Next Station: Tokyo - The Review
Next Station: Tokyo (or Tokyo trains, as it is called at TGT) is an exceptionally good roll and write from Blue Orange Games. Players flip cards and then draw railway lines in for the Tokyo metro, trying to cover the most areas on their pad to score the highest points.
Next Station: Tokyo - Quick Summary
Score:
9/10
Number of Players:
1-4
Time to Play:
20 minutes
Fun, simple but challenging and a lovely finish to the game components, Next Station: Tokyo is a lovely way to spend an evening without needing a large setup or hours of dedicated time. We highly recommend this game and it's under £15 too!
What we loved:
Really simple premise and objectives
Brilliantly designed pad and cards means the game is easy to pick up
The game just needs four different coloured pencils
There is a good solo mode
Challenging and competitive but very cosy at the same time
It's compact and perfect for holidays
What could be improved:
It's low on direct player interaction
Next Station Tokyo: Get your books stamped
If you ever travel to Japan, you will invariably need to use the railway network. It's superb, it runs perfectly to time, it's clean and the rules on quiet, respectful travel means it's always a safe journey. But the best bit about the Japanese train stations.... The stamps. In each station is a little stamp, normally near the customer services booth where you can take your special train stamp book (which folds out perfectly to fit under the stamping machine) and get that station's unique stamp.
Why are we waffling about this? Well Next Station: Tokyo is all about building railway connections so your passengers can get to work and also collect their unique station stamps!
And unlike our initial geeky opener, this game is really fun!
How to play Next Station Tokyo:
This game is super simple to learn and play. Each round, players take a coloured pencil and then draw in railway connections on their Tokyo Metro sheet based on the cards that are flipped. Connections may not cross, or start from the middle of a line, and they must leave one station and connect to the station with the station's icon that corresponds to the card flipped. Cards are turned over until five stations have been revealed and then the round ends. The players then pass their pencil to the person on their left and the round starts again. Once all players have used all pencils, the game is over and the number of connections, areas passed through and stamps collected are totalled up with points scored for each. The player with the most points at the end wins.
Some cards provide extra movement abilities such as double lines or a street card to connect midway through a line, but overall the cards all follow the same mechanic and means the game is fast and simple to play. The rules provide plenty of visual examples and also support the scoring at the end, so by the time you've played this two or three times, you'll be an expert in playing (but maybe not at winning!). There is also a solo mode for players who want a bit of alone time with their trains and pencils.
Flipping marvellous play
Next Station Tokyo is a lovely game both inside and out. The board game box is small, about the size of a small book and has a pleasingly well-designed magnetic flap that keeps it closed. Inside the box is a thick sheaf of instructions (almost every major language is covered), a pad with plenty of sheets attached, the four coloured pencils and the card deck.
The gamepad appears complex to begin with, but once you understand each section, it actually becomes super simple and clear to play on. Working out how to score your metro lines at the end of the game is easy too, which means churning through games back to back is slick and likely to happen.
The game play is challenging, but easy to pick up. The trick is to maximise the number of areas (marked by yellow lines), while remembering the extra bonuses received for stamp collecting and multiple connections per station. Quietly reacting to the card and proactively trying to make your line score big points, is difficult but satisfying. This is a game that will probably be soundtracked by the flip of card and then the single scribble of pencils dragged along the pad. It's cosy and fulfilling to play.
The pros and cons in detail
What we liked:
This game is simple to play and pretty much anyone can pick it up after a few rounds or a playthrough or two. It's very compact and because it only needs one card turned at a time, can be played on a small table or lap tray, it will also fit into your hand luggage really well when you travel.
The ASMR cosy gameplay is perfect for a night in during the autumn or winter, and because it has a fun solo mode too, can be played alone or with up to three other people. The quality of components is good, and the whole package feels premium even though it's a game under £15.
The game itself is challenging and fun, it isn't frenetic or action packed but the quiet studied fun that bookish, boardgamer people love. You'll sit with a good cup of green tea or miso soup (if you want to be thematic) and carefully draw in your train lines across the pad, a face of concentration as you plan out the best journey you can from the cards. At the end of each round you pass on your pencil and then onto the next line. Scoring makes sense and is easy to do, and this section of the game has pretty much the only interaction you need with other players. A lovely game when you're feeling introverted and in need of peace.
What we didn't love:
This isn't a game for intense competitive player interaction! You can go four rounds and only need to talk to each other to swap pencils and then share the scores at the end of the game. If you're looking for a game that requires lots of interaction, then consider Micro Dojo or Bananagrams. Still add this to your collection though - it's great!
Next Station Tokyo: A summary
This is a simple, challenging, fun game with a great theme that should be an essential addition to any board game collection. It's compact, cosy and great for a cold night with a cup of soup. Plus it's cheap compared to many board games.
Expansions and Related Games
Expansions
There aren't any expansions for Next Station: Tokyo
Related Games
Next Station is a series of games with the same objectives set in different cities around the world. Next Station: Paris and Next Station: London also feature the same setup of cards and coloured pencils, and have the same level of premium finish. If you want more of the same - you can't go wrong with Next Station.
Other Games You May Like
Welcome To Your Perfect Home
Welcome To Your Perfect Home involves flipping cards and then scribbling out elements on your map to create your own perfect 1950s Americana town. Fun, easy to pick up and more competitive than Next Station Tokyo.
Next Station Tokyo: Frequently Asked Questions
What games are like Next Station Tokyo?
Next Station London and Next Station Paris are nearly identical games to Next Station Tokyo set in different cities and with slight variations on rules. If you're looking for other games that are compact or involve flipping cards then check out Welcome To, Railroad Inc, and Paper Dungeons.
Who makes Next Station Tokyo?
Next Station Tokyo is made by the brilliant team at Blue Orange Games. Along with the Next Station series, their catalogue also includes Kingdomino, and Taco Cat.
What are Japanese station stamps?
Japanese station stamps are little collectable ink stamps that can be found at train station customer service booths throughout Japan. Some temples and museums also have their own stamps. They are free to use and often there are people around to help you find them and stamp your paper. Many Japanese stationary shops sell books especially designed to collect your stamps, they fold out in the perfect way to slide under the ink stamp so you can press down hard enough to get a good imprint.
Also look out for their manhole covers, some of them are extremely ornate and worth a photograph (seriously!).
Transparency Notice
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