Main Walkthrough

When you begin a new game of Yog-Sothoth's Yard you'll find yourself watching the events of the Carnival, an extra-dimensional auction hosted by a wing-faced man and populated entirely by montrous entities. Accepting only Souls as currency, the Carnival plays an important role in Yog-Sothoth's Yard.

The first time you see the Carnival it will be a story-only sequence. The next time it pops up, however - at the end of week 12 - you'll have a chance to participate. The Carnival is the only place where you can purchase Extra-Items, a series of powerful relics that bestow a variety of permanent effects on your hotel. The Carnival shows up at the end of each month, so you'll have many opportunities to participate.

Acquiring Souls

In order to buy anything at the Carnival you need some Souls. Souls are a special form of currency that are acquired through a few special means:

  • Slaughtering Guests (Tlipoca needs to be on the staff)
  • Activating Affinity Invitations with your Staff Members by raising Affinity (you'll gain 500 Souls every time you do this)
  • Using Soul Alchemy to turn items into Souls - This is by far the quickest way to gain Souls, though it's costly
  • Via events
Your Soul count is tracked in the top-right corner of the screen.


Participation

The first time you 'officially' participate in the Carnival you'll be allowed in for free. Subsequent visits, however, require you to give up an Extra-Item from your collection. If you aren't willing to contribute an Extra-Item then you'll skip the Carnival for that month. Note that you can't use story-related Extra-Items for this, such as the Soul Stone.

Attached to the Extra-Item that you sacrificed? Worry not. The item you handed over will be the fourth in the auction, giving you a chance to win it back - though you may need to pay more than when you got it the first time.


Bidding

The auction takes place one item at a time, over a series of bidding rounds. You have four options in each bidding round:
  • Bid high - You place a bid well above the previous bid
  • Bid low - You place a bid a little above the previous bid
  • Watch - You wait to see what the other participants bid
  • Skip - You decide to pass on the item
At a minimum, bidding takes place over three timed rounds. Whomever has placed the highest bid must get through three rounds uninterrupted by other bidders to claim the item. Depending on the item this can lead to lengthy bidding wars.

If you decide to bid on the item you'll likely face some stiff competition from the other bidders, especially if it's a more valuable item. If you choose the higher bid you'll be less likely to have the purchase interrupted by the other bidders, but you may wind up paying more. If you choose the lower bid you'll pay less, but the other bidders are more likely to jump in and drive up the price.

How you approach bidding varies from item to item. In general you want to see how often the other bidders leap into the fray and bid accordingly. If the item is in high demand you'll probably want to use the higher bids. If no one seems interested, try out the lower bid and see if you can get the Extra-Item at a discount.

Note that before you bid on an item you'll have a chance to use an Oracle to grease the process in your favor. You only get once chance to use an Oracle, so don't forget - and make sure you expend your Oracle wisely. The Oracle disappears once used.

Extra-Items

There are a total of 48 Extra-Items in Yog-Sothoth's Yard. Each is useful, though most of them are just powerful bonuses that will make running your hotel a little easier. (Anything without a description just adds to your Insight score.) You are highly unlikely to see every Extra-Item in a single playthrough, let alone acquire them, so expect your Catalog of Extra-Items to build up rather slowly. Whenever you get an ending and start a new game you keep the Extra-Items you had previously.

Note that some of the Extra-Items on this list are gained through Random Alchemy, not by purchasing them in the Carnival. Yet others are found in Hoshino's Shop as formulae, though you can only purchase these formulae once you've completed a Special Guest quest for Hoshino and created Eltdown Clay. Anything not marked as such is sold in the Carnival.

The same Extra-Items are sold in the Carnival during each playthrough, at the same times. If you lose an Extra-Item you'll have another chance to get it when you start a new game.

  • Aforgomon's Chain - Doubles Slaughter Proficiency after each use of Slaughter
  • Alhazred's Lamp - Increase the number of Common Guests by 20 each day
  • Alien Dragon's Heart - Gained through Random Alchemy
  • Altered Body
  • Bast's Bells - Increases the chances that a Guest will leave items behind
  • Bone Nail - Gained through Random Alchemy
  • Brain Shelter - Gives more Insight than normal when created
  • Byakhee's Reins - Formula purchased at Hoshino's Shop - Sets Evil value to 49%
  • Cassilda's Song - Sell level 5 Cookbooks for Soul Fragments
  • Chthonian's Teeth - Marks Pollution spots while Excavating
  • Cthulhu's Statue - Take less of a hit to your Clean score after using the Slaughter command
  • Dagon's Monument - Guests who exceed the occupancy limit of the hotel give you 50% of their gold
  • Dark Young's Statue - Hoshino's shop sells more items based around Forest Oracles (Restaurant-related)
  • Elder Sign - Story item, prevents SAN loss
  • Eltdown Clay - Formula gained via a Special Guest mission for Hoshino - Allows Hoshino to sell advanced formulae
  • Electric Gun - The maximum Affinity Level with Little Leaf is raised
  • Emerald Rosary - Receive the Cursed Wood, Ancient Wood, Cursed Stone, and Ancient Stone Formulae
  • Eternal Mummy - The maximum Affinity Level with Tlipoca is raised
  • Glaaki Tentacles - The maximum Affinity Level with Haa Lou Ling is raised
  • Green Flame - The maximum Affinity Level with Yevna is raised
  • Green God's Legacy - Hoshino's shop will sell items geared towards Restaurant Oracles
  • Infinite Bubble - Gained from the Soulless Foam Special Guest - Unlocks the Illusion floor of the hotel
  • Innsmouth Gold Crown - Receive 5% more gold for any activity
  • Laird's Recorder - The maximum Affinity Level with Little Leaf is raised
  • Leng Spider's Ovaries - The maximum Affinity Level with Tlipoca is raised
  • Liao Drug - Formula purchased in Hoshino's Shop - Adds Oracular items geared to Restaurant Oracles to the shop
  • Memory Washer - Reduces SAN loss from using Slaughter
  • Necronomicon Scrolls - Increases the chances of successful Formula Alchemy by 5%
  • Old One's Eyes - Chance to receive purified Soul Drops during Slaughter
  • Pharaoh's Ankh - Restores 10 SAN at the end of each week
  • Philosopher's Stone - Story item, raises Alchemy level to 10
  • Pure Gold Element - Story item
  • Serpent Feather - Storyline formula (I think) - Allowed to apply a theme to highest-level rooms
  • Shackles in Dreams - The maximum Affinity Level with Haa Lou Ling is raised
  • Shaggai's Egg - Hoshino's shop will sell items geared towards Excavation Oracles
  • Shoggoth's Body Fluid - Gained through Random Alchemy
  • Silver Key - Story item
  • Soul Stone - Story item
  • Soul Stone - Ancient Red - Story item
  • Soul Stone - Evil Green - Story item
  • Soul Stone - Pure Blue - Story item
  • Soul Stone - Night Stone - Story item
  • Soul Stone - Remodeling - Story item
  • Staryy from Mnar - +20 Stamina for Forest Exploration
  • The Glass of Cold Plain - +3,000 Slaughter Proficiency
  • The Skull of a Mermaid - Gained through Random Alchemy
  • Third Umbilical Cord - Gained through Random Alchemy
  • Whatley's Gold - Can refresh Hoshino's Shop for gold - gets more expensive with each refresh (button at the top of the menu)
  • Wisdom Salt - Adds an extra shelf to the Restaurant
  • Yith's Chela - The maximum Affinity Level with Yevna is raised

Main Walkthrough