Ticket to Ride, The Card Game
Ticket to Ride, The Card Game is a new Card Game from Days of Wonder.
Ticket to Ride is riding the rails of success in its board game format. It was inevitable that the game would break into the card game format, since at least two-thirds of the game mechanic of the board game is cards.
The small Ticket to Ride, The Card Game (T2R:TCG) box contains 148 illustrated cards. There are 8 different sets of train cards in 10 different colors, including 10 multicolored cards. There are also 16 locomotive cards, 6 Big City cards, and 46 Destination Ticket cards. The object of the game is to score the highest number of points by completing the Destination Tickets in your hand.
Although there are some similarities between the board game and the card game, this game stands totally on its own as a different way to play the Ticket to Ride concept. In the small box, there are 3 types of cards. There are Train cards that come in all colors, Route or Destination Ticket cards that have point values and color values on them, and Bonus cards which give you bonus points if you have the most of a certain city at the end of the game.
Setting up, each player first gets a Locomotive card which are the wild cards. Then each player gets 7 Train cards. The rest of these become the Train pile. From the Train pile, 5 cards are put face up on the table in the Draw area. Then each player gets 6 Ticket cards and the rest are placed in a pile as the Ticket Deck. Then the player chooses at least one Ticket
card from his six, although he may keep all six.
From the back cover :
“A new train adventure begins…”
The object of the game is to gain points by completing the Ticket cards at the end of the game. To do this, one needs the right color of train cards that the route cards requires in his On-the-track pile. To get trains in his On-the-track pile, the player must first place cards in his Railyard, then move them to his On-the-track pile one at a time. At the beginning of one’s turn, one card from each color that a player owns in front of him is placed face-down into your Railyard pile. However, an opponent my place cards in his Railyard and Train Rob other players with fewer cards of that particular color.
It may sound confusing but it is quite simple. There are two areas that a Train card can be in – the Railyard and the On-the-track. In the Railyard, trains are vulnerable to Train Robbing, if a player lays more of the same color that you have. Once in the On-the-track pile, they can be used at the end of the game for scoring.
During each player’s turn, he first moves one of each different color that he can from his Railyard to his On-the-track pile. Then he can do one of three things: Draw 2 new Train cards from either the Train deck or the Draw area, place Train cards in his Railyard, or Draw a Destination Ticket card. When placing in the Railyard, a player can either place a stack of 2 or more of the same color or 3 cards of a different color. Once the Train cards run out, a round of scoring occurs. The players use the cards in the On-the-Track pile to complete as many Destination Ticket cards as possible. After scoring, if it is a 2 or 3 player game, then the game is over. With a 4 player game, the game can continue.
In conclusion, although not quite the same game as Ticket to Ride, it is an entertaining game. It has a good balance of individual strategy and character interactivity. It captures the essence of T2R but is a different game. It plays fast and challenges your memory as you try to remember what you placed in the On-the-track pile. It is fun and easy to play, and it is also more portable than the board game as well.
For more details on Days of Wonder and their new Card Game “Ticket to Ride, The Card Game” check them out at their website http://www.daysofwonder.com, and at all of your local game stores.
Ticket to Ride, The Card Game
From: Days of Wonder
Type of Game: Card Game
Game Design by: Alan R. Moon
Artist: Julien Delval
Number of Pages: 4 page rulebook, three languages
Game Components Included: 148 illustrated cards
Retail Price: $ 25.00 (US)
Number of Players: 2-4
Player Ages: 8+
Play Time: 30 min+
Website: www.daysofwonder.com
Reviewed by: Ron McClung