Today Days of Wonder launches a new fleet of “express” trains especially for iPhone and iPod Touch owners with their all-new Ticket to Ride® Pocket game.
Ticket to Ride® Pocket is an all new title in the Ticket to Ride® franchise designed from the ground up to allow iPhone and iPod owners to experience this critically acclaimed board game title for themselves. It is not simply a port of the iPad release to the iPhone, but instead it is a whole new experience which caters to the strengths and play-styles of the smaller form factor devices.
This incarnation of the game focuses exclusively on the US map and features four AI personalities (including an optimized version of US rail baron Cornelius Vanderbot Jr.), 20 unique achievements and 3 distinct leader boards. Ticket to Ride® Pocket also features a pass-and-play mode for multi-player gaming on a single device. Days of Wonder made the conscientious choice NOT to include online multiplayer capabilities to “focus exclusively on a great SOLO and local network play implementation, avoiding the interruptions inherent to mobile devices that would otherwise mar the online game experience.” Instead, Ticket to Ride® Pocket features a brand new local network mode for play between multiple iPhone, iPod Touch and/or iPad devices over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi networks.
“Ticket to Ride® Pocket customer might be tempted to whip out her iPhone and play while waiting in line at a theater; whereas the typical iPad user will be sitting down on a sofa, and more willing to devote 15 or 30 minutes playing the game Online, against friends on Macs or PCs. We do not want to compromise the experience of the online iPad player by having them unknowingly face an iPhone player who could be interrupted by an impromptu phone call, loss of signal or simply quitting a game because the movie is starting.”
The game’s low introductory 99¢ price tag and 20MB file size mean that it is easily accessible and downloadable by any player on any network. Days of Wonder have also included a 90-second video tutorial players who are just being introduced to the Ticket to Ride series (such as myself).
“The distinctive feature set we developed for this Pocket version makes it the definitive way to enjoy
Ticket to Ride as a ‘spur-of-the-moment’ mobile gaming experience,” said Eric Hautemont, CEO of Days of Wonder. “The new local network play also makes Ticket to Ride® Pocket the perfect companion for Ticket to Ride for iPad customers eager to play with family and friends in the comfort of their home or while traveling.
It’s worth noting that a new version of Ticket to Ride for iPad (version 1.3) has also just been released which adds support for Local Play between iPad, iPhone & iPod Touch within a same Wi-Fi or Bluetooth local network.
Ticket to Ride® Pocket is currently available at a special introductory price of 99¢ and Ticket to Ride for iPad is available for $6.99.
