I've been playing YGO since I was a kid, I played with my friends for the most part, I think I started out somewhere between the end of elementary school (4-5th grade) and beginning of middle school (6th).
I haven't played competitively heresofar, but it's a possibility later on once I'm out of high school or whatnot. Not entirely sure.
I started playing YGO with knowledge of wth I was doing (I used to think that I could use Penguin Soldier's eff on himself when attacked & destroyed, & I'd always forget the side eff of Soul Exchange where you can't attack, so my friends would cheat against me all the time, so yes, I used to be a MAJOR noob. We all used to, like it or not xD) starting in my freshman year of high school. Thing is, after a certain point in middle school, with little-no friends to play YGO with since not many people played, it kinda died with me. I later got back into it omw into high school after discovering DN, then I discovered academies, and later on I found my way here, to where my dueling skills have been increased by over a hundredfold, and I STILL have lots of room for improvement.