Ticket to Ride (board game)

Ticket to Ride is a railway-themed German-style board game designed by Alan R. Moon and published by Days of Wonder in 2004. It is notable for its simple rules and relatively short playtime, making it accessible to a wide range of players. The game’s core mechanics involve collecting colored train car cards and claiming railway routes on a map by spending those cards.

The primary objective of Ticket to Ride is to score the most points. Points are earned by claiming routes between cities on the game board, completing destination tickets (secret goals that award bonus points for connecting specific cities), and having the longest continuous path of claimed routes.

The game board depicts a map of a region, typically the United States, Europe, or Asia, although other regional variants exist. The map features various cities connected by railway routes of different colors and lengths.

Players start with a hand of colored train car cards and a set of destination tickets. On their turn, a player can perform one of four actions:

• Draw Train Car Cards: Draw two train car cards from the face-up display or the top of the draw pile.
• Claim a Route: Discard train car cards matching the color and number required by a route on the board to claim that route for themselves, placing their colored train pieces on the route.
• Draw Destination Tickets: Draw three new destination tickets, keeping at least one.
• Build a Train Station (in some variants/expansions): Place a train station on an unoccupied city to use one route owned by another player.

The game ends when one player runs out of train pieces. All players then calculate their final scores, taking into account points for claimed routes, completed destination tickets, points lost for uncompleted destination tickets, and any bonus points for the longest continuous path. The player with the highest score wins.

Ticket to Ride has spawned numerous expansions and variations, each featuring a different map and sometimes introducing new rules or mechanics. These expansions often add complexity and strategic depth to the base game. The game's popularity stems from its blend of simple rules, strategic planning, and player interaction.