Ticket to Ride

Claim the rails, complete your routes, and never forgive Aunt Carol for Nashville.

Ticket to Ride is the game that got a generation into board games, and it still does the job better than almost anything else on the shelf. You collect coloured train cards, spend them to claim railway routes across a map of North America, and try to connect the cities listed on the destination tickets in your hand — while everyone else quietly takes the exact stretch of track you were counting on.

How it works

On your turn you do one of three things: draw train cards, claim a route with the cards you're holding, or take new destination tickets for more points and more risk. That's the whole game. It takes about three minutes to explain and most people are plotting properly by their second turn.

The tension comes from the map. There are only so many routes between any two cities, and the moment someone claims the one you needed, you're going the long way round or you're not going at all. Completed tickets score; unfinished ones count against you.

Why it's the one to start with

Alan R. Moon's design won the Spiel des Jahres in 2004 — the biggest award in board gaming — and has sold over 18 million copies since. It sits in the sweet spot almost nothing else manages: simple enough for a ten-year-old and a grandparent to pick up in one go, sharp enough that experienced players still argue about it afterwards.

If someone asks you to recommend their first proper board game, this is still the answer.

The details
Players: 2–5 | Playing time: 30–60 minutes | Ages: 8+ | Designer: Alan R. Moon | Publisher: Days of Wonder

Perfect for: New gamers, families with mixed ages, Christmas presents that actually get played, and anyone with a competitive streak and a fondness for trains.

—

📖 Not sure which version to buy? The Top 5 Ticket to Ride Versions (And Which One to Grab Next) — our guide to the maps, and which one belongs on your table.