Ticket to Ride is an award-winning board game that has been around for over 10 years. It’s a popular product because it offers players the chance to see the world without ever leaving their living room! The game is designed for 2-5 players and can be played with ages 8+. Ticket to ride comes with rules in multiple languages (German, Dutch, English, French) and has three different expansions: Europe/North America 1910s (original), Europe/North America 1950s (second expansion), Asia 1912 (third expansion).
| Brand | Days of Wonder |
| Genre | Strategy |
| Number of Players | 2-5 |
| Minimum Age | 8+ |
| Complexity Rating | 4.9 out of 5 stars |
Overview
Ticket to Ride is one of the most popular board games in history. It has been around for over ten years, and it’s still considered an all-time favorite among families who love playing games together at home or with friends on game night.
Ticket to Ride can be played by two players (in this case you only use half the cards) but I would recommend more than that because some routes are better if they’re completed quickly. The best player count is usually between three and five; although older children might prefer a higher number while your younger ones will enjoy playing with just adults!
The game is designed for players aged eight and up. This means that younger children might struggle with the rules while older ones would likely get bored of them quickly. If you’re interested in learning more about Ticket to Ride, then take a closer look at our full-length review which includes product reviews along with useful tips!
Rules
Ticket to Ride has many rules but they are easy enough for kids older than eight years old to understand. The basic goal of the game is to complete routes between cities on your tickets so you can claim points and win the game! There are three types of cards: colored locomotives, different number trains, and route markers which all have their own special roles in every turn!
Trains
There are four colors (red, blue, yellow, green) with each color having a corresponding set of numbers ranging from two through five. Players must try not only to match these colors when playing their hand but also get close enough in value that they will be able to finish the track(s). Locomotive gives players an extra boost because they can be added to any color set so long as the number is high enough.
Each turn consists of two parts: first, players take four cards from their hands and place them face-up on the table in front of them. Then, players need to form sets (two or more trains that match by either color or value) with these cards which will allow you to claim routes during your turn!
Second part: once all players have played their four-card sets onto the board it’s time for everyone else to choose between playing additional cars, claiming completed routes/tickets, or passing; except for the player who goes first because they don’t get a second turn!
Claiming routes
Once players have played out their sets and there are at least two or more of that color completed in any given city then it’s time to claim those points by placing one of your route markers on top of them. Players can only play as many cards as needed, so if you’ve placed three trains but another set already has four carriages built between two cities then you’ll need to play just enough trains to complete both ends (in this case five).
Points system
Every time players build new routes they score the number next to the destination city printed on each ticket. So long as a section is claimed using either a single train card or the matching pair of locomotives then you’ll score the number printed on that route (whether it’s two or five points).
If there are no more trains to complete a route, or if all players have passed, then this part of the game is over and any remaining tickets are given out for free! These can be claimed by spending just one locomotive but sometimes they might not even cost anything at all depending on how many people played.
Winning the Game
The person with the most completed routes wins – although ties are possible because some tickets will share space between cities so both players could claim them using only half their set.
End Game – once all of the tickets have been claimed (or if there are none left) then it’s time to tally up points. Players score one point for every full ticket they’ve completed but lose two points for any cities on their incomplete tickets which means you can’t just try to complete as many routes as possible; some will only offer a couple of extra points while others might be worth nothing at all! Whoever has the most points win- ties go to whoever has more trains, and then whoever went first in that game round.
Gameplay, Complexity, and Replayability
Ticket to Ride is an excellent game for anyone who enjoys complex strategy games but doesn’t want something too heavy because this one’s so simple that players of any age can understand the basic rules. The game still offers tons of possibilities even though all you need are just a couple decks of cards and some trains – it becomes more interesting when your opponents start blocking routes or competing with you, especially since there’re nearly 50 different maps to choose from which offer very different styles!
Ticket To Ride also has lots of replayability thanks to numerous expansions (which add new map boards, destination tickets & city tokens) along with special editions released every year around Christmas time that include extra in-game toys like Santa Claus playing pieces; if you enjoy D&D style board games then this one is definitely for you because it’s got all the fantasy elements without any of the complicated rules!
Components
The components for Ticket to Ride are quite simple although they’re also well-made and include everything you need from the base box upwards! All of the cards have been very durable even after several years of use while some expansions can be used inside too which means there’s still more variety available.
In terms of tokens, these all come with nice artwork that shows players what each one does but if anything goes wrong then replacements can always be purchased separately so it’s not a huge deal if something gets lost or damaged during a game session.
One thing we really like is how thick and sturdy the board itself is because this makes setting up much easier than having to balance cards on top; as an added bonus, each route has its own color-coded section so it’s very easy to figure out where everything belongs. Players can even choose whether they want to use the older style map or the new one which changes up some of the routes but this is actually a purely aesthetic choice since both maps are equally playable- plus, there’ll probably be more maps available in the future too!
As long as players remember that each route must connect without crossing over then this shouldn’t be an issue though, especially since most people won’t need to change anything between sessions since the game is very easy to set up.
Overall, Ticket To Ride isn’t exactly flashy but it’s got everything you need and includes some nice miniatures too- plus, there are lots of expansions if players get bored with their current map or want more variety!
Final Thoughts
Ticket To Ride is one of the most popular board games for all players to enjoy so it’s definitely worth checking out if you’ve never played anything like this before; there are tons of expansions available although some people might not want to pay extra just for a few new route types or destination tickets- plus, they can be hard to find especially in small towns where only large cities tend to have them.
In addition, each map has its own specific rules and style which means that certain versions will suit different groups better than others but overall we think Ticket To Ride is great because it offers lots of variation from basic gameplay!