Mobile Review: Tokaido

Mobile : Tokaido

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Tokaido might be the most relaxing board game you will ever play, and you have the opportunity to buy the physical version, we strongly recommend it. While not overly complicated, attempting to explain all the rules of the game here would be much too wordy, so we’ve linked off to a PDF of the rules. In Tokaido, you choose from numerous travelers and begin a trek between two major Japanese villages: Kyoto and Edo. This path is, not surprisingly, called Tokaido. Along the way you will stop collect a variety of items that will give you points, and whomever has the most points at the conclusion of the game is deemed the winner.

There is a lot of strategy to consider in Tokaido, and no two play throughs will ever be the same. Out of the box, there are tons of items to lay out and organize, so I was skeptical when the developers told me they had ported this experience to mobile devices. My skepticism was unfounded, however, as the developer shave done a great job of porting over everything from the physical release, and putting it in an orderly fashion on the screen.

The major enjoyment for me when playing Tokaido is that it really is a calm game. Yes, you are ultimately competing with others to have the most points at the end of the game, but very few actions from opponents will ever be done to deliberately hinder you, and with only a few options available on any given turn, there isn’t a whole lot to think about. Whether you focus on one collectible to maximize points, or try for a range of items, there are various strategies that will work; unless you purposefully skip numerous spots on the board, it’s pretty difficult to not have a close score at the end of the game, regardless of what you did.

I generally would never recommend a mobile app over an actual physical board game, because you lose that social setting pretty quickly if you are just passing an iPad around. However, Tokaido becomes even MORE relaxing when played on mobile, bringing the bright and soothing colours of the board game, and adding in some outstanding cultural music. In most mobile games, I’ve turned off the music and sound effects long before I’ve been finished with the game. When playing Tokaido with my wife, I actually linked up with a blue tooth speaker to maximise the sounds.

Playing Toakido on the iPad is a much cheaper alternative to purchasing the board game itself, which in Canada ran me 44.99 when I purchased it about a year ago. For a 1/4 of that price, you can basically play the same game with very few drawbacks. When my wife and I go out on dates to local coffee shops, we always bring along the iPad packed with digital versions of our favorite games. Despite there being a number of good adaptations – Ticket to Ride, Catan, and more – we fully believe that Tokaido has risen to the top.