Today, Kerry and I review Ticket to Ride, one of the most popular contemporary board games on the market. As of this writing, Ticket to Ride ranks 84th out of over 78,000 board games listed on http://www.boardgamegeek.com! As this game was released in 2004, this ranking is a testament to its appeal.
At first glance, neither of us had ANY interest in playing this game – high praise, right? I mean, it’s TRAINS. From turn-of-the-20th-century North America. What kind of theme is that, when there are so many newer, flashier games available? Snooze.
WRONG! The gameplay – both its simplicity and its intricacy – is brilliant and addictive. There is a reason this game is considered the perfect introduction to tabletop gaming for the uninitiated. It’s SO easy to learn. Kerry and I had the game down in two turns.
Let’s cover the basics: each player is trying to claim railroad routes between various cities across North America. You each have 45 railway cars at your disposal, but you need corresponding cards from a community deck to claim the routes. It’s essentially a race to claim the right amount and color of cards to subsequently claim the routes you need. Those routes you are trying to complete are chosen with Destination Tickets which you obtain randomly at the beginning of the game, then later on as you complete your initial routes. We don’t really want to go into every rule in the game, since you can find that on plenty of sites (or in the instructions for the game). Instead, let’s move on to WHY we love it so much, and why we recommend it.
There’s a balancing act that happens every time you play, because on each of your turns, you can only take ONE action – claim a route, obtain cards you need for a future route, or get new Destination Tickets. As a result, there’s little room for a “screw-your-neighbor” strategy. If you see someone building a route and you just want to be a jerk and claim a route to interrupt their progress, it could bite you big time later in the game when you need those cars to claim a route you are building.
Because of the design of the game, it’s easy for players of all ages to pick up (it’s recommended for ages 8+), and the theme is also suitable for young players. It absolutely teaches strategy without being cutthroat. The worst is gets is when someone claims a route that you need for one of your Destination Tickets. That happens a lot in games with 3-5 people, and it leads to a lot of of sarcastic, “Oh, THAAAANKS, man!” types of comments after someone claims that one route you need to finish a coast-to-coast route.
The game also has a good level of replayability (as you’ll see below when I discuss the app). Not only is the core game solid and makes players say, “Want a rematch?” almost immediately at the conclusion of the game, but there are a wide variety of expansions and variant editions available. You can buy a pack of new cards which provide more Destination Tickets and variant rules, or whole new boards featuring other areas of the world such as Europe, Switzerland and India. You can even add a sillier aspect to the game with the Alvin & Dexter expansion, which introduces two creatures who roam the board, keeping you from building routes into and out of the cities the occupy!
The Alvin & Dexter expansion is the only expansion we own for the physical game. We noticed almost immediately that this variant adds a strong dose of that “screw-your-neighbor” aspect mentioned earlier. However, that’s only for those who are more aggressive players…like me. It also works better with more than two players.
No room on your tabletop? Try the app version!
I just noticed that the “tabletop” starts with “tablet.” MIND. BLOWN.
We have it on our iPad, and it’s a fantastic way to get in quick games without the setup of the full version. What I like about it is that you can play solo again up to four AI opponents, which means good quick practice! There is an option to play online against random opponents, but I’ve not tried that. The Pass & Play feature is nice and keeps your opponents’ plays secret so there’s no extra info available (you can’t see their Destination Tickets, most importantly). The screen looks exactly like the physical game board, as do the cards and tickets, and you get the added bonus of sound effects like a train whistle leaving the station! I definitely would NOT suggest playing on a phone, however; even though you can zoom in, it’s just too tiny. Anything the size of an iPad Mini and up should work well.
The bottom line: Ticket to Ride is a fantastic gateway tabletop experience. Get past the theme that might not normally appeal to you, and you will be hooked by the strategy and race-against-your-opponent planning it takes to claim the most routes and win!
Have you played Ticket to Ride? What did you think? Or are you tempted to give it a try now? Let us know below!
The post Tabletop Review – Ticket to Ride – Original Game & App Review! appeared first on Candyfloss Ramparts.