Become the most famous pirate of Yo-Ho, a parallel world teeming with intelligent animals, lost islands and wild magic! The call to adventure echoes throughout this land, and although life on the high seas is a dangerous game, for those that truly embrace the pirate spirit the promise of glory is worth any risk. Will you sink ... or will you sail?

World of Yo-Ho is a medium weight game for 2-4 players. It's highly recommended to all fans of adventures game in fantasy-piracy style. Players should meet dangers, mysteries and other pirates to become the most famous and richest pirate in Yo-Ho.

This campaign wants promote this game in Europe: the application will translate in a language if backers of that country reach  the collecting target of 2000 euro. For example if italian backers reach 2000 euro, italian translation will be done.

Game concept

A board game where your smartphone is your pawn, dice, cards, everything! 

A video game that brings people together around a board.

'World of Yo-Ho' is a fantasy game of adventure and piracy on the high seas! It's a new type of gaming experience that combines the tangible and social pleasure of a board game with the interactive and adaptable mechanics of a video game. The game is for 2 to 4 players and features a high quality board that represents the minutely detailed world of Yo-Ho and a free, downloadable app that turns your smartphone into a ship. Simply place your phone on the map and set sail for adventure!

Ports 

Ports are temporary hideouts where you can resupply, regroup and prepare your strategy.
Being in a port allows you to:

• Buy weapons and items for use in combat
• Purchase upgrades for your captain and your ship
• Accept a large variety of missions
• Repair your ship
• Check on how well the other players are doing and if someone is close to victory!

Behold a selection of some of the fine weaponry you'll be able to unleash upon your enemies!
Are you more of a broadsides or cutlass kind of corsair? 

That scallywag swagger may impress the girls back home but you're going to need a lot more flair than that if you want to make it to the top. Luckily these upgrade Items will help get your captain and his ship looking suitibly fine!

 

Word gets around fast in the World of Yo-Ho, especially if parrots are involved. When you depart from a port, it's not hard for other captains to find out what you did there. So if you don’t want your opponents to know what items you bought or what missions you chose that could interfere with theirs, you’d better lighten your Clams chest and leave the port incognito.    

  

Missions

There are many different kinds of missions, ranging from simple cargo transportation to searching for sunken treasure in monster infested seas. 

Completing missions will not only make you rich but also bring you closer to victory. But beware, if you do not respect your contract, you could find yourself with a bounty on your head, something other players won't hesitate to cash in on!

Missions are randomly generated for every game and evolve depending on each player's actions.

 

Combat

Another way to earn Swag points is to fight your opponents, whether you have a reason to or not!

You can attack a player if your devices are on adjacent tiles. Touch the attack button on his phone and the swashbuckling can begin!

When combat begins, both players take their phones and secretly program their actions (with items bought whilst at port).

The amount of items you can play depends on the flag that you run up the mast. If either of the participants is flying a white flag then your options are limited. If both ships are flying the Jolly Roger however, you're in for one hell of a fight!

Once this is done, players put their phone back on the map, and everyone can witness the results as they are animated on screen!

In addition to earning Swag points, the winner can pillage items from his opponent. Talk about rubbing salt in the wound!

 

Event System

While sailing the seas of Yo-Ho, weather conditions can change or a monster may rise from the depths. You could find an old wreck filled with sunken treasure or simply a message in a bottle bobbing along the waves… 

 

Captains

Whether they rose to power through cunning, strength of arms or just blind luck, the life of a pirate is not known to cultivate the most balanced individuals! But a few faults here and there isn't that big a deal, after all, nobody's perfect right? ... right?

 

Ships

Some would call nailing a man o' war to the back of a giant swordfish madness. In the world of Yo-Ho it's pretty much par for the course. These giants of the sea have linked their fates to that of their chosen captain, for better or for worse!

 

 

 

Why a smartphone as a pawn?

Smartphones are now an everyday object, so why not use them whilst playing a boardgame? 
Having small but powerful computers on a board can add a lot to your gaming experience.  

We designed World of Yo-Ho based on the following principles: 

• These devices can calculate where they are on the board and communicate with one another.
• Having a digital screen on top of the map allows you to bring it to life with animations and sound effects.
• Setting up your game is fast and easy. A few clicks and you're ready to go.
• Your phone can tell if it is being held up and display different information or let you input secret orders.
• You can pause and resume your game anytime thanks to the game's autosave feature.
• Just like in a board game, random events can occur, however, thanks to the digital element, the game evolves and reacts according to the players actions.

 

Moving the phone on the board 

So, how do the phones know where they are on the board? 

The board is composed of tiles, 6x10 exactly. The game first tells you where to put your phone, and then you can move it from tile to tile. By using the accelerometer, it analyzes in which direction you moved it and understands where it currently is.

 

Adding life to a static board

The screen displays a representation of the board underneath it and adds several elements as well. Your boat bobs along in the sea, waves are generated by the wind whilst birds and clouds fly across the screen. On top of that, UI elements give you the control of this living map.

  

Phone orientation

Different types of information are displayed whether the phone is on the board or being held by someone.

When your phone is on the board, it displays information regarding the tile it’s on. These details are public and may be of interest to other players (to help them complete a mission for example).

When you hold your phone up it shows private information relevant to your ship and crew. Only you can see its screen, so you can secretly consult your ship's hold or your active missions in order to prepare your strategy.

If the game needs to show you secret information, it will first ask you to take up the device.

 

  

Pirate life

You think you know everything about pirates? Ah, the impertinence of youth ... Make yourself useful, pour me another and I will tell you a tale of the Nine Seas …

Yo-Ho is not only a world, it’s a dimension folded into a single piece of worn parchment. Is its withered surface paper or human flesh? Nobody knows for sure but this is a minor conundrum compared to the secrets sealed inside this faded map. Legends say that the demon known as Davy Jones crafted it or maybe, that it was somehow … part of him. Who knows how old it is? It's impossible to retrace its history as it has spent the centuries being passed, stolen or traded from one persons hoard to another.

Then "she" came to Yo-Ho. Her name was Hortense. She was, as she put it, “Human”. She claimed: “Yo-Ho is a magical map, and I am the pirate who found it. I came here to be Queen of the high-seas”. At the time we were only animals. Eating, sleeping, going on with our simple lives. Then Hortense shared her secrets with a parrot, and the parrot, in turn, shared them with us. We started talking, using our paws, paddles, and eating Koko. We took a liking to the pirate life. Hortense created the Sisterhoods and leaders arose. All around us armies were raised and nations were born. We learnt fast. We were restless. We hungered for glory.

In Yo-Ho, Pirates are as much a part of their boats, as their boats are part of them. We call this unity Biots. Massive colossus roam these seas, whales, giant jellyfish, and ancient turtles, and we learnt to communicate with them. We pitched our might against each other, brother against sister, in a perpetual fight to win the heart of our unique Goddess, Hortense in her beautiful regalia of flowers, these mysterious orchids she was so fond of. We made this place a heaven for feathered felons and scaly scallywags. It was our world to make and in it we saw only glory, fame and precious clams.

We became more than human. Better: we became pirates.

But today, as I write these words, Hortense is dead. Nobody knows who killed her. Her lieutenants found her on her island, executed on a golden beach, clutching one last orchid in her delicate hand. 

Now everything is changing. New chieftains are rising from our ranks. Silent forces are working in the shades of twisted palm trees, where mutant birds scream in the canopy. A foul wind is blowing in from the north. Its nefarious aura can be felt by all, from hardy deck hands to sea sick greenhorns. Dark portents manifest throughout the oceans: in the breaking of the waves, in the clouded skies, and among the many perils that lie just off the shore. A tide of darkness is rising in this world.

Rewards

Included in all Rewards levels the exclusive crowdfunding edition board, won't be sold in normal shops.

Stretch goals

$55000 (42636€) - Captain Figureheads - UNLOCKED

If we reach $55k we'll add figureheads for the 4 original captains plus any others unlocked during the campaign. These allow you to easily distinguish each player's device and character whilst on the board as well as adding some more light hearted fun to the game! These are small, Silicone models that attach to your device via a suction cup. They will be included in the boxed version of the game (captain pledge level and upwards).

$55000 (42636€) - Ship Figureheads - UNLOCKED

Just like for the captains, if we reach $60k we will add figureheads for the 4 original vessels plus any unlocked during the campaign! They will be included in the boxed version of the game (captain pledge level and upwards).

$60000 (46512€) - New Captain and Ship

 Our first digital stretch goal will unlock a brand new Captain AND Ship for the game, each with their own unique ability. Plus we have so many ideas for them we thought we'd let YOU decide what you'd prefer. After the campaign we will send out a survey and you guys can vote on your favourite idea! This is an upgrade for the App and will therefore be available to all pledge levels. Models and figureheads will of course be produced for these newcomers if the stretch goals are met.

$65000 (50388€) - Boat Models

This stretch goal will add plastic models representing the ships in the game as well as a detatchable sail to represent each of the captains. These are a fantastic addition for those of you wanting to play in single device mode. These models will replace the cardboard silhouettes present in the box set (so captain pledge levels and upwards). Here's a quick example of what we have planned. The models will be about 5cm tall and 6cm long. They will be supplied unpainted.

Why Crowdfunding?

We've been thinking about Yo-ho for 3 years, and have already spent over a year - admittedly not full time - in developing the first elements. We didn't want to launch a Kickstarter campaign before we were sure we could build our idea into a working project. The biggest challenge was bringing our vision of a boardgame with digital support to life. How would it play? How could it make a board game better? Would it ultimately enhance the player's gaming experience and immersion? We are now sufficiently advanced on the project to know it works, and it is fun. So though technically we are not starting the game and we have an advanced working prototype, now is the time to try and make it real thanks to Crowdfunding on Giochistarter and Kickstarter, appealing the extraordinary community of this wonderful site. 

IELLO is an international game and toy publisher and distributor founded in 2004 in Nancy, France. Our ambition is to bring beautiful, fun, profound games to a new generation of demanding players. Games you want to look at and handle. Games you want to play, then play again and again. IELLO USA was established in May 2012 in Las Vegas, NV, in order to increase our worldwide presence and serve gamers in the Americas.

The Developper

Volumique is a studio that designs and develops new Games and Toys, bridging the gap between the tangible and the digital.  

web site : volumique.com 

Facebook & twitter : @WorldfofYoHo