There is Trouble on the Horizon

There’s trouble headed towards the critter town of Brightspring. The vile varmint, Rowdy Rocky, was spotted on the road north heading our way. That no-good raccoon’s got a large posse in tow. With that many ne’er-do-wells outfitted with irons under his orders, nothing good can come of it. Brightspring hasn’t had a sheriff since Wyatt Eagle passed last year. Supposin’ now, it’s up to us and the town to fend off Rocky and his posse. Except most folks just wanna let Rocky and his boys have their way. Figurin’ they might cause more trouble if they are opposed. So it’s just gonna be us against them.

We gots a day to prepare but I reckon Rocky’ll arrive at high noon on the morrow. I gots no reckoning fer whatever his plans are but can figure they ain’t good. Ifn we’re smart, we can be ready fer him. Get ready fer rootin', tootin', Wild West critter shootin'... It's Yee-Paw!

The Feeling of a Wild West Setting

As a lifelong fan of Western movies, Yee-Paw: High Raccoon is a love letter to works of John Ford, Howard Hawkes, Clint Eastwood, and more. The old timey, Wild West dialect that the book is written and the images critters in western garb helps craft the books fun and playful tone. A lot of research and rewatching the western classics helped shape the feeling that mimicked those films.

Mechanics Furthering the Narrative

The core mechanic in Yee-Paw: High Raccoon is a modified version of Texas Hold'em where every player has their own deck. By using a combination of character abilities, items, and assistance from the townsfolk, the player's hand has to beat the river and any enemy combatants. The design of the game was fundamentally changed due to the pandemic because by allowing each player to have their own deck, this ensured that players could play from anywhere.

With a collection of tables in the book, Yee-Paw: High Raccoon has high replayability. Non-Playable Character generators. 20 different player occupations. 10 story seeds for the villain Rowdy Rocky the Raccoon. Between the roll of the dice on the tables and the luck of the draw with the cards, players never knew what to expect.

Production of the Zine

Using Affinity Publisher and Photopea, Joel wrote, made the art, and did the layout for the entire project. Writing in a narrative tone proved easy as he developed a in world narrator character. The art was sourced from copyright free imagery and collaged together from multiple photographs. The book was laid out in an effort to produce amazing spreads and a cohesive zine experience. Once the book was finalized, Yee-Paw: High Raccoon was sent off to be print by Mixam.

The Kickstarter and Self Marketing

Yee-Paw: High Raccoon was produced during Kickstarter's Zine Quest 3 in 2021. During the campaign, Joel answered daily questions and posted weekly updates to the backers. By implementing a blitz marketing campaign on Twitter, Instagram, and Reddit, the campaign reached a 150% funding goal over a 30 day campaign. Through the support of the backers, they unlocked a stretch goal to produce a second, advanced scenario - Rio Bravole - inspired by Howard Hawkes' Rio Bravo. Sticking to a strict schedule, all of the packing and shipping was handled in house and delivered to the backers who made this project a reality.

Yee-Paw: High Raccoon can be downloaded on The Big Tabletop itch page. This is the only game that is not free out of respect for the Kickstarter backers.