Ticket to Ride - Board Game

Ages: 8+

Requires: 2 to 5 players

What We Think
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Durability:
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The Good: Railway race game balances strategy and luck of the draw.

The Bad: Streamlined North American version less complex than its European counterpart.

In a Nutshell: Game play often results in surprise endings.

Designed for two to five players, this highly-strategic board game will have players vying for train routes. View larger. Secret Rail Destinations Keep Everyone Guessing
All the action takes place on a detailed, color-illustrated board map of North America. Newbies will want to dedicate 10 to 15 minutes to the well-organized instruction manual, then pass out miniature trains, train-car cards, and destination tickets to each player. Game play is straightforward and consists of only three possible moves per turn: drawing an additional train-car card, drawing a destination ticket, or building a train route.

The train-car cards are color-coded to match specific railway routes, so the basic idea is to collect multiple cards of the same color and then claim a route to score points. Destination tickets present an added challenge by assigning secret routes such as "Seattle to Montreal" and awarding bonus points for completion of these routes. Because the tickets are kept secret, each player's plan for railway domination won't be revealed until the end!

Ride the Rails in Less than an Hour
Because Ticket to Ride only requires two players and can be played in less than an hour, opportunities abound for trying different strategies. While your success relies somewhat on the luck of the draw, part of the fun is trying different strategies like drawing extra destination tickets, discarding difficult tickets, or vying for the longest continuous route (worth 10 points).

Surprise Winners and Reversals of Fortune
Once the miniature trains are played out, each player's destination tickets are revealed. Because an incomplete route can result in a loss of as many as 22 points, last-minute reversals of fortune are commonplace, and victory is never guaranteed.

While those who are already familiar with the more intricate European version of Ticket to Ride might be disappointed by this simpler version, beginners are sure to find it a wonderful introduction to the Days of Wonder board game series. Purchase of the game includes access to online game play, where additional maps and game variants await.

What's in the Box
One board map of North American train routes, 240 colored train cars (including additional replacement cars), 144 illustrated cards, five wooden scoring markers, one rules booklet, one Days of Wonder online access ticket.

Hatch elaborate plans on how to secure railway domination! View larger.

The game features real-life locations across the North American continent. View larger.