This one happens to be my favorite entry into the TtR series. Why?

1) The American version allows for too many shennanigans, as players would rather complete connections rather than fulfill tickets. The tickets being undervalued makes this strategy work. Plus, the US board is not as interesting as Europe, with everything laid out along simple north-south east-west axis.

2) Marklin is a bit too fiddly for my tastes, as the tourists add needless complexity to try to make up for the board's limitations. That everything is arranged in a mostly north-south orientation limits the replay value for me.

Now, onto the game at hand.

HIGH CONCEPT
The game focuses on pre-WWI railbuilding in Europe. It is a rummy-like game of fulfilling contacts (ie, city-connection) with a little bit of push my luck and some deduction aspects (in trying to figure out where your opponents are building). It is simple enough to learn, making it a good gateway game, but with a lot of "there" there for a serious gamer.

THE BITS
The trains and stations are high-quality plastic components in basic colors, and make the game a joy to play. The cards, both the contracts and those used to put down track, are attractive in their own right. The train cards each have a different kind of train symol on them. So a wild card has a locomotive, while another looks like a coal car, another like a sleeper, and another like an observation car, and so on. The eye-candy aspect of the game helps it as a gateway game, and often appeals to female non-gamers (a definite plus in my book).

THE BOARD
An attractive map of pre-WWI Europe. Well-drawn, it captures the time period fairly well. The biggest concern about the map is that the city names are in their native tongue, so it may take a while to learn where they are. Thankfully, the contract cards give a reasonably good idea of where their end point cities are. Rule 1 about this game: learn the map.

GAME PLAY
Simple, but with some depth. Just like the others in the series, players gather cards in one color so as put down trains on lines that either match that color or on the "colorless" grey lines. Three aspects that make this one unique in the series are Stations, Tunnels, and Ferries.

Stations allow an end-around in case a player has be shut out of a city. It counts as a connection between his line and that of another player's. But there are only three, so they should be used wisely and sparingly (unusused one are worth points in the end). The Stations make the game a little less of a "take that" type, and this adds appeal to newbies who are not necessarily used to the weaseliness and other forms of backstabbing behavior common to many hardcore gamers.

Tunnels are train lines that can take a little longer to build. Simply put, they may require an extra card (or more) of that color OR simply waiting an extra turn if a player does not have extras. So it is highly recommended that players building Tunnels have 1 extra card in the color they need.

Ferries allow cities to be connected across the water. However, each requires a certain number of wild cards (locomotives) to build. But some places -- Brittain and Scandanavia -- cannot be reached without them.

WINNING
Complete the most contracts. Build the biggest route segments. But keep a sharp eye on what your competitors are doing and what they are collecting.

OVERALL
TtR:E is a Euro designed by Americans. It has elements of both: a strong theme that fits its makers' genetics; and good, balanced game play that is the former's pedigree.

This is a fun little game that appeals to both new gamers and some experienced ones as well. It is well designed, simple to understand, and has decent replay potential. Its only luck element comes from the Card Draft, but a resourceful player can do almost anything with what is offered there. As the game usually clocks in at an hour to an hour and a half (if explaining it to newbies, or playing with APers), it is not an overly long game. Plus I have yet to sit down to play it where I have not been rewarded with a good time.

Well worth the price. A splendid gateway game to add to any board gamer's collection.