Ticket to Ride Rules – Learn How to play Ticket to Ride Game
If you love trains and board games then Ticket to Ride is for you. Ticket to Ride is an exciting board game that involves a cross-country train ride. The original version of the game comes with a map of North America but since its popularity, it provides a huge collection of other maps too. For example, you can find Ticket to Ride Europe, Ticket to Ride Nordic Countries, Ticket to Ride New York, and so on. Ticket to Ride rules are easy to follow and can be played with kids 8+. You can pick the map of your liking and start playing. But before that let’s learn about one more interesting feature upon which this game was developed.
Alan. R.Moon, who designed Ticket to Ride was inspired by the ubiquitous travels in the novel “Around the World in Eighty Days” where the protagonist wins 20,000 pounds for traveling the world in 80 days. Ticket to Ride is one such game that requires the player to travel through the map and get as many points as possible.
Let’s learn about the preliminaries of the game and how to play Ticket to Ride.
How to play Ticket to Ride
Requirement of the game
A game of Ticket to Ride is played until the players are left with two or less than two
trains. The game requires:
▸ 2-5 players
▸ 1 board of Ticket to Ride
▸ 5 scoring markers
▸ 142 illustrated cards (110 train cards, 30 Destination Cards, 1 summary card, 1 longest route bonus card)
▸ 225 different colored trains
The objective of the game
The main objective of Ticket to Ride is to score the highest points. Players get points in three ways.
▸ By placing trains and connecting two cities.
▸ By completing destination cards.
▸ Having the longest continuous train routes.
▸ If a player is unable to complete the destination then the player loses points.
Scoring in the game of Ticket to Ride
The game comes with a scoring card with detailed scores written on it. It also has a number strip on the margins of the board which helps to keep track of the score of each player. Ticket to Ride rules state that once the game ends, the bonus card and the longest route determine the final score and the winner. Otherwise, there are two basics to remember in order to win the game. The two integral Ticket to Ride rules are mentioned below:
Score by claiming a route
Each time a player claims a route, he uses the wooden marker to mark his points on the corner of the board. The length of the route determines the score for a player. 1 train scores 1 point, 4 trains score 7 points, 6 trains score 15 points.
Score by drawing destination ticket cards
A player can use his turn to either claim a route or draw a destination card from the destination shuffled deck. Each destination card has the name of two cities and the player is supposed to complete that route. If the player succeeds in completing the route then he gets the score written on each destination card.
How to win Ticket to Ride
Winning the game of Ticket to Ride does not require much effort but some technique and strategy. Following are the Ticket to Ride rules that can help you win the game.
Once the cards are drawn, the player should focus on claiming as many routes as possible. Higher the number of routes, the higher the chance to score. For example, claiming 6 routes equates to 15 points, 5 routes to 10 points, and so on.
Whoever makes the longest route gets additional points which are a deal-breaker for a player.
Another tip to remember while playing is to use destination cards wisely. Remember, winning requires completion of a route – departure to destination- as per the destination ticket cards.
Tips
▹ To claim a route a player can only use the same colored and the same number of cards as of the route.
▹ In the case of a 2-3 player game, only one route can be claimed by one player.
▹ If more than 3 players are playing the game then two players can claim the adjacent routes.
▹ If the route is gray in color then any set of similar train cards can be used to claim the route.
▹ A locomotive train card is treated as a wild card that lets a player claim any route irrespective of its color.
▹ If a player gets a locomotive from a blind draw then the player can draw one more card from the shuffled pile.
▹ But if a player gets a locomotive from the face-up cards, then he can only get one card from the shuffled deck instead of two.
▹ If three locomotives show up in the face-up cards then discard that pile and draw more from the deck.
▹ A player can claim any open route in his turn.
▹ Train cards are discarded after use.
▹ Always add a card from the shuffled train card deck to the face-up cards after drawing two cards from the face-up train cards.
▹ If and when the train shuffled deck runs out then shuffle the discarded cards and use those cards.
▹ A player can draw up to three destination cards at once.
Rules of the Game
2 – Keep the wooden score markers next to the scoreboard.
3 – Shuffle the train cards and deal four cards to each player.
4 – Place the rest of the shuffled deck train cards on the table. Take five cards from the deck and put them face-up on the table next to the board.
5 – Shuffle the destination cards and draw three cards each to each player. These cards remain hidden from other players. (A player can discard one of the destination cards if he wants to. The discarded card goes to the bottom of the shuffled destination card deck).
6 – The person with the most travel experience takes the first turn. Play clockwise.
7 – The player can take either of these three actions:
. Draw two train cards from the faceup cards, or from the shuffled train deck, or one card from each.
. Draw a destination card.
. Claim a route. And move the score marker to the corresponding points.
8 – When a player is left with 2 trains then each player takes the last turn and the game ends.
9 – Calculate the score.
10 – Add or subtract the destination points and the player with the longest route gets additional bonus points.
11 – If the game ends in a tie then the player with the complete destination wins. If it is a tie in destination cards then the player with the longest route wins.
FAQs
How many cards can a person draw from the destination card deck?
A player can draw three destination cards but can also choose to keep one destination card if he wants to.
Is there a limit to the number of cards a player can hold in his hand?
No. There is no limit.
How does the player know the game has ended?
When any player is left with two or fewer trains then each player takes one last turn and the game ends.
Are train cards and destination cards shuffled and divided together?
No. Destination cards and train cards are shuffled and divided among players separately. Four train cards and three destination cards are given to each player.
When do players discard the train cards?
After claiming a route, the train cards go to the discard pile.