This review continues my series of detailed reviews. I have tried to cover every aspect of the game and as such you may prefer to skip to the sections of most interest.

Summary

Game Type - Card Game
Play Time: 30-50 minutes
Number of Players: 2-4
Mechanics – Set Collection, Memory
Difficulty – Easy (Can be learned in under 10 minutes)
Components - Very Good

Ok I'll be honest and say up front that when I heard of this impending release several months ago I was more than dubious. I mean, did we really need another Ticket to Ride Game? Did we need it in a card game format?

Of course I bought the game thinking it may be quick to play with my Mum who likes the Board Game version of TtR.

Let's check it out.


Image Courtesy of MarkKaufmann

Theme

Nothing to report here really. This is a classic card game where theme isn't all that important. Not surprising really when the board game version is fairly light on theme as well.

The key difference between the two is that the board game is about connecting routes by playing cards. In TtR: The Card Game the players are trying to gather the cards that will directly satisfy the requirements for Ticket Cards.

The Components

Not surprisingly the game consists of cards. They are the same size as the large cards used in the board games and they offer a nice matte finish and feature vibrant colours.

Interestingly I find the artwork on the cards to surpass any of the TtR board games I have played.

In all there are -

16 Locomotive Cards - which act as wilds and can be substituted for any colour.


Image Courtesy of cnidius

Locomotive is on far left

10 of each Train Card - in 8 different colours for a total of 80 Train Cards.


Image Courtesy of Artax

46 Destination Ticket Cards - Each card features 2 city destinations, which are named. The cards then feature a series of coloured circles down the left of each card, which denote the coloured Train Cards that must be collected to satisfy the Ticket.

Each Ticket also features a value, which will be earned or lost depending on whether a player is successful or fails in collecting the appropriate coloured cards by games end.

Each Destination Ticket Card requires 1-5 cards to complete them. The more cards that are needed the higher the point value awarded.


Image Courtesy of Artax

8 Big City Bonus Cards - Each of these cards features the name of 1 Big City and a point value. Each card is of a particular colour, which comes in handy during the game as the names of the Big Cities that feature on the Train Cards are of the same colour. In this way it is easy to identify how many of a given Big City you possess (see bonus card scoring later for more details).


Image Courtesy of cnidius

The Set-Up

Each player receives 7 Train Cards at random and 1 Locomotive Card, giving them a starting hand of 8 cards. They also receive 6 Destination Ticket Cards. Each player is then required to assess their hand and keep at least 1 Ticket Card and discard those that are not wanted.

The set-up is completed by putting the Bonus Cards to one side and turning over the top 5 Train Cards of the draw deck, just as you would in the TtR board game.

The Game Play

On each player's turn they have 3 options. After one option is taken, the play passes to the next player.

It is important to note that at the start of a player's turn, they must take 1 card of each colour present in their Railyard and place them in their 'On the Track Stack' (this is a good thing).

This will make more sense after reading the following section.

The play options include -

Drawing Cards - This option is identical to the TtR board games. A player is allowed to take up to 2 cards from the draw deck or face-up cards, in any combination they choose. The only restriction is that a player cannot take more than 1 face-up card if they select a wild.

One change from the board game version is that the 5 face-up cards will not be scrapped if a 3rd Locomotive Card (wild) is turned up. In this game all 5 cards could be Locomotive Cards.

Play Cards to the Railyard - To be able to satisfy the requirements of the Ticket Cards, each player is trying to get Train Cards from their hand into a special stack called their 'On the Track Stack'.

The Railyard is a term used to describe the section of the playing surface in front of each player where cards are played from the hand.

There are two ways to play cards from your hand to the Railyard. One option is to play 2 or more cards of a single colour (including any wilds), however there are several restrictions.

A player cannot play cards of a colour that they themselves already have in play. These must be sent to their 'On the Track Stack' before new cards of that colour can be played.

It is also impossible to play cards of a single colour if another player has more of that colour in their Railyard than you are able to play.

However, should you be able to play a larger number (of a single colour) than an opponent, they will see their cards burned and discarded to the discard pile.

Hence TtR: The Card Game has a fairly hefty element of 'Take That!' to its play.

When playing cards of one colour it is entirely possible to play 1 or more Locomotive Cards with them.

When cards of a single colour are added to a player's Railyard, they should be fanned slightly in a vertical fashion so the number present can be seen by all players. Locomotive Cards are always placed at the bottom of the fanned stack as these will be the first cards to be transferred to the 'On the Track Stack'.

But I did mention a 2nd way to play cards from your hand to the Railyard. The other option is to play exactly 3 cards, all in different colours. This option is only available if all 3 colours are not yet in play in anyone's Railyard and Locomotive Cards cannot be played in this manner.

I'll discuss the strategic considerations of both Railyard methods in a moment.

As I mentioned earlier, moving cards to your 'On the Track Stack' from the Railyard occurs at the start of a turn. It is mandatory and the bottom most card of each colour must be transerred to the 'On the Track Stack', face down.

Once cards are transferred in this fashion they cannot be looked at again until the end of the game - thus the memory component is revealed.

Drawing New Tickets - The final option is to draw new Destination Ticket Cards. A total of 4 Tickets can be drawn with this option and a player can take as few or as many as they like (0-4).

Game End

The game has slightly varied end conditions depending on the number of players. In a 2 or 3 player game, the game will draw to a close when the draw deck is exhausted. Each player gets one more go including the person to exhaust the draw deck.

In a 4 player game the draw deck will be exhausted twice before the final round takes place as outlined above. When the deck is exhausted for the first time, each player is allowed to look at their 'On the Track Stack' and satisfy as many Tickets as they can. Train Cards used in this way are then added to any burned cards in the discard pile and shuffled to form the 2nd draw deck. Incomplete tickets at the halfway mark are still kept and remain as goals to achieve in the 2nd half of the game.

End of Game Scoring

At the end of the game each player scores the points for their completed Tickets and subtracts any points for Tickets they were unable to complete.

Then comes the Big City Bonus Cards. Each player must assess their completed tickets and identify how many of the Big Cities feature on those cards. The player that holds the most cards featuring the name of a specific Big City can take the corresponding Bonus Card and add those points to their score.

Should 1 or more players tie for a particular Big City Bonus Card, all tied players gain access to it. There are two 8 point bonus cards, two 12 point bonus cards and one 10 and 15 bonus point card - making for a total of 65 bonus points up for grabs. Quite often these cards can determine the winner.

The Strategy

TtR: The Card Game really is a memory game with a 'Take That!' feel to it. At every step of the way you are trying desperately to remember what the heck you have in that 'On the Track Stack' so you can identify what Tickets have been completed. This in turn helps you to decide if it is viable to draw new Tickets during the game. Of course this is not as scary a proposition as the board game as a player can choose to keep none of the newly drawn cards.

What makes TtR: The Card Game work though is the mechanics involved in getting cards to the Railyard. Not being allowed to play cards of a given colour unless you have more than your opponent(s) is clever and makes timing a major consideration.

The ability to burn the cards of an opponent by playing more than them is an extremely nasty maneuver, but one that is critical to success. It is most satisfying when you manage to do it, but totally frustrating when it happens to you. Especially when you lose a set of cards in a colour that was critical to 2, 3, 4 or more of your Tickets.

My early plays took place with a key rule being played incorrectly and this lead to much card hoarding that left a bad taste in my mouth. Essentially I believed that moving cards to the 'On the Track Stack' was a turn action, meaning you couldn't draw cards or play to the Railyard.

With the correct rules, card hoarding is nowhere as big an issue. It still happens, but placing cards of 1 colour only is nowhere near as dominant a strategy. Playing 3 cards of different colours really allows a player to get multiple cards down quickly and this is key to completing many of the small to medium tickets in fast time, allowing you to complete tickets and draw new ones!

The ability to play 3 single colours also allows for bluffing to occur. Carefully watching the cards that are drawn by your opponent(s) (the face-up ones anyway) can help you determine what colours are likely to survive until your next turn. Players can also deliberately play a dummy colour or two (colours they don't actually need) in an attempt to sneak through the colours that they do need.

What results is a game of cat or mouse. What you don't want to do in this game is be 'card poor' when your opponent(s) have a hand full of cards. This would mean they have all the options and they will know that your ability to harm them is almost non-existent.

The final thing to note is that Locomotive Cards (wilds) are placed at the bottom of a colour pile when multiple cards are played. This allows a player to play a key colour in force. Playing, for example, 4 black and 3 wilds together is a real power play. The odds of someone burning your blacks is unlikely until you have transferred at least 2-4 cards to your 'On the Track Stack'. By this stage you will have transferred most of the wilds and possibly a black card or two.

This is important as Locomotives can be used as any colour card in the final scoring to complete Ticket Cards and this flexibility is imperative in a game where the 'Screw Factor' can be high.

The Final Word

Despite my initially negative stance on the need for this game, I have to give it the thumbs up as it really is cleverly designed and offers both decision making and game play that is significantly different to its predecessors.

That said TtR: The Card Game won't appeal to every lover of the board games. Many people play TtR very passively and don't like blocking in that version of the game. Those gamers may well dislike the 'Take That!' nature of this incarnation.

I find the memory aspect of the game a little frustrating but without it the game would be a little too mechanical and calculable. Approaching my 10th play I must say that I keep finding new and interesting ways to alter my card play. The card hoarding thing has diminished considerably and what remains is a tight little game.

A major plus for me is the fact that the game has a very different feel with each of the player numbers (2, 3 or 4).

With 2 players each player is getting more card draws, allowing them to do a little more. The negative here is that the game can become quite cut-throat as only you can screw them and vice versa. Timing becomes 'Uber-Critical' and having a card short hand when your opponent is getting RSI in their wrist from the size of their hand is a recipe for disaster. The Bonus Big City Cards are also critical as they effectively feel like a double whammy (points I don't have, you do)! For this reason I favour going after the small to medium tickets as it allows me to collect more tickets that feature Bonus Big City locations.

Playing with 3 is a lot of fun with the extra person and Railyard to engage with. I haven't played with 4 yet but expect that these benefits (player interaction) would be heightened even further.

I'd be keen to hear the thoughts of others that have played with 4.

I should also mention that the play time may be an issue for some gamers. The size of the box and the title itself suggest that this is a light filler game. In fact the play length is more akin to a light-medium game and at 25-50 minutes it may seem a bit long.

The time of course comes in when players continuously assess their Ticket Cards and try, in vain, to recall what damn colours they have managed to squirrel away.

Finally I like how the Big City Bonus Cards are implemented. They allow for planning, whereby players can target particular Big Cities in the hope of winning those crucial points at the end of the game.

In the end I have to say that this game is a real surprise but may be a matter of personal taste. Check it out for yourself.

EDIT - Rules modified regarding the transfer of Train Cards from Railyard to 'On the Track Stack'. This changed quite significantly my thoughts on the strategy.

EDIT - Added Locomotive Card to Set-up Phase.