Ticket To Ride
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| No Ticket to Ride collection is complete without Pumpkin trains and every map ever made |
I first played Ticket to Ride
at a local meet-up, shortly after moving to Somerville. We also played Puerto Rico which I liked
better, though my wife preferred Ticket to Ride. Since then, we have bought about half a dozen
Ticket to Ride games, and played them probably in excess of one hundred
times. I recently played Puerto Rico for
the 2nd time. You can tell
whose opinions matter more here.
Publisher:
Days of Wonder
Designer:
Alan Moon
Elevator Pitch:
You are collecting colored sets of train cards in order to play trains between cities on a map. Your main goal is to connect between destinations specified on the tickets that you have drawn
Personal Impression:
I find the connecting of routes in Ticket to Ride quite
satisfying, particularly if it can be done in completely illogical ways. You probably didn’t think Calgary was on the
way between New York and Chicago, but you my friend would be mistaken. As long as I have am able to do my thing, I
don’t tend to care too much about my relative placement. Of course it helps to play with players who
share that mindset. While I’m fine with
games in general being merciless, I’m not sure I’d enjoy a Ticket to Ride game
where my opponents were going out of their way to block me.
Good for People who Grew up Playing:
Rummy style games. Or with trains
Ease of Learning:
Your
options of what to do one a turn are very simple, generally either take two
train cards or lay train, so new players should have no difficulty getting into
the flow. There are more rules than
that, but you should be able to teach and remind new players of other rules
throughout the game.
Fidgety Index
Everyone likes playing with
trains! You have 45 to arrange in any
manner you like. Unfortunately you will
have to put them on the board throughout the game taking away from your
timeless design.
Universal Theme:
Unless you are the homiest of
homebodies, traveling across the country is relate-able.
Player Count and Length:
2-5
Works okay with any count, though the game can be markedly different depending on the number. Factors like whether double routes are allowed can make the map feel incredibly tight, or fairly wide open. The game should take somewhere in the hour – hour
and half range,
Expansions:
USA 1910 is the only direct
expansion and is pretty much a must get for anyone who has played the base
Ticket Ride more than a handful of times. It adds full size cards that are easier to use
than the original mini-cards, additional ways to play, and, most importantly,
increases the diversity of routes.
The Dice Game: We own the dice game, but haven’t used it
yet, mostly on the universal thought that it is a terrible addition to the
game. The game replaces the train cards
from the base game with dice, but doesn’t appear to improve things in any way.
Alvin & Dexter: Sometimes expansions are logical extension of
games. Alvin & Dexter is not one of
those expansions. An offshoot of an
aborted Japan map, Alvin & Dexter are an attempt to bring Godzilla type
monsters to your Ticket to Ride game. I
haven’t tried them, nor do I have any intention of changing that.
The rest of these items come
with a map(s) and destination cards. You
need to use the tokens, trains and train cards from the base game or the Europe
version to play them.
Switzerland is a smaller map
only playable with 2 or 3. There is a
clear best path on the map, so you need to be aggressive in keeping your
opponent(s) from getting it.
Map Collection 1: Team Asia and Legendary Asia: Team Asia adds a partnership element to the game. You share tickets with your partner, but only
know some of the tickets and train cards your partner has. You must anticipate where your partner is
going or risk the wrath of dirty looks and elbow jabs. Legendary Asia was designed by a contest winner. Its main challenge is difficult mountain
routes that require trains to be sacrificed along with train cards.
Map Collection 2: India and Switzerland (Reprint): India rewards connected tickets via multiple
different routes, which changes the game play quite a bit. You end up spending a lot of time working on
making loops instead of getting more tickets.
Map Collection 3: Heart of Africa:
Africa eschews the balance that most Ticket to Ride games shoot for in favor of
segregation. Double routes congregate on
the coast leaving the “heart” of the maps a cluster of easily blocked single
routes. The colors are assembled by
region as well with red, yellow, and orange in the north and south, green,
blue, and purple across the middle, and black, white, and gray along the
coasts. Added to the new color focus are
terrain cards that can double your route cards if played with the corresponding
color. All this leads to a more focused
game where you have a better idea of you and your opponents want, but have to
somehow figure out how to get a lot more of the colors you need.
Map Collection 4: Netherlands:
This is the map to play if you enjoy score inflation. There are many routes available between
cities, but players have to play tolls to the bank or other players when they
build track. Having the most coins left
at the end of game is worth a bucket full of points, which are partially
balanced to greatly enhanced ticket values.
Map
Collection 5: UK and Pennsylvania: The
newest Ticket to Ride arrived in Late 2015.
The UK side adds a tech tree; you start by only being able to build
short routes in England proper and have to buy tech with locomotives (wild
cards) to do more. It is a pretty map,
and a fascinating concept, but it feels like it could have used more
playtesting and development. Initial
play seems to show there is a lack of balance with the routes, tickets, and
tech, and worse, the winning strategies, like always take cards off the top of
the deck to maximize wilds, are boring.
I was less excited to try the Pennsylvania map, but now find it to be
the more interesting one. The map layout
is similar to that of the U.S., but there isn’t a best train path, so routes
can be more varied. Stocks add a nice
little wrinkle. They don’t drastically effect game play, but can help guide
decisions.
Spin Offs:
Europe, Marklin, and Nordic are full Ticket to
Ride games that are playable out of the box
Europe: Like the USA, Europe makes a good
introductory Ticket to Ride if the players are familiar with the
geography. It is a little more complex
than the base game adding tunnels, ferries, and train stations to the core
mechanics. However the train stations allow players to
reach blocked routes making it a bit more forgiving then its predecessor. I think I prefer Europe to the original as
the tickets are better balanced and there isn’t a best path. The 1912 expansion
adds additional material to the Europe Game making players long routes less
predictable.
Marklin (Germany): One of the more complicated Ticket to Ride
versions, Marklin, which is a type of train, adds passengers to the game. Three times during a game you can run a
passenger along your trains grabbing available scoring tokens at some of the
cities along the way. Traveling early ensuring higher point tokens, while late travel
allow for longer paths. It’s a good version for players who would otherwise
find Ticket to Ride too light.
Nordic: The most
distinguishing feature of Nordic is the snowcapped train cards. It is a smaller map, only playable with two
or three players, but it has an interesting vertical design. Lots of ways traverse the map with varying
degrees of difficulty. It can be
frustrating not to get the color train card you are shooting for, as in this
version locomotives aren’t useable as wilds in most circumstances. Still it is one my favorite maps.
The Card Game: Ticket to Ride without the map. If you’re wondering why you should bother, it
is a good thought, so run with it.
10th Anniversary
Edition: A decked out anniversary edition of the base
game.
Introducing the Game to New Gamers:
Do not go out of your way to
block opponents particularly by taking key routes that have long work
rounds. In fact, I have altered my own
trajectory when I thought an alternate route would be a minor harm, but a major
disruption for my opposition. Don’t rush
the end game and ensure players have enough turns to finish what they were
working on.
Apps:
There are actually a few
Ticket to Ride Apps which makes things a little complicated. The main Ticket to Ride app was recently revamped
and now allows asynchronous play across all ios devices, android, and
steam. It starts with the U.S. map while
allowing several other maps and expansions to be purchased. The ai is weak, but that is just about the
only flaw. It has a great interface,
including some features like finding your ticket locations on the map that
improve upon playing the game in person.
Ticket to Ride Pocket was made as a cheap ios phone only version of the
U.S. map. It is no longer necessary
given the universal nature of the other app, but is popular enough that Days of
Wonder will continue to support it. My
wife has played it hundreds of time, and has enjoyed trying to accomplish
achievements like scoring 400 points in a game.
There were also Ticket to Europe, and Ticket to Ride Europe Pocket
versions of the game that were discontinued when the revamp occurred.
Links:
