Yoté Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object of the Game
• Game Contents
• Setup
• How to Play
  • Deploy a Camel
  • Move a Camel
  • Capture Your Opponent's Camel
• Game End
• Tips and Tricks
• Game Variants
  • Advanced Rules
  • Choko
• Mini Expansions
  • Heroes of Africa
  • Challenges of Africa
    • Placing Trade Routes
    • Using Trade Routes
    • Trade Route Restrictions

Object of the Game

Tactically place, move, and jump your camels to drive away all of your opponent's.

Game Contents

• 1 travel bag
• 1 game mat
• 12 dark purple Camel pieces
• 12 light purple Camel pieces
• 1 Merchant token (for Choko variation only)
• 1 rulebook

Setup

1. Lay out the game mat with the 5x6 side up (Fig. 1).
2. Give each player 12 matching Camel pieces.
3. Return the Merchant token to the bag, unless playing the Choko variation.

How to Play

Both players begin the game with their Camels off the board. Camels enter play as players deploy them. The player controlling the light purple Camels goes first. Then players alternate turns.

On your turn, you have 3 options:

Deploy a Camel

Place 1 of your Camels onto any empty space on the board (Fig. 2A).

Move a Camel

Choose 1 of your Camels on the board and move it 1 space orthogonally (horizontally or vertically) to an adjacent, empty space (Fig. 2B).

Capture Your Opponent's Camel

• If your Camel is orthogonally adjacent to one of your opponent's Camels and there is an empty space on the opposite side, your Camel may "leap" over your opponent's Camel (Fig. 3A). If you do so, return your opponent's Camel to the bag.
• Whenever you capture a Camel, remove 1 MORE Camel from anywhere on the board (Fig. 3B) or, if there are none on the board, remove 1 from your opponent's unplaced Camels. In this way, every capture removes TWO of your opponent's Camels.

Game End

There are 3 ways for the game to end:

1. The player who captures all of their opponent's Camels wins the game.
2. If a player cannot deploy or move any of their Camels, the game ends. Then the player with the most Camels (on the board or in their hand) wins.
3. If each player has 3 or fewer Camels left AND the game enters a stalemate (where it becomes obvious that neither player can win), the game is a draw.

Tips and Tricks

• Don't rush all your Camels into play, as that can make them vulnerable to capture.
• Placing your Camels in the middle spaces of the board gives you more options to move and capture.
• Sacrificing a Camel can help you force your opponent's Camel into an unfavorable space.

Game Variants

Advanced Rules

Choose to modify the game with any or all of these variations:

• Mandatory Capture: If a Camel can capture, it must. If 2 or more captures are available, the active player decides which capture to make.
• Chain Capture: If a player captures and their Camel lands in another capture position, they may continue capturing (Fig. 4A). The capturing player then removes 1 additional Camel for each capture (Fig. 4B).
• Friendly Leap: Camels may leap over their own comrades. The 'leaped over' Camel remains in place (Fig. 4C).

Choko

In Gambia, the game of Choko is similar to Yoté. Unlike Yoté, Choko is played on a 5x5 grid (not 5x6). You can play Choko using the same rules as Yoté with these modifications:

1. Lay out the game mat with the 5x5 side up (Fig. 5).
2. Give the Merchant token to the first player.
3. Choko has a unique "drop initiative" mechanic: Since the first player starts with the Merchant token, they begin the game with drop initiative. This means that every time they deploy a Camel, the other player must also deploy a Camel on their next turn.
   • If at any point, the first player decides NOT to deploy a Camel (i.e., they decide to move or capture a Camel instead), the second player then has the option to take any action:
     • If the second player moves or captures, the player with the Merchant token keeps the drop initiative.
     • If the second player decides to deploy a Camel, they take the Merchant token, and now have drop initiative.
4. Once all Camels are deployed, return the Merchant token to the bag. Then players alternate turns moving and capturing pieces.
5. No chain jumps are allowed.

Mini Expansions

Heroes of Africa

Contains: 2 Royal Caravan pieces.

Setup: Give each player the Royal Caravan of their color. Use each player's Royal Caravan to replace one of their Camels.

How to use: The Royal Caravan is a special piece that can only be captured by jumping over it. Unlike other captures, capturing the Royal Caravan does not allow you to take an additional piece from the board or your opponent's reserve.

Challenges of Africa

Contains: 4 trade route pieces.

Setup: Give each player 2 trade route pieces.

How to use: Trade routes are special components that allow players to create diagonal movement options by connecting two spaces on the board.

Placing Trade Routes

• During Your Turn: You can place 1 trade route per turn to diagonally connect any two spaces on the board (Fig. 6).
• Placement Timing: You can place a trade route either at the beginning of your turn (before deploying, moving or capturing) or at the end of your turn (after deploying, moving or capturing).
• Bonus Move: If you place a trade route at the end of your turn, you can immediately use that trade route or any other existing trade route for a free move (regular or capture) with the same piece you just moved.

Using Trade Routes

• Free Movement: Moving along a trade route or a connected network of trade routes is considered a free move and doesn't count towards your one move per turn limit (Fig. 7A).
• Capturing: If two trade routes are aligned, you can use them to capture an enemy piece by jumping diagonally along the routes (Fig. 7B).

Trade Route Restrictions

• No Crossings: Trade routes cannot cross each other.
• Fixed Placement: Once a trade route is placed on the board, it cannot be moved.
• Shared Use: Any player can use any trade route on the board.