the "yu-gi-oh!" trading card game is a japanese-american card game developed and published by konami. it is based on the fictional game of "duel monsters", which is the main story for the anime series "yu-gi-oh!". it is played around the world, but mostly in japan, north america, europe and australia. it was first sold to the public in 1999. in 2009 it broke the world record for most trading cards sold.