Race to the railway platform and cue up that Beatles' song! Days of Wonder announced today a new map collection/expansion for its venerable 'Ticket to Ride' franchise: 'Ticket to Ride Map Collection Volume 7 - Japan!'

This new map collection comes with an over-sized double-sided board (the longest of all the map collections so far) on which players can construct their railways across the archipelago of Japan or the hills and valleys of Italy. Of course, each map comes with its twist off of the classic 'Ticket to Ride' rules, creating a unique experience!

On the Japan map, a cooperative element is introduced, bringing with it a new challenge for players. Certain routes are reserved only for high speed bullet trains, and once completed, ALL players may use them to help fulfill their destination tickets. However, the player who contributes the most to the construction of the bullet train routes receives a larger bonus at the game's end.

Over on the Italy map, a new ferry type is available as well as the map being divided into regions. Players who connect to cities in each of the regions will score bonus points at the end of the game.

'Ticket to Ride Map Collection Volume 7 - Japan' is designed for 2-5 players and requires the trains and train car cards from either 'Ticket to Ride' or 'Ticket to Ride: Europe' to play. In addition to the over-sized board, the expansion comes with 16 bullet train miniatures, separate 50+ destination card decks for the Japan and Italy maps, progression markers, 10 ferry cards, and rule books for each map.

This expansion will be available at this year's Essen Spiel, after which it will be released first in Europe in November, followed by a North American release in January.

More information can be found here.