Name: Ticket to Ride
Designer: Alan R. Moon
# of Players: 2-5
Playtime: 45 minutes
MSRP: $64.99 CDN
Link to Rules
Synopsis: Ticket to Ride is an excellent game to play with the whole family. At its core is a tactical Rummy game played on a map of North America. Players attempt to connect cities on their Destination Tickets by collecting train cards of different colors and eventually melding (discarding) them to claim railway routes between major cities. The longer the routes, the more points are scored. Whoever has the most points at the end of the game, wins!
Ticket to Ride is one of the first "Euro" style games that I played when I first became interested in the hobby and I have gone back to it regularly over the past 6 years. It is one of my clutch games for introducing new players to boardgaming, mainly for its simple ruleset. Within 10 minutes, I can have the game set up and taught, and also have newcomers claiming routes, blocking my plans and having a great time! And yet while the game is simple enough to teach an 8 year old, there is still enough depth to appeal to a regular gamer like myself. The quick turns, intuitive play and beautiful components translate invariably to an immersive and positive experience for all.
Another great thing about Ticket to Ride is that its designer, Alan R. Moon, continues to explore the system. The availability of different Maps (Europe, Marklin - Germany, Nordic Countries, Switzerland) and mini-expansions keeps the game fresh and provides some flexibility with respect to modifying the level of complexity desired by the game group. Ticket to Ride can now also be played online at the Days of Wonder website. They've even released an iPad app which was recently featured as the iPad Game of the Week.
Ticket to Ride is without a doubt a game that belongs in your game library. If you can't find it in yours, you can be assured you'll find it in ours!
Darren
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