Ready, Set, Yokohama!
Ready to Race?
The year is 1872 and you are ready to embark on your exciting journey to Yokohama. Not only will you be able to witness the novel modes of change boasted by the this savvy boomtown, but partake in them. Are you ready to become one with the ever advancing scope of the port and a greater modernizing Japan under the the young Meiji regime’s guiding hand?
Explore dynamic modes of change in a treaty port through our modern interpretation of Toyokuni IV’s 1872 “Catalogue of the Trip to Yokohama in Sugoroku.” Steam trains, boats, the telegraph, and more! These are just taste of the novelties you are preparing to explore. How has Japan adapted to expanding foreign influence and likewise, how has the nation of the rising sun infiltrated the outside world? These are the questions you will be asking throughout your sojourn to and from Yokohama treaty port, a wide-open harbor of possibility, opportunity, and adventure.
What is Sugoroku?
Literally translated as “double six,” a sugoroku is a die-based race game that at its most basic level resembles the game Snakes and Ladders. The sugoroku, composed of action-packed boxes that each contain an image and Japanese text, acts as our game board. Fast travel squares function as our ladder, allowing players to whizz up to Yokohama at a faster speed via new modes of modern transportation.
Taking place at the beginning of the Meiji period (1868-1912), “Catalogue of the Trip to Yokohama in Sugoroku” is reflective of the historical transition between isolation and globalization. Acting as the players’ travel guide throughout Yokohama treaty port, this sugoroku provides a window into the 19th century boomtown and cosmopolitan space of globalized trade in Japan.
Credits
Ready, Set, Yokohama! was developed by the Fall 2022 Yoshihama Games team of Ella Barton, Robyn Fajardo, Kenneth Le and Vishi Sant under the supervision of Dr Jessa Dahl at the University of Texas at Austin.
You can find the game text and the complete list of sources on our website at www.utjapanlab.com/ready-set-yokohama.
Minimum 1 player, maximum 4 players. Estimated game play is 45 min - 1 hr.
