kjell1979's Full Review: Ticket To Ride Game by Days of Wonder
Back when my wife and I were first married we used to play board games on weekend nights with her parents. It was really fun for a while. That is until the one night when we played Risk and my father in law decided to spend the entire second half of the game going after me despite the fact that I clearly wasn't winning. Meanwhile seven years and two kids later, we might start to resume that tradition with our own kids, which should be an interesting experience. My six year old daughter is hyper competitive such that we have to always watch to make sure she isn't cheating, and my five year old son isn't competitive at all except that he wants to always do what he can to negatively affect my chances of winning (such as bumping me in Sorry even if it costs him a chance at winning the game).
So one of the games we picked up was Ticket to Ride. We knew that it might be a little advanced now, but we've found out that challenging our kids to do more than their peers has so far always paid great dividends.
Rules
The rules for Ticket to Ride do not require an advanced degree, but rather they're on par with a game like Monopoly or Risk. The board itself features many different points on a map of the continental United States to signify cities. There are various colored rectangles that connect the different cities. The goal is of the game is to score more points than your opponent. You score points by connecting routes from different cities all over the map. The longer the route between two adjacent cities, the more points you get in an exponential scale. You also have cards where you must connect a constant route between two non-adjacent cities for a specific point value. Failure to complete these routes results in the loss of points.
The game starts out by being dealt 4 colored train cards. These train cards determine how to complete a route. When the train cards are dealt, 5 are place face up next to the rest of the deck and used in the context of the game. Next the players select their destination cards which tell you which two non adjacent cities they must connect to. All players must select at least two destination cards out of the three they receive. The players must then take turns performing one of three actions:
1. Selecting more destination cards, where you draw three more cards and select at least one.
2. Completing a route.
3. Drawing two more train cards from the 5 turned up or the rest of the deck (a blind draw)
Completing a route can be done by having the right amount of train cards to turn in. If there's a route on the board with 4 black rectangles you must have 4 black cards to turn in to complete the route. There are also several wildcards which can replace any color. Also on the map there are gray rectangles which can completed with that number of the same colored cards. For instance a route with 3 gray rectangles can be claimed with 3 yellow train cards, 3 black train cards, etc.
Drawing train cards is your best way to gain leverage in claiming routes. This part of the game closely resembles that of a game of Gin Rummy only without the discard. When you select a face up card, you must replace it. You draw two cards unless you claim a wildcard as a face up card. Wildcards cannot be claimed from the face up cards after you've selected your first card.
On the map there can be more than one route connecting two adjacent points. In a 2 or 3 player game only one of those two routes can be claimed, but for more players both can be claimed. When you complete a destination that satisfies the route on your destination card, you continue to keep that to yourself until the end of the game. The end of the game occurs when one player is down to at most 2 train pieces whereby everone takes one more turn. After the end of the game, the destination cards are revealed and players add (or subtract) up their totals. There is also a 10 point bonus for the person with the longest consecutive route, which is also added up at the end. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.
Strategy
The basic strategy involves you trying to maximize your points while trying to limit the points your opponent accrues. Ticket to Ride features many different strategies to meet this end. My daughter often tries to complete her routes as faithfully as possible, while I try to absorb certain portions of the map and end the game unexpectedly quick if I'm in a strong position. My wife likes to claim key bottlenecks early then gambles on finishing off lots of destinations at the end of the game. But these are simply three strategies and as I found out there are quite a few more.
The more players you play with the more strategies open up. In large player games, it's hard to tell who is truly winning because of the hidden destination cards. So you could try and stifle the person who is up by 20 points, only to find out the person in last place has completed 7 destinations. But I find that the more players who play the more fun it can be. But, I have played many one on one games with my wife and daughter which proved to be rather fun as well.
Longevity
Ticket to Ride is a game that will definitely keep you coming back over and over. Part of the reason is that many games do not play out the same. Ticket to Ride can be played on a simplistic level or one where you're trying to get into your opponents' heads. There are several techniques and strategies which can either be rewarding one game or damaging the next depending on your luck and opponents' strategies. Despite all this the game still feels rewarding to win.
The biggest threat to the longevity is the destination cards. There are only 30 destination cards, whereby someone like me can easily memorize the various destinations after playing a handful of games. That makes the game a little less entertaining because knowing the various destinations allows you to immediately recognize what novice players are trying to do and thus try to block them.
The best way to fix the limited destination card issue is to purchase an expansion set. The 1910 expansion offers more destination cards such that it's a lot harder to memorize one's routes. Another trick you can use is to have a standard deck of cards and a sheet of paper that translates each card (i.e. the King of Spades) to a destination and point value (Chicago to Los Angeles, worth 15 points).
The expansions are definitely the way to go here. Not only does it provide alternate routes and card artwork, but they also can provide different rules and even different maps. In addition to the 1910 expansion to the US game, there's a European version which itself has a 1912 expansion. Finally, by searching the internet you can also find unofficial expansions to the existing game including new countries, rules, and maps.
Finally, when you buy the retail version of Ticket to Ride, you're given a code which can be used to play the game online. Note that this includes the online browser version not the Xbox Live Arcade version. This is a neat feature that really helps to foster Ticket to Ride's longevity when you do not have the means or opponents to play with.
Overall, while there are some deterrents to the longevity of this game, a creative person who enjoys the gameplay can easily create and adopt new rules and techniques to add new wrinkles once the original rules have begun to wear out their welcome.
Audience
Like other intermediate games, one of the concepts kids have a hard time grasping in Ticket to Ride is the idea that your cards must be kept secret. So often kids reveal their cards overtly or more subtlety through obvious tells such that it makes it difficult to play with more seasoned family members.
Another issue with kids playing Ticket To Ride is that the coloring can be confusing. Your scoring marker is of a certain color, but it can share a color with a route. For some kids (and adults like my wife) that can be confusing. To combat this I often replace the colored markers with a small toy that's no bigger than a silver dollar. What we did is have each one of our kids play on a team with either myself or my wife. That way we can explain the strategies to them as we play. Another method is to play with all the cards on the table.
The final confusing point for young kids is the game can feel rather daunting at first. There are a lot of overhead rules to learn before you can just start playing. This is as opposed to a game like Sorry or Monopoly where you start out simple and things get more complicated as you go on. But once you get a good feel for the game, it's pretty easy to pick up and play. I wish I would have had this game when I was Grace's age as I was into traveling and maps. I probably would have known all the locations and route making was one of my childhood specialties.
Overall Recommendation
This game shouldn't be missed if you're a family looking for a fun game to play on Friday or a group of teenagers or college kids looking for a change from the classic video game night. This game might not satisfy the intellectual game geeks like a Carcassonne, Axis and Allies, or Diplomacy, but if given a fare decent chance this game can really be a favorite game to play on board game night if you're any age. The luck factor isn't overwhelming but it's more than subtle such that beginners can compete with more advanced players to win the game. The game length also makes it a great family game such that you can plan around other evening events like dinner, homework time, and bed time.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 40 Type of Toy: Board Game
Age Range of Child: 9 Years or Older
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