I find the game is essentially broken into "collecting cards" and "laying routes" phases. And the only player interaction is caused by figuring out what route someone has and trying to block it, while hoping they can't do the same for you.
Now, please do not assume I came here to bash TtR. I know that many people find it enjoyable and I have no wish to convert anyone.
I want others to know why I do not like TtR and then show them why I do like TtR: The card game!
Theme
To be the best railroad baron in the land?
For those who have never played Ticket to Ride, the idea is that you are building routes to connect major cities.
The theme is very thin and it's fine. The game makes no effort to hide this saying that the goal is the "score the most points." Which works fine for a nice little card game.
Components
Included in the box are cards of 3 types.
Tickets
Trains
Major destinations
All have nice colors (though the red/orange/yellow are all pretty similar) and have shapes for the colorblind (nice touch)
The cards are of good heavy stock and will likely stand up to a lot of shuffling.
Mechanics
Simple and effective.
Each turn players are either drawing cards playing cards or drawing more tickets.
The destination tickets in TtR:TCG are the major way players score points. Each ticket has 1-5 colored dots on it and if over the course of the game you manage to get cards of those colors from your hand, into play, then into your "on the tracks" stack, you will connect the route and get the points.
Drawing cards is the same as in TtR: The Board Game, there are 5 face up cards players may chose from or the may draw from the deck. Players may choose 2 cards which are either a specific color or unknown - or they may draw 1 locomotive (wild).
Playing cards may be done as either a stack of 2 or more cards of a single color (with wild included) or as 3 cards of different colors.
Once a player has a color in front of them no other player may play that color unless they can exceed the number of cards the opponent has in play.
If they do exceed that number the opponents cards are discarded - they call this "train robbing" though it is more like derailing since no one gets them.
This mechanic really works for me and we will return to it shortly.
If at the start of your turn you have cards in front of you, one card from each pile of colors you laid down gets moved to your "on the tracks" stack to be counted toward completing routes at the end.
The "on the tracks" stack is closed. No one may look into it, not even the player to whom it belongs. I like this too.
At the end of the game, players are awarded points for each completed ticket.
Penalized for each incomplete ticket.
And bonuses are awarded for whomever has the most routes to the major cities. (The tickets indicate destinations and there are points awarded to players who have the most tickets that go to Chicago, New York, Miami, Dallas, Seattle, and Las Angeles)
Why this works for me
The way in which players may play cards to get them to their "on the tracks" stack makes this game more interesting, more engaging, and encourages more interaction that the original TtR.
The best way to get a variety of colors, which you need to finish your routes, is to lay down 3 different colored cards. Usually his results in 1 or more of those colors being destroyed by an opponent. The only way to stop players from getting cards is to "train rob" them and it is easy to destroy cards laid down as singles.
Large piles tend to get laid down with wilds attached and you are lucky to have it come around enough times to get the wilds before the colors they were attached to are robbed.
Playing cards in any way invites other to try and rob them.
There is no real knowing what routes other players have but anytime you have the ability to rob someone you usually take it unless that weakens a color you are planning to use to defend your wilds.
The result is a game where timing is crucial, attention is paid to what other people draw and what they seem to be after (colors they play frequently) and the balance to rob them when you can while still keeping the cards you need in the amounts you want, to play them in a manner that you can get them to your stack.
The fact that the "on the tracks" stack is hidden keeps things interesting too.
Most of the time, completing all your starting routes is not a problem and I've yet to play a game where a player didn't grab more tickets at some point.
There is really too much to keep track of and trying to memorize exactly what is in there is quite difficult.
Most in my group try to keep a rough idea as in "I know I have lots of black and orange but I could really use more green and blue"
this becomes tense when drawing new tickets towards the end as you have to decide what you can probably cover so as not to take negative points for incomplete routes.
The bonus points for most routes to major cities is interesting but I am a bit ambivalent about it. I don't usually pay much attention to it until I am drawing new tickets. If there are a couple that are equally good and I don't think I can make both, I'll take the one that corresponds to a city i already have some tickets for. I am not sure one could base a strategy around these but they are one more thing to consider and I certainly don't think they detract from the game at all.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately this stuff all comes together to make Ticket To Ride: The Card Game a nice experience for me.
It plays in about 20-30 minutes, requires a few (non-taxing) choices, allows for some "take that" which isn't totally arbitrary, and requires enough attention to keep me engaged.
I find the mechanics smoother, the interaction greater, and the play time more appropriate that its older sibling.
I tend to avoid TtR the board game.
I will play this nice little gem of a card game, any time!
Ticket to Ride: The Card Game gets an 8/10
-Karmic
Posted Mon Nov 3,2008 06:39 am
