Amazon and Days of Wonder are changing how players experience board games. 

Days of Wonder, a board game publisher owned by Asmodee, has partnered with Amazon to introduce the first official Alexa ‘skills’ for Ticket to Ride and Ticket to Ride Europe. Available for free, new players will be welcomed aboard the award-winning games by Alan R. Moon, while Alexa will also act as a conductor for even the most experienced rail-riders. These skills replace the rule books by taking players on a guided experience of the games and offer the option to use it as an additional player. Both official skills are available now in English and French languages in the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. Additional languages and territories will be supported soon.

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 walk-throughs during play sessions. Veteran players can skip the walk-throughs and use other helpful tools that are part of the experience. The skills customise 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.

Adrien Martinot, head of Days of Wonder, commented: “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.”