Ticket to Ride Review-Toot, Toot, All Aboard!

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Ticket to Ride is a wildly popular train strategy, adventure board game. Players collect matching cards depicting different types of train cars. These cards allow them to lay claim to railway routes connecting cities throughout North America. The longer the routes the more points players earn. Fulfilling destination cards (goal cards that connect two distant cities) and building the longest continuous railway earn players additional points.

Ticket to Ride can be learned quickly, in about 15 minutes, this makes is perfect for families with children as young as eight . In our opinion, one of the great thing about Ticket to Rides is how it challenges players with strategic and tactical decisions every turn. In a nutshell, Ticket to Ride game play provides a lot of depth without being complicated.

It boasts a myriad of 5 star reviews online from all kinds of gamers because of it’s delightfully simple and equally challenging game play. According to Amazon, it is one of the most popular specialty games of all time. Ticket to Ride has won numerous board game awards such as Origins Awards Best Board Game Winner, and Årets Spel Best Family Game Winner. We totally understand why!

Overview

The game is rated for ages 8 and up. While the game is relatively easy to play, there are components of the game, like the time it takes to complete the game, and multiple ways to win, that make it better for older kids.

Meant for 2-5 players.
It takes 30-60 minutes to play.
Teaches strategy and tactical thinking.
Game components include a stunning game board depicting train routes throughout North America, 240 plastic train cars, 144 cards,and 5 scoring markers.

Game Play

To begin the game, you’re given 3 goal cards. Each goal card names 2 cities that you’ll have to try to connect (eg. El Paso, Texas to Winnipeg, Manitoba).

You have to keep a minimum of 2 of the goal cards or you can choose to keep all 3. At the end of the game, players receive points for connecting the cities on the cards and/or lose points if they fail to complete their goal card routes. Longer routes are are worth more points but they’re also riskier to undertake. The premise of the game is to build connections and disrupt the building of other players routes, shorter routes are understandably easier to complete.
Next, you’re given 4 train cards, the colors of the trains on the cards correspond with the colors of the tracks on the board.
Players take turns exercising 1 of 3 options; drawing 2 more train cards or playing a set of cards that matches a line on the board to then build trains on that line. You earn points for each line built (longer lines are worth more points than shorter ones). Another option players have is to draw 3 new goal cards. They must keep at least one.
Note, players can only execute 1 of the 3 options mentioned above per turn.
The game continues until a player has less than 3 train cars remaining. When this happens each player gets one more turn then the final scores are tabulated!

Ticket to Ride pros

A seriously fun game for families and avid gamers alike. The game play is challenging without being too complex.
High quality game components. The game board is stunning.
A variety of paths lead to victory giving it tons of replay value.
Easy to set up, understand, and play.

Ticket to Ride cons

We couldn’t find any cons personally, but we have read some feel the point swings can be way too dramatic and game play can be a bit long for kids when there are 4 or more players.

The bottom line on this Ticket to Ride review

Days of Wonder Ticket to Ride it’s challenging and fun, and easy to learn and play. Also, Ticket to ride earns top marks for replay value as players must make an array of strategic and tactical choices throughout the game. There are a variety of add-on expansion packs and stand alone spin offs available for the game as well.

Ticket to Ride has all of the caveats of an enduring great family board game

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