The Marklin version of Ticket to Ride replaces the map of the United States with one of Germany, and includes a variety of rule and gameplay changes. This review assumes you are familiar with the basic United States version and is intended to compare the two so you can decide if the Marklin version might also be for you. Here are what I consider the meaningful differences between the two:

1. Instead of the United States, you are running routes thru Germany (duh!). However, this is more than a cosmetic difference. The fact is, here in the United States, people have a pretty good idea of where all of the cities on the map are and it is easy to decide figure out routes. The times we have tried playing the German maps with beginners, the unfamiliar geography has proven a complicating factor. While it is not a deal-breaker, for people in the US, it is probably best to teach in the US map first, then "graduate" to the German map later.

2. One of the nicest things about the German board is that it is more strategically interesting. While this is in part due to the merchandise tokens (below) it also has to do with interesting city placement and structure. A player can pursue dramatically different strategies depending on which part of the board they are building. The big prize, Berlin, largely requires the player to use multiple long routes to incorporate into their route strategy. On the other side of the map, the western industrial cities are bunched and connected by short grey (any colour to complete) segments. Or would you rather try to snake your way from Denmark to Austria? Lots of rich and interesting options here.

3. The biggest gameplay change is the introduction of passengers and merchandise. At the beginning of the game, most of the destinations on the board have between one and four small numbered tokens placed on them, to be picked up by passengers later in the game. Then, each player starts the game with three plastic passenger figures. Whenever a player places a route on the board they can opt to leave a passenger in one of the two cities being connected by the route. On a later turn, the player can opt to have the passenger travel along any connected routes they own, picking up the merchandise tokens along the way for points at the end of the game. Additionally, there are passenger cards in the main card deck that, for each one a player has, they can travel over another player's train segment to keep their passenger traveling. Each passenger can only be used once and then is removed from the game.

This is a nice innovation and adds another strategic layer to the game. The tokens decrease in value, so the earlier a passenger is run the more points each city they travel has the potential to give them. It definitely makes Ticket to Ride more interesting. In fact, since we played the Marklin edition first and the original US version only later, we've never enjoyed the US version. Lacking the passenger/merchandise component, it simply isn't deep enough to be properly engaging. We literally only use it for teaching new players.

4. The Marklin edition adds a second kind of engine, a "+4 engine". Like a normal engine, this is a wild card that can be used for any colour. However, it can only be used on track that is four lengths or longer.

I think this was a very poor addition to the game. While it might have been a reasonable idea in theory, in execution it is really lousy. Here's why: in the Marklin edition, normal (and more powerful, because they can be used for any track length) engines are black in colour. The +4 engines are the familiar rainbow colour from the original. The problem is that there are black engines, and there are also black train cars. So it is easy to get confused with the black cards in your hand, knowing if they are engines or cars. Additionally, the whole way the +4 engines work is a nightmare for beginners. Every first game (and sometimes second games) the beginning players will ask at least once "Now what can these do?" or else play one incorrectly. They should have just kept the one type of engine, and they should have kept it rainbow coloured.

5. The cards are larger in the Marklin edition, and this is a happy thing. I have big hands, and the little cards in the US game are, well, little. The Marklin cards aren't exactly big, but just in being bigger they are better.

6. Route cards are split into "long" and "short" piles, and players take four in a draw (a draw can combine and blend from the two piles) as opposed to three. This is another nice - albeit subtle - strategic innovation. The player has more control over if they want to go for the short-and-steady strategy, or try some home runs.

7. The bonus for the longest route has been replaced with a bonus for the person who completes the most routes. This is another smart change, as it rewards people who are strategic about the routes they complete, as opposed to serving as a double reward for the person with the longest route. It just makes more sense.

8. The longest route on this board is seven cars long as opposed to six.

If you've never played Ticket to Ride before, learn to play on the US version, preferably owned by a friend so you don't have to buy it. Then, once you have a couple of plays under your belt, pick up the Marklin edition. While still light and quick, it is a strategically deeper and more interesting game that is a good evolution from the original.