Simple without being simplistic (Days of Wonder Ticket to Ride Europe)

Member Name: Linnyg

Product:	Days of Wonder Ticket to Ride Europe
Date:	12/07/09 (28 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to learn

Disadvantages: Playability does wear out

Ticket to ride has proved popular with everyone we have taught it to and is often the game they choose to play. It is simple to learn with only two main options on each turn. You can pick up different coloured train cards or put down train cards to claim a line between two European cities. You may occasionally also want to build a station or pick up more tickets. The aim of the game is to gain as many points as possible by completing various routes between two cities on the board that are on the tickets you hold.

The only tricky things for people to get the hand of are tunnels and ferries. These are an addition to the European addition that wasn't in the USA version, that make things a bit more interesting. The USA version is much more cut-throat as it is much easier to block people off thus making it impossible for them to complete their tickets. The European version is much friendlier and it is much harder to block people off completely, as stations mean you can 'borrow' someone else train line to complete your tickets.

We are serious board gamers and have now gone off Ticket to Ride (having played around 50 games) as we know the game so well, and have memorised many of the tickets so the game is somewhat formulaic with it always being clear what the best thing to do is. However, I don't think this would be a problem for most people who don't play it that often, and it is certainly popular with people who are not regular gamers.

Summary: Fantastic for teaching to new people