Ticket to Ride

With elegantly simple gameplay, Ticket to Ride can be learned in under 15 minutes. Players collect cards of various types of train cars they then use to claim railway routes in North America. The longer the routes, the more points they earn. Additional points come to those who fulfill Destination Tickets – goal cards that connect distant cities; and to the player who builds the longest continuous route.

"The rules are simple enough to write on a train ticket – each turn you either draw more cards, claim a route, or get additional Destination Tickets," says Ticket to Ride author, Alan R. Moon. "The tension comes from being forced to balance greed – adding more cards to your hand, and fear – losing a critical route to a competitor."

Ticket to Ride like Catan is one of these classic games that every boardgamer has played at least once. At first glance there is no player interaction, so players may expect to find a tame, if competitive "solo" game. Not so! Wait until someone snipes that perfect station spot, or route out from under you, and you will see that yes, there is player interaction and this interaction has made you want to flip the table!

There's a huge variety of different maps all based on the same structure, often with different modes of transport. There's smaller, travel-sized editions, there's a kids version, heck there's even a Legacy version of this staple! The sheer number of different versions should be enough to show you how good a game TTR is, and there's one for everyone!

Perfect for: families who want to move beyond Monopoly

Complexity: 1.92/5 (2.55/5 for Legacy!)

If you like this, try: 7 Wonders