A fantasy worker placement game from Haakon Hoel Gaarder, designer & illustrator of Villagers, Streets, and Moon.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Yonder Progress Update #1
over 1 year ago
– Wed, Nov 20, 2024 at 08:35:04 AM
Hello there!
I realise it's been a while since I updated, and I apologise. The short story is that everything on pre-production is going well, and despite some issues we are very close to having final print files.
The slightly longer version is that I've been facing a few family & health related challenges which have resulted in me not spending as much time at my desk as I'd like. Thankfully, Haakon and Anthony have been taking care of most of the file production and proofing, so work has progressed well in that area. For my part, I'm having to prioritise tasks which has meant I'm horribly behind on customer support, and the pledge manager is really late.
The only other real problem is that we don't yet have the final Deluxe edition insert files from GameTrayz. We can't give the green light for mass production until this happens, and even then we'll need to have moulds made and approve prototypes etc. So we are going to miss our preferred printing schedule which would have seen the game produced before Chinese New Year. The manufacturer tells us they can prioritise our print run after the holiday, which is from late January to early February.
I've done this enough times now not to trust any projected date suggested by anyone ever. It will be done when it's done, and I'll keep you all informed of progress along the way.
Deluxe Insert
Here's some work-in-progress pics of what GameTrayz are cooking up for us (in their slow cooker).
There's actually a surprise hidden in these images - those green boxes you see are cardboard tuckboxes we've added to keep player pieces in. This will make setting up the game even quicker!
Yes, sleeved cards will fit :D
The insert will contain 4 removable "Trayz"; two shaped like boats containing worker meeples, and 2 representing the Yonder city skyline containing all the resource tokens. Between them they hold all the necessary components to play the game and keep them accessible from two sides of the table!
In Other News...
Print files are all done apart from packaging for the free expansion content and the deluxe edition box, which depends on GameTrayz. The general box design is done so once we know the final size it will be a fast turnaround.
We have a final rulebook! You can read it here. Solo rules will be on a separate sheet, here.
Pledge manager will open this week if all goes according to plan. Watch out for emails from BackerKit!
Shipping prices will remain the same as advertised on the campaign.
Wizards & Co. & Coin Chests on Sale Now
If you're looking for some cheeky Christmas gifts for your loved ones or yourself, our latest releases are in our store now with shipping to most of the world. Check out Wizards & Co. and our funky new Coin Chests!
That is all for now my friends. You can reach me on [email protected] for help with any issues, but please be patient. I will get back to you but I am kind of swamped right now.
We're making a game!
almost 2 years ago
– Tue, Aug 20, 2024 at 04:30:57 PM
Hi everyone,
What a finish we had! Yonder ended on 2007 backers which looked quite unlikely a couple of days prior, so a special thanks goes out to everyone who jumped onboard in the final days. And to all those who came in before that final charge, we salute you too!
Everyone who supports us on Kickstarter is essential to our survival as a business, and we're extremely grateful to all our backers. We're extremely excited to get Yonder into your hands - I genuinely believe it's Haakon's best game yet. So let's get on with it!
What Happens Now?
Haakon is working on the last few pieces of artwork for the solo mode cards, and then he'll move on to the final version of the rulebook. He estimates he'll be finished around the middle of September. Soon after that we'll collate the final files and submit them to the factory, hopefully before the end of September.
We're still working with the people at GameTrayz on the deluxe edition insert. Having never worked with them before, I'm not sure how long this process is going to take from here, but we'll keep you updated.
The pledge manager (BackerKit) will open in a few weeks. Right now I'm overseeing fulfilment on our last two projects, and I'd like to wait until that process is complete so that we know what stock we have available as add-ons for the Yonder pledge manager. We'll provide full details at a later date.
Customer Support
If you need help with any aspect of your pledge, please email [email protected] and I'll deal with it personally.
That's all for now. I'll try to stick to roughly monthly status reports from now on, and you won't be kept in the dark at any point.
Days 25-28: Final Reveals / Play Solo!
about 2 years ago
– Mon, Aug 12, 2024 at 08:31:59 AM
Hello friends,
The destination is close now, just three days remain on our wondrous voyage. We've reached the end of our extra content, adding 7 new buildings to the base game, with all Kickstarter backers getting a bonus pack of 9 new buildings, 6 envoys, and 7 ships. We're so pleased to have over 1500 of you with us at this point, and we're confident you won't be disappointed with Yonder!
Play Solo on Tabletop Simulator
As a final gift, Haakon has just put together a demo of Yonder's solo mode for Tabletop Simulator, which you can find here. The draft solo mode rules are here. The multiplayer version is here.
Play in Your Browser on Tabletopia
This arrived a few minutes after I posted the last update, but better late than never! You can now play Yonder in your browser on Tabletopia!
Final Days & BGG
So we're into our final 3 days now. We'll have one last marketing push, some homepage ads on BGG, and the final 48 hour alert from Kickstarter which should be good for a strong finish. Maybe we'll get over the 2000 backer mark? What do you think our final tally will be?
Speaking of BGG, we'd be very grateful if you could do one small thing for us and thumb this image. If you've played Yonder online, please consider writing a quick session report on the BGG sessions forum. Any rules questions you might have are best posted on the BGG rules forum - Haakon usually replies in person, so you know you're getting a definitive answer while also building up a useful resource for the entire community. All this will help to push Yonder into "the hotness" and hopefully get a few more eyes on the campaign.
Day 25 Reveal: Vetinari
This ship keeps your eyes fixed forward. Never mind about the envoys you picked up last turn. What new ones can I get this turn? Getting Vetinari early means you are probably going to try & take a new envoy each round, so plan accordingly. Consider building extra boats at the wharf to cover the demand, look out for boats like Goliath that can fulfil two envoys on its own, and consider ways of ditching envoys you no longer need, including the Dwarven Guilders, and the two envoy-related Arcana spots in the Upper City.
Day 26 Reveal: Midas
New players in Yonder will often collect a bunch of envoys, pair them with a ship they combo well with, and fulfill envoys in that combination for the rest of the game. Midas poses a different challenge, as you'll need to deliver to a different envoy each round in order to maximise its effect. That's not bad though. The possibility space you get from mixing up which ships fullfil which envoys is considerable, and we found during testing that once players played a game with Midas, they were more inclined to play in that way in subsequent games, even if they didn't have the ship.
Day 27 Reveal: Monument
What better end to the game than having a worker of every type represented in your settlement? Most C buildings that score for workers ask you to collect a fairly dysfunctional number of a specific type of worker in order to maximise their scoring potential. The momument is different - having one of each worker is actually a pretty good idea anyway, so you can maximise each species' strengths. Monument also pairs well with other C buildings that ask you to keep workers around, including the tavern.
Day 28 Reveal: Skeleton Reverser
Originally designed in response to concerns voiced by members of the community about the dangers of Skeleton Makers in the wrong hands, the Skeleton Reverser is a wonderful bit of kit that will give you a lot of flexibility. Keep your skeletons from round to round without needing food, and then swap them for another worker type you need once the time is right, and get points for doing so! Marvellous.
OK my lovelies, that's all for today - please cross whatever appendages you feel appropriate for a big finish, and as ever...
Days 23 - 24: SOLO MODE & new reveals!
about 2 years ago
– Thu, Aug 08, 2024 at 03:25:16 AM
Hello there!
Solo players, assemble! In groups of... one, I guess?
We're finally ready to show you Yonder's single player mode! We're working to have a solo version up & running on Tabletop Simulator before the end of the campaign (probably not including all the final art). More details on that as soon as it's ready.
So here's Haakon to tell us about Yonder's shiny new solo mode.
Solo Mode Revealed
In solo mode the player plays against the one eyed ogre, Olos. Olos is a pirate captain that will interact with you in every way a real opponent would. Driven by a small deck of cards his henchmen will take over spots in the city and trade counterfeit Arcana.
Olos will deliver his stolen goods to envoys, commandeer ships and even send Ogre bullies to your settlement to eat your food! To win the game you must earn more gold than the pirates, who get a head start with a massive treasury that will grow through the game.
The solo mode aims to recreate all the tension of the multiplayer game with minimal management and rules overhead required from the player. With three difficulty levels the solo mode provides a nice experience for solo players of all levels.
After you've done your turn, the pirates will do three things, typically placing a worker then discarding a building and an envoy card from the board. In addition some random spots in the city will already be claimed by the pirates at the start of the round, and after four turns the pirates will claim a ship from the harbour. Starting from the fifth turn each round the pirates will earn gold for every turn the player takes. Play efficiently to win with few workers, or gather a large workforce to outperform a high pirate score.
Day 23 Reveal: Razor's Edge
"C" envoys, like the Alchemists we showed yesterday, can let you do some truly gross things. Their biggest limitation is that they can generally only be delivered to once, unless that is, you're delivering with the mighty Razor's Edge! Particularly potent at the end of the game, and arriving with bonus meat - probably the most valuable type of food in the game, this ship is absolutely one to watch out for.
Day 24 Reveal: Smokehouse
Having to sell your fish at the end of each round is a bittersweet moment in Yonder. On the one hand, points are points. On the other hand, particularly in the early game, you might well have preferred to hang onto the extra food. The Smokehouse changes this dynamic, because two gold for one fish is huge. Target selling three or four fish every round, and look out for efficient ways of generating them, such as the Sea Ogres, Fishing Boats, or the 'gain three fish' spot in the Upper City.
So that's it for another update. I'd just like to say a quick hello to everyone who joined us following Yonder's appearance on The Dice Tower's Crowd Surfing video yesterday. Tom Vasel and Chris Yi certainly seemed very positive about the game, AND THEY WERE RIGHT TO BE, IT'S GREAT, TELL YOUR FRIENDS!
OK I've clearly had more than enough coffee this morning so I'm done here. Until next time, my friends...
Days 19-22: Dwarven Fish Smugglers, etc.
about 2 years ago
– Tue, Aug 06, 2024 at 04:24:57 AM
Hello!
It's been a busy few days here at Sinister HQ, with a certain small person's birthday and a house full of people, and my social battery wiped out. I watched from afar as GenCon happened, and I hope any of you who attended had an amazing time - we will make it out there one day I promise!
Yonder Demos
If you have a copy of Tabletop Simulator and you'd like our developer extraordinaire Anthony to run you through a game of Yonder, just make yourself known on our Discord channel and he'll try to accommodate you.
Now let's catch up with those daily reveals...
Day 19: Drawing Board
Run out of things to build? Could it be time to go back to the Drawing Board? There are not many ways to aquire new buildings in the game, and the primary method - the Architect space in the city, requires sending a worker that will not return to you. It's painful to spend workers to get buildings because the more buildings you have, the more workers you need. This building solves that problem. Now you can get more buildings while holding on to your workers as well!
Day 20: Fish Cages
There may be plenty more fish in the sea, but it's still nice to know exactly where some of them are. Envoys that require fish each round can be a bit of a drag because excess fish are sold at the end of each round. You'll need to catch them fresh each time, and on some rounds you'll have other things for your workers to do. Fish Cages lets you put some fish away for a rainy day, and scores you points for doing so.
Day 21: Smugglers Hut
A cheeky little building that opens up the possiblity space of your turn consdierably. The limitation of only getting to make one delivery is not much of a hinderance to the effectiveness of the Smuggler's Hut. The most powerful envoys in the game are limited to max one or two deliveries anyway. Target those envoys with this building, and you'll be getting almost full value from it, without having to keep fullfilling that envoy across mutliple rounds, and without commiting one of your precious boats.
Day 22: Dwarven Alchemists
Getting arcana has never been this easy. Expect to be pulling the same face the Dwarven Alchemists are when you realise you're in a position to take this envoy!
And that brings us up to date. Stay tuned for more additions!
