Yoto how-to
Yes, a Yoto card can ask a question
A Make Your Own card can stop, ask left or right, and wait for an answer. How it works, and how to plan your first one.
Most Make Your Own cards play their tracks in order, one after another. A card can also stop partway through and ask a question: press left for one thing, right for the other. The story then follows whichever button your child presses.
Try one below. When the story asks, press left or right on the player.
Mia’s new classroom has a fish tank and a reading tent. Left to say hello to the fish. Right to peek in the tent. Press left or right.
How it works
A Yoto playlist can tell the player what to do when a track ends and when someone presses the left or right button. A question uses those three settings:
- Each scene is one track. The question is a short track of its own.
- When the question ends, it plays again. There is a pause of about three seconds first, so it sounds like a question waiting for an answer. It keeps asking until someone presses.
- Left goes to one track, right goes to another. Each answer is the start of its own path.
- During an ordinary scene, right skips ahead to the next scene.
- When the story ends, it starts over from the first scene, so they can try the other way.
There is no back button. The player doesn't remember which way they came, so a story only moves forward. To let them have another go, lead a path back to an earlier scene.
Where these settings come from
If you upload tracks in the Yoto app, the card plays them in order. The button settings are written into the card's playlist when it is uploaded, through Yoto's developer tools. Kolofon's studio writes them for you when you publish a story.
Plan your first one
Start with one question.
- Ask about something they care about. The fish tank or the reading tent. Mum or Grandad at the gate. A choice they would argue about at breakfast.
- Name the buttons in the question. "Left to say hello to the fish. Right to peek in the tent." A small child should never have to guess which button means what.
- Make both answers good. Neither way is wrong. Each one should feel like a reward for choosing it.
- Keep the question short. It plays again and again while they decide. Fifteen to twenty seconds is plenty.
- Bring the paths back together. After each answer, lead both paths to the same next scene. The story stays the same length, and you only write the parts that differ.
What to avoid
- Too many questions at bedtime. A tired child wants a story, not a puzzle. Two questions in a bedtime story is plenty.
- A wrong answer. If one way ends badly, the choice starts to feel like a test. Lead that path back for another go instead.
- A choice that changes nothing. If both answers lead to the same words, the question feels pointless.
Quick answers
Can a Yoto card have choices?
Yes. A Make Your Own card can ask a question and follow the left or right button. The settings are part of the card's playlist.
What happens when the story ends?
It goes back to the first scene, so your child can play it again and choose the other way.
Can they go back a scene?
No. The player doesn't keep a history. A story can lead back to an earlier scene on purpose, for another try.
Is Kolofon part of Yoto?
No. Kolofon is an independent studio. It publishes to your own Yoto account.
