Ticket to Ride (Board Game)

Read on to learn or Click here to buy!

OK, so you've seen the Ticket To Ride board game at a friends house or maybe heard about it out and about. Sure it looks cool, but what's the game really like? Read on for the low down on this fun and strategic board game thats getting a good amount of well deserved buzz.

When I get a new game I love to check out the board and the bits, so let's start from there.

The Ticket To Ride Game board


Link up those routes! Way-cool board.

First lets take a look at the bits. When you buy Ticket To Ride, you get a really cool turn of the century, Phillias Fogg inspired, old-timey map of the United States (with a bit of Canada thrown in too ey). The map dominates the fairly large sized board (31" X 20") excepting the outermost inch or so which is devoted to a numbered scoring track where each player marks their current score so far. On the map, important cities that were hubs of the railway system circa 1900 are highlighted along with the outlined routes between these cities. Connecting these cities to each other will be your goal as the game goes on. Some cities like Houston only have two or three potential connections in and out whereas hubs like El Paso have 5 connections. Dope. So what goes on these route spaces? Trains of course, and lots of em.


Boston to Pittsburgh, anyone?

The Ticket To Ride Game trains

Cool trains in lots of colors.

In the game box there are plastic wells that hold different colored trains. We're talking black trains, blue trains, green trains, red trains, and yellow trains. Each person picks one color and will put down their colored trains, and only their colored trains, all game long. The trains are plastic, but well made and look, well, like trains.

The Ticket To Ride Game Route and Train Cards

Collect train cards to make routes.


Connect cities on your route cards for extra points.

The goal of the game is to connect particular cities to each other, so there is a set of route cards which are drawn from over the course of the game. Each route card you pick up lists two cities to be connected to each other, and the number of points earned for making the connection.

There is also a separate deck of cards with different colored trains on them. These cards you will collect and then turn in in sets over the course of the game to allow you to deploy a portion of your train collection down on the board to connect your goal routes.

Ticket To Ride Game Player Markers

The final bits in the box are wooden circle markers, one for each player you use on the scoring track to mark your score. They work.

How the game is played.

Without going step by step into the detailed exact rules, a game of Ticket To Ride basically works like this.

You receive a small number of route cards from the start that represent the goal cities you need to connect to each other to earn points. These will be the first cities you will most likely work toward reaching.

Turn after turn thereafter, you get the opportunity to add to your hand of colored train cards. Once you manage collect a set of matching train cards, for example four black cards, you can think about laying down trains. In this case, you can pick any four-black-spaces-long route still available on the map, turn in the four black cards in your hand and claim the route as your own by placing four of your trains down on the map. As you deploy your trains you score points on the scoring track, the ultimate goal of the game. While doing this, it's crucial to put on your best poker face and try act like you just laid down that route for fun, because everyone else at the table will be speculating about which potential much longer route this is just a part of in your master scheme. You do have a master scheme to connect up the longer routes listed on your route cards right? Good.

As the game goes on you continue to collect cards, turn in cards, lay down your trains, and acquire even more goal routes to make. When the first person gets down to only 2 trains left, there is one final round of turns and then its game over.

Seems simple right? Well maybe it would be if it weren't for a couple of problems. Number one, everyone else is also in a race to connect to some of your same cities, hogging up the potential connection links (jerks!). Gotcha number two, the number of points on the route card is also not-coincidentally, the number of points you get set back if you don't manage to make the link-up by the end of the game. Ouch.

What it's like playing

Ticket to Ride is popular for a reason. The physical game board / map, and trains are cool, fun and set a good mood. It's all very sharp looking and fun to channel your inner railroad tycoon, fiddling with your army of plastic trains. There is a good amount of strategy you can employ trying to second guess your opponents, block their routes, and foil their ability to collect sets of cards. Alternately, you can also be successful playing a live-and-let-live type of game and concentrate on your own routes. While the turns go by fairly briskly, the decisions can be mind benders at times. Do you expend effort trying to finish your routes and draw new ones? Do you block up that connection to New York that Uncle Gus is clearly heading toward? If you buy Ticket To Ride, you'll have fun with your friends trying to out maneuver each other, figuring out strategies, and lets not forget, a cool map and lots of lots of plastic trains.

We at Borgamo have played this game and it's European counterpart (Ticket To Ride Europe) dozens of times, and it still gets pulled off the shelf without hesitation regularly. Thumbs up across the board. Give it a shot. Buy Ticket To Ride and bring it to your next gathering of friends, and we guarantee it will be a hit.


Yeah, a red train!

All pictures courtesy Mike's camera and kitchen table.

Got something to add or some good house rules? Email me and we'll see about getting it in! mike@borgamo.com

For other railroad games, try Age of Steam, Railroad Tycoon, Union Pacific, Stephenson's Rocket, Volldampf.

If you're a fan of Alan R. Moon, chances are you'll also like Ticket to Ride Europe, Ticket to Ride - Marklin Edition, Union Pacific, San Marco, Capitol.

We'll be posting other information about Ticket to Ride, such as strategies, rule overviews, a review or three and more. If you can think of something we should include, or there's anything you'd like to tell us about board games, card games, or a boardgame you think we should look into, feel free to drop us a line at borgamo@gmail.com.