Ticket To Ride’s New Amazon Alexa Skills are Perfect for New Players

Days of Wonder’s Ticket to Ride is one of the most popular board games around, but the experience is going to get even better with the game’s newest addition, which integrates support for Amazon’s Alexa. That’s right, Alexa Skills are coming to Ticket to Ride, and they are being rolled out for the core Ticket to Ride game and Ticket to Ride Europe for free. This is especially nice for newcomers to the franchise, who will use these instead of rule books on a more guided experience, and this can even be used as an additional player. Both skills are available now in English and French in the U.S., the U.K., and France, and here’s how it works.

You’ll say “Alexa, launch Ticket to Ride” (or “Alexa launch Ticket to Ride Europe”) when starting the game, and that’s when Alexa will guide you through the whole process, including setup of the game and a walkthrough of the rules if the player so chooses. For those who don’t want the more guided walkthrough, they can skip that and take advantage of the other additions, like Alexa keeping track of remaining trains, points, and more.

Even better is that for those who just want another player in the game, you can have Alexa fill that spot. For the full rundown of what these Alexa skills will do you can check out the official description below.

“After saying, “Alexa, launch Ticket to Ride” or “Alexa, launch Ticket to Ride Europe,” players are taken on a guided journey from setup to the end of the game for either game. No matter the player’s experience level, the skills offer new ways to play and learn. For those new to the game, they offer full rules walkthroughs during play sessions. Veteran players can skip the walkthroughs and use other helpful tools that are part of the experience. The skills customize themselves to the number of players and track their remaining trains, the longest route, points, and more. They also act as an additional player for groups looking for an extra person or anyone who wants to get in a solo game against the skill itself. While each player takes their
turn, the skills provide thematic background music and sound effects to immerse everyone in the world of Ticket to Ride.”

“Ticket to Ride is a fast-paced, immersive board game experience that is now being elevated by voice,” said Joe Balzarini, Director, Alexa Skills. “We’re thrilled to be working with Days of Wonder to bring these skills to life and provide customers with an immersive, interactive voice gaming experience.”

“Working with Amazon to bring the Ticket to Ride and Ticket to Ride Europe Skills to Alexa- enabled devices has been exciting. We believe this is a great way for players to discover these classic games for the first time or in an amazing new way,” said Adrien Martinot, Head of Days of Wonder.

Both skills are available now.

Are you excited about what Amazon’s Alexa skills bring to Ticket to Ride? Let us know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MattAguilarCB for all things tabletop!