Z-Man’s First Class: A Journey on the Orient Express taking a worldwide trip in 2017

Pandemic and Carcassonne publisher Z-Man Games has revealed that its train-themed card game First Class: A Journey on the Orient Express is set for worldwide release next year.

The game was originally released in Germany earlier this year, and will arrive in the US and Canada in mid-December, with Z-Man adding that a wider launch “may be only in early 2017 for the rest of the world”.

Players compete to lay down a route, spruce up their train carriages and attract notable passengers to their railway network, with more a more comfortable ride resulting in higher fares.

More than 300 cards come in the box, as well as 84 tiles, 40 wooden pieces and four player boards. A price wasn’t confirmed.

First Class was designed by Helmut Ohley, who previously explored a love of trains in Russian Railroads. Two to four people can play, with a match taking about 20 minutes per player – so from 40 minutes to just under an hour and a half.

Z-Man notes that “these dates are subject to change in light of possible shipment and logistics issues out of our control” – what the recent acquisition of its parent firm F2Z Entertainment by Asmodee might mean for this particular game remains to be seen.