Photo from iellogames.com

World of Yo-Ho by Iello Games was released earlier this year but I avoided it because of its use of technology during game play. I have seen other board games attempt to integrate smart phones and the like into the game and I’ve never been a fan. World of Yo-Ho, however, took it to a whole other level. I recently got over my initial hesitation with the game and did a little more research on the product. The game actually looks pretty darn cool. If you’re unfamiliar, take a look at these images and the video from The Dice Tower.

Photo from kickstarter.com

At first I thought that the game used the phones’ cameras somehow to track where it was on the map, but the game handles placement in a whole other way. Players are given a starting area on the map, which is divided into a large grid. The phones then use motion sensing to determine in which direction the player is moving. The game knows that if you started space ‘X’ and move your phone to the right, you’re now on space ‘Y’. The accompanying app then populates the screen with the artwork from the matching space so that it looks seamless.

Photo from kickstarter.com

The map is also brought to life by the phones. Flocks of birds can be seen flying overhead and during movement random encounters generated by the app affect the players. When a ship arrives at port players can purchase supplies and upgrades, and when two phones are next to each other a battle can commence. Missions are also handled by the app and it all blends together into one great looking melding of traditional board gaming and technology.

You can find out more about World of Yo-Ho at the Iello Games website by clicking here. Here’s Tom and Melody Vasel going over the game and showing what it’s capable of: