Although Yu-Gi-Oh first appeared in comic form in 1996, it was two years later, in 1998, that it really became a huge hit with the release of a 27-episode television series and a collectible card game. Kids began collecting cards and monsters so that they could duel like their favorite Yu-Gi-Oh characters on the show and the phenomenon quickly spread to other countries, including the United States, where some duelists have paid thousands of dollars for a single Yu-Gi-Oh card on auction web sites such as eBay.