Tabletop Tuesday - Ticket to Ride

Welcome to another edition of Tabletop Tuesday - Your weekly exploration into games of dice, cards, luck and more of the Tabletop world.

This week's game...the cross-country continental adventure that is Ticket to Ride.

Players: 2-5
Time: 45-90 minutes
Genre: Strategy



Ticket to Ride is an easy to learn, but fun to master game.  Each player is given a set of tickets to choose from, of which each ticket contains two destinations that they will need to connect with trains tracks.  Completing tickets will earn the players points, as does laying down train tracks (the longer the track, the more points it's worth).  However, tracks will require matching train colors as indicated on the map, and if other players claim the track(s) first, you will be forced to find other means to reach your destination.  Each turn, you can either pick up two train cards, lay down tracks, or get more tickets.  Keep in mind, whatever tickets you don't complete at the end of the game will instead deduct the points indicated.  The game comes to its final destination when one player runs out of trains / tracks to lay down.  Also worth noting, the player with the longest continuous route will earn an additional 10 points at the end of the game.

As mentioned earlier, this is an easy game to pickup quickly as players will develop a rhythm of mapping out their routes and gathering their needed trains.  With the variety of tickets and available routes, the game allows a welcome amount of flexibility and interesting choices to be made.  To master this game though, players not only need to focus on their own destinations, but pay attention to what train cards their opponents are gathering and where they may be heading.  The game is full of small choices, and players who pay attention to all these small plays and options will be able to better assess the best timing for these choices and ensure their needs are met.  This game is recommended for those who enjoy light strategy and planning ahead, and new players looking to get into more intricate board games.  And of course, train enthusiasts.  Choo choo!

If you have any questions about Ticket to Ride, let me know in the comments.  Otherwise, look forward to future installments of Tabletop Tuesday!