Yooyuball Introduction

It's the latest game to take Neopia by storm! Every world competing for that elusive prize of being crowned Altador Cup Champions! Battling the elements, quite literally, with Fire, Snow and Earthly Yooyus can be difficult if you don't know what you're doing, but with a little expert knowledge you'll soon find controlling the Yooyu is a real breeze...

Controls & Instructions

You control the players on the pitch with the mouse. Hover over one of your players to 'engage' them and move your mouse around to guide them in that direction. You use the left mouse button to shoot into the opponents' goal. Alternatively, you can click anywhere on the pitch to send your nearest player there. Use the Shift button on your keyboard to call all the players (apart from the one you are controlling) back to their pre-defined positions. You can select a player using the left and right arrow keys to toggle through them and use the spacebar to call them to the position your mouse is at. This is useful for off-Yooyu attack.

The aim of the game is to get the Yooyu into the opponents' goal and score more than your opponent does in the three minute match. The more you score and the better you defend, the better the final score will be.

Tips & Strategies

As you first venture into Yooyuball, you might not know what to expect. Sure, you might be able to work out from the menus who you're playing and in what direction, but how much more?

Formations
The formation of your team is vital. There are three formations to choose from, each with its own benefits and downsides. But during the match, many of your players will more than likely be abandoned in the middle of the pitch anyway. The formation is really to see how you fair at the beginning of each play.

The first option (Called '3+1') is mainly an offensive formation. From this position, you can almost immediately get to the Yooyu. From there, you can push up and put pressure on the other team. If one player loses the ball, the other 2 left in the front line can catch the ball if the player hasn't already got passed them. If they have, there is only one defender and a goalkeeper to save your bacon, so watch out! Make sure you score first with this formation!
Recommended for expert Yooyuball players.





The second option (Called '1+3') is mainly a defensive option. It's essentially the opposite of '3+1'. You can still get to the Yooyu in good time, but with only one player up in the scoring area, it's going to be hard for the player to score as there is nobody to pass it to. However, if the opponents do get the Yooyu, you have plenty of people back to save you. Phew! Like you, they will find it difficult to infiltrate your defence and score.
Recommended for beginner Yooyuball players.





The final option (Called '2+2') is a middle-of-the-road option. With this position, you can easily switch between offensive and defensive roles. Although you might not be able to get to the Yooyu quickly, you can easily shoot off and control the two front players. The same goes for the defenders, too. But watch out! This formation is vunerable to heavy penetration. If you leave your players as they are on the field, the opponents can easily just zoom through you and score, so block the central gap as best as you can.
Recommended for average Yooyuball players.



Now you know the formations, it's now a good idea to know the pitch.

Obviously, if you chose to start from the other side, the labels would be swapped around. Don't be silly and score an own goal now. ;)

Yooyus


There are 7 different types of Yooyu; Normal, Snow, Fire, Mutant, Faerie, Darigan and Robot. We'll go into detail with these Yooyus later, but here's some general information about how the Yooyus work in the game.

Each Yooyu is picked completely at random. It bursts dramatically through the game screen to reveal it's identity to you right before your match begins. illuminates the mystery. But you can usually guess which Yooyu it is by its shadow. (You can skip this scene by hitting the Spacebar on your keyboard). When the play commences, it sits in the centre of the field ready to be picked up by either team. It's a race to get to the Yooyu, remember. From here on, the Yooyus will display their unique characteristics, depending on which one was chosen.

This is a regular Yooyu. It behaves in same manner you would expect a normal ball would do. When thrown, it will go a fairly long way without interception (roughly half of the field) with a fair amount of pace.

To score with it, attack the opponents' goal from either the left or right side and, at an angle, shoot the Yooyu into the furthest corner. This will get the Yooyu into the goalkeeper's blindspot.





This is a fire Yooyu. This behaves like the regular Yooyu does, but goes slightly further (about three quarters of the pitch) quite fast. This is handy for passing, but can be harmful for your team if the opponents do this too.

To score with it, attack the opponents' goal from either the left or right side and, at an angle, shoot the Yooyu into the furthest corner. This will get the Yooyu into the goalkeeper's blindspot. You can score from further out due to the fire Yooyu's speed!






This is a snow Yooyu. This one behaves similar to the other two, but doesn't go as far (roughly half the pitch) and isn't as fast. This is useful for intercepting passes between the opposing team, but avoid passing it between your team as they can quite easily do the same.

To score with it, attack the opponents' goal from either the left or right side and get up very close. When close, at an angle, shoot the Yooyu into the furthest corner.





This is a mutant Yooyu. It's unique because it can act like any one of the other yooyu's (except the robot). It can be fast, like the fire Yooyu, or slow like the snow Yooyu. It also curves like the faerie yooyu and won't shoot straight like the darigan yooyu. This can be both a blessing and a curse, so watch out!

To score with it, attack the opponents' goal from either slightly to the left or right side and when you are about half-way between the half-way line and the goal, shoot directly at the keeper. It will either curve into the goal, or go directly in, depending on what yooyu it's acting like at the time.




This is a faerie Yooyu. It flies through the air, but not in a straight line. This Yooyu will always put a curve in its path. Again, this can be useful or annoying. Make sure you know what's going to happen. It curves either way, remember, so be careful, or you could just hand it straight to the other team.

To score with it, attack in a straight line head on to the opposition's goalkeeper. Just before the Yooyu crosses the first goal marker line (as shown in the image below), shoot and it will curve around the keeper. If it doesn't, try shooting from further back.




This is a darigan Yooyu. It's cunning in its operation, as it will go in the complete opposite direction in which you want it to go. Accept that facing the goal would be 90 degrees, and any angle off of that will fire the Yooyu in the other direction of that 90 degree line.

To score with it, attack the opponents' goal from either the left or right side and get up to the edge point of the goalkeeping area. Make a sharp (45 degrees) turn and when you reach the same level as the other edge of the goalkeeping area and release at this angle. This requires trial and improvement to work correctly.



This is a robot Yooyu. This has to be the most random Yooyu you are going to use in the game. If you don't score with it within 5-10 seconds, it will explode. It won't do any harm to your team or score, but you will need to start the play again with a fresh Yooyu. Sometimes, however, it can explode at random times (such as at the very beginning of play). But when it doesn't explode, it behaves in the same manner as the regular or snow Yooyu.

To score with it, attack the opponents' goal from either the left or right side and, at an angle, shoot the Yooyu into the furthest corner. This will get the Yooyu into the goalkeeper's blindspot.



Extra Stuff

Every June, Altador hosts a competition open to all those in Neopia - The Altador Cup. From Mystery Island to Meridell, people pick their favorite world and play Yooyuball to see who can be crowned Altador Cup winner. For more information on the Altador Cup check The Daily Neopets' Altador Cup Coverage!

Conclusion

So that's it. Hopefully you now know more about Yooyuball to go out and play it yourself. Watch you don't scold your hands on the fire Yooyu as you rebound your way to victory! Hooray!