Yomi is a fighting game in card form in which physical dexterity is replaced by hand management skills. Just like in a fighting game, you have to know your character, know the matchup, and know your opponent. Each character has a deck that follows the same conventions as a deck of playing cards. This makes it easy to learn the contents of your deck: numbered cards are normal moves, face cards are special moves, and aces are super moves.

Yomi: Round 1 is a standalone item that contains four characters (out of twenty) for the second edition of Yomi. With these characters, you can compete in 1v1, 2v2, 2v1, and solo modes, with each player in the game needing one character deck. The character decks in Yomi: Round 1 can also be played against those in Yomi: Round 2 or any of the individual character decks that comprise the second edition of Yomi.