Before You Buy...USA 1910

This review is written for any who are curious about this game. It is an overview of this Ticket to Ride Expansion and should give you an outline of the changes it offers. While it is a fairly simple change, the shift in game play is remarkable.


(Picture by laiernie)
Pictured are the contents of the tin box...new cards and a rule book (on the left) with game instructions in nine languages.

First things first...
This is an expansion. As such, it can only be played with one of the Ticket to Ride base games. No new players are added – the game is still for 2-5 players.

What’s in the tin box?
Among other things, this expansion provides a complete new set of all 110 Train Cards. If your first set is wearing out, or if you prefer larger full sized cards, then you may want this expansion for the train cards alone. The original 30 Destination Tickets are also included, reprinted in full sized cards. As well, there is one Longest Route bonus card.

(Picture by jeeky)
This expansion provides all the cards from the original game, plus new ones, in high quality full sized card format.

What’s new?
Along with reprints of the original cards, this expansion provides 35 new Destination Tickets. The tickets of the old Mystery Train expansion are also included in this set. (This is an out of print expansion of four destination cards that was originally released in 2004 at the game fair in Essen, Germany.)

The four cards of Mystery Train Expansion. (Click on it for a larger view.)


(Picture by jeeky)
Pictured, the original deck and new Destination Tickets are compared. With the 35 new destinations and four Mystery Train cards added, there are now 69 Destination Cards.

As well, there is a new bonus card added.

(Picture by kilgore)
The new Globetrotter Bonus Card (bottom) awards 15 points to the player who has completed the most routes. The 10 point Bonus Card for Longest Route is also included.

How do you play?
The rules include three new ways to play Ticket to Ride using the new Destination Cards and Globetrotter Bonus Card. None of these games are difficult to understand. The rules are very simple...but the game play has an entirely new feel. Here is a look at the three new ways to play...

1910
Some of the Destination Cards are marked with a 1910 logo in the corner. These are separated out and become the only cards used. As well, the Longest Route card is set aside, and replaced with the new Globetrotters Bonus Card.

This variant is played using the standard rules and has a very similar feel to the original game. The one noticeable change are the new destinations mixed among some of the original ones. This variation appears to have been included for those who really don’t want their Ticket to Ride tampered with. However, it does provide a freshness to a game (that may be growing stale for some) without any major game shift.


Cards are sorted according to the logo. The top card shows the words "Big Cities" in the bottom right corner. The bottom card, displays "1910" near the top right. (Click on it for a larger view.)

The Mega Game
This variant uses all 69 Destination Tickets. The most noticeable change is that many of the new destination tickets can be completed quickly. Several require only 4 or 5 trains. One only requires two trains. On top of this, many of the cards overlap part of their route with other cards. This can enable players to complete tickets quickly.

As routes fill in, there becomes a greater possibility that a Destination Ticket may be drawn that a player has already completed. (For example they may have already finished Toronto to Miami, only later draw Toronto to Charleston.) Mid-game, other tickets may only require a player to add a couple of trains cars to finish a longer route. As a result of this, players are more prone to draw new destination tickets throughout the game. The Mega Game almost becomes a race to complete as many routes as possible. In a recent two-player game, I completed 15 tickets. (Prior to this the most we had seen finished was 12.) The Mega Game is by far my favourite of the three new variations. It is such a temptation to draw new Destination Tickets hoping for an easy point grab. And with the 15 point Globetrotter Bonus waiting, it can be a real enticement.

The Big Cities...
To play this variant the tickets are divided; players use only the cards marked with “Big Cities”. This allows 35 tickets to be in play, (15 from the original set and 20 new ones). All Destination Tickets have players depart from (or arrive at) one of seven cities. This greatly increases the odds that opponents will require the same routes. As a result, it does not usually take long before someone is inadvertently blocking another player. The Big Cities variant is fun for those who like more aggressive play...but the blocking is usually done accidentally.

While the Mega Game feels like a race to complete tickets, Big Cities feels like a race to claim important routes or sections.

Overall...
I like this expansion. I have only been a mediocre fan of Ticket to Ride. It is hands down one of the best gateway games around, and for that alone it deserve attention. However, this expansion has greatly increased my desire to play Ticket to Ride. The variety of play that is derived from such a simple rule set is surprising. The many new destination cards keep opponents guessing where you are headed. And the new Bonus Card adds a level of strategy that was missing. For me, this expansion has fine tuned the original and given it new steam.