Ticket to Ride is a popular board game designed by Alan R. Moon and published by Days of Wonder. The goal of the game is to collect and play train car cards to claim railway routes and connect cities on the map. Players score points by completing routes and creating continuous passages of routes to connect distant cities. The player with the highest score at the end of the game wins.
Ticket to Ride can be played with 2-5 players ages 8 and up. Games typically last 30-60 minutes. It’s easy to learn but offers enough strategy to remain engaging after repeated plays. The game has won several awards, including the 2004 Spiel des Jahres and 2005 Origins Award.
Object of the Game
The object of Ticket to Ride is to score the most points. Players score points in the following ways:
- Claiming a route between two cities on the map
- Completing Destination Tickets by connecting the cities listed on the ticket
- Completing the Longest Continuous Path of routes
The game ends when one player has two or fewer Train Car cards in their supply. The player with the most points at the end wins.
Game Contents
A complete Ticket to Ride game includes:
- 1 Game Board map of U.S. or Europe
- 240 Colored Train Cars
- 144 Train Car Cards
- 110 Destination Tickets
- 5 Wooden Scoring Markers
- 1 Rules Booklet
The game board map shows cities connected by railroad routes of various lengths. The map is different depending on whether you have the USA map or Europe map version of the game.
The Train Car cards are used to claim routes on the board. The cards come in different colors, including Locomotive wild cards. The Destination Tickets and Scoring Markers help track progress and final scores.
Setup
To set up a game of Ticket to Ride:
- Unfold the game board map and place it in the center of the table.
- Separate the Train Car cards by color into 6 face-up piles next to the board. Place a Locomotive card face-up on top of each deck.
- Shuffle the Destination Ticket cards into a face-down draw pile.
- Each player chooses a color and takes the 45 Train Cars and Scoring Marker of that color.
- Randomly determine a starting player.
- The starting player draws 4 Destination Tickets, keeps at least 2, and returns the rest to the bottom of the draw pile.
- Proceeding clockwise, each other player draws 4 Destination Tickets, keeps at least 2, and returns the rest.
- Shuffle the remaining Destination Tickets and place them near the board as a draw pile.
- You are now ready to play!
Gameplay
On a turn, the active player must follow these steps in order:
- Draw Train Car Cards: Draw 2 cards from the face-up cards beside the board or draw the top 5 cards from the draw pile.
- Claim a Route: Play Train Car cards matching the color and length of a route to claim it on the board. Place your colored trains on the route.
- Draw Destination Tickets: Draw 3 new Destination Tickets and keep at least 1.
After completing a turn, play proceeds clockwise to the next player. Let’s break down each step in more detail:
Draw Train Car Cards
On your turn, draw 2 face-up Train Car cards beside the board or blindly draw the top 5 cards from the draw pile. If you draw face-up, immediately replenish those cards from the deck.
You are collecting these cards in different colors to have enough of the right colors to claim routes. The wild Locomotive cards can act as any color. Keep your cards hidden from other players in your hand.
Claim a Route
To claim a route between two adjacent cities, you must play a set of Train Car cards equal to the number of spaces for that route’s length. The route’s length is denoted by the number inside the route on the board.
For example, to claim a route of three spaces, you must discard three matching cards from your hand. The cards you play can be any one color or a mix of Locomotive wild cards and color cards. Discard the cards and place your colored trains on the route you claimed.
Each route has only one set of parallel tracks between cities. Once a route is occupied by a player, no other player can claim that route. Some longer routes are double routes with two sets of tracks – both can be claimed.
Draw Destination Tickets
Draw the top 3 Destination Tickets from the draw pile. These tickets each show a pair of cities that you can try to connect for extra points. You must keep at least 1 of the 3 tickets, but can choose to keep 2 or all 3 if you want. Any returned tickets go to the bottom of the pile.
Destination Tickets are kept secret from other players until the end of the game. The lengthy routes will challenge you to claim a continuous path across the map.
Special Rules
Here are some key rules to remember during play:
- Only one route may be claimed per turn.
- To claim a double route takes two sets of cards and counts as your one route for two turns.
- If you do not have enough cards of one color, you may mix colors and wilds.
- You can never have more than 10 cards in your hand.
Game End and Scoring
The game immediately ends when any one player’s supply of colored train cars reaches 2 or fewer. Players then calculate their final scores.
Scoring Rules
Players receive points as follows:
- Complete a route: Earn points equal to the route’s length.
- Complete a Destination Ticket: Earn points listed on the completed ticket(s).
- Longest Continuous Path: The player with the longest continuous path of routes earns 10 bonus points. Ties split the 10 points.
- Incomplete Destination Ticket: Lose points equal to the ticket’s value if you did not complete it.
The player with the most total points after adding up route points, Destination Ticket points, and any bonus for Longest Path wins!
Strategy Tips
Here are some helpful strategy tips to improve your chances of winning Ticket to Ride:
- Complete shorter routes early to earn points while establishing your main routes across the map.
- Save wild Locomotive cards to help you claim difficult routes later.
- Only keep Destination Tickets for nearby cities you think you can connect.
- Block other players by claiming routes they may need.
- If trying for Longest Path, calculate exactly how long it needs to be.
Variations
Ticket to Ride has a number of variations and expansions:
- USA vs. Europe Maps: The core rules stay the same on maps of the USA or Europe.
- 1912 Expansion: Adds new gameplay elements like ferry routes, train stations, depots, and bigger cards.
- Alvin & Dexter Expansion: This exclusive to Amazon version includes individual player boards and mini routes.
- 2 Player Rules: With only 2 players, use just the Southern routes on the USA map.
- Team Play: For 2 teams of 2-3 players each, combine team scores.
Conclusion
Ticket to Ride is a fun, award-winning board game that is easy to learn but offers deep strategy. The goal is to collect cards, claim routes, connect cities, and complete Destination Tickets to score the most points. With elegant mechanics, accessible gameplay, and appealing train theme, Ticket to Ride delivers a classic board game experience for all ages. It’s a must-have for any game collection!