however they can, but they’re not afraid to play casually at times. They’ll still try to go for the win though, regardless. More importantly, they always put fun at the forefront of everything. They will play whatever kind of deck that they believe to be fun. And they will try to make it as powerful, and as consistent, as possible. It won’t always work, but they will still have fun, no matter what.”
This is how I view myself as a player. I will play whatever deck I want, meta or not, because I believe it’ll be fun. And I love trying out so many different decks. Even if people tell me they suck. And it’s not like they’re always going to be wrong, but I’m still gonna play it and try to get some fun out of it, in any way that I can.
And if you don’t like option A or option B, maybe consider going with this option. Or make your own. No one is gonna stop you.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this! Let me know in the comments which type of player you are and what you love about being that type of player! There are probably some things about each of the first two types I may have missed, but I didn’t want to make this blog too long. And if you believe I’m wrong about anything I talked about, feel free to call me out and correct me.
I’ll see you guys in the next one! Hope you have/had an awesome day today! 
