Take a train ride around Europe (Days of Wonder Ticket to Ride Europe)

Member Name: mrjoegoodwin

Product:	Days of Wonder Ticket to Ride Europe
Date:	22/05/09 (10 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good quality board, cards and pieces, hugely entertaining for all ages

Disadvantages: Can be confusing for the first couple of games

Days of Wonder produce some of the best board games currently on the market, yet rarely are they seen in high street shops or supermarkets like classic rivals Monopoly and Cluedo.

Ticket to Ride Europe is an updated version of the original Ticket to Ride game (based in the USA), and takes place on a map of Europe as it would have looked at the start of the 20th century.

The basic premise of the game is to complete the routes stated on the destination cards that you pick up at the start of the game, more routes can be obtained throughout the game as you look to take an advantage over rival players.

Routes are completed by laying train tracks between destinations (cities), ranging from the simple (one piece of track) to the complex (over 20 pieces of track, connecting through different cities on the way). Confused? Don't be!

Ticket to Ride is deceptively simple, and once you are up and running, you can normally complete a decent game in between 60 and 90 minutes.

On your turn, you have the option to:

a) pick up train cards
b) pick up new destination cards
c) lay a track between 2 cities

To lay a track, you must have the correct number and combination of train cards - all colour coded. For example, to connect between Vienna and Berlin requires 3 green train cards.

Completing a route between 2 cities earns you points, with longer routes providing more points for the added complexity.

Bonus points at the end of the game are awarded for the player with the longest uninterrupted chain of track, and the player who has completed most routes (destination cards). Points are deducted for any player who has not completed a destination card, so think wisely before you pick up additional cards towards the end of the game, as you could find yourself in negative points territory!

An addition to the Europe version is the ferry and tunnel routes, which provide an additional layer of complexity and chance to the standard routes, as they require special cards (locomotive or 'wild' cards) and luck of the dice to be successfully laid.

At a retail price of around £30, Ticket to Ride may seem quite expensive, but I believe it offers excellent value for money. In our household, it's one of the first games to be suggested after the dinner plates have been cleared away, and is a fun game to play through into the early hours.

If you enjoy board games, you will really enjoy Ticket to Ride. Don't be put off by the train spotting geeky image that you might think the game possesses, it's actually a really entertaining, and surprisingly tactical game that will provide hours of fun and a different challenge every time you play.

Summary: A wonderful board game by Days of Wonder