Ticket to Ride: First Journey App (Asmodee)

One of the very first games I remember playing when I was introduced to modern tabletop gaming was called Ticket to Ride. It is a modern classic by Alan R. Moon and contains elements of hand management, set collection, and route building. It also comes with cool train shaped pieces, which give a nice visual effect when claiming your routes. It was beautiful and simple and the perfect introduction for families and new gamers. Recently a children's version of this game was released called Ticket to Ride: First Journey, which is designed for children ages 6+. It simplifies the game even more and makes it accessible to children at a much younger age. As of late, Asmodee has been on a tear releasing app versions of their popular games, and this is now true of Ticket to Ride: First Journey too!

In this game, you are given route cards to complete, like regular Ticket to Ride. However, the map is smaller and routes are generally shorter. Also, unlike regular Ticket to Ride, you are not trying to complete the longest and best routes, you are just trying to be the first to complete six routes. The app plays up to four people with the ability to play either against the AI or your friends in pass and play mode. It is bright and colorful, which appeals to kids, and the graphics on it have movement and motion to them when connecting cities, which is fun and captivating. After each game you win, you also get a picture to go into your collection and collect, which is like a little trophy for kids. I will say that playing on a phone, the trains are a little hard to place due to screen size, but that is no problem when playing with a tablet. At $1.99, this game is a steal because you get this map and the Europe map if you sign up for an Asmodee account. Highly recommended!

Tokaido App (Funforge)

I am not one who embraces technology. I often find myself shunning it from time to time. I know that ironic, because I run a blog, but it's true. I prefer physical books to ebooks. I prefer board games to video games. In fact, I just joined the 21st Century and bought my first smartphone earlier this year. When I purchased it, I vowed to myself that I would not be one of those people who was glued to his phone at all time, looking at frivolous apps. For the most part, I have been true to my word. I am not addicted to my phone, and it hasn't changed my media habits. However, I do have one vice on my smartphone - Tokaido!

Tokaido is a board game designed by the very talented Antoine Bauza. It plays 3-5 players and takes about 45 minutes to play. In the game, you and your opponents are travelers crossing the East Sea Road. On this journey, you are competing with the other travelers to have the best journey. You can accomplish this by completing many tasks including collecting the most unique souvenirs, donating the most to the temple, and eating the best meals. There are 10 characters to choose from and each provide you with unique abilities to focus your game strategy on. It also ensures that you will have a unique experience each game play.

You can play the game offline in two ways - 1. Solo versus AI players or 2. Pass and play versus people sitting next to you. You can also play the game online versus people from around the world. I really loved the board game version of this, and this app replicates the game well. The graphics are top-notch. The game play is smooth, and it provides a very accurate representation of how the game plays. Hopefully, the app soon updates with the two expansions (Crossroads and Matsuri), so that even more game play value is unlocked.

This copy of the app was provided to me for free by Funforge in exchange for an honest review.