Buying Ticket to Ride

February 04, 2021

Buying Ticket to Ride

Ticket to Ride is one of the most popular board games ever. It has sold (literally) millions of copies across lots of different versions. There are so many versions that it can be a little confusing. This article discusses which versions you should get when.

This article is up-to-date as of February 2020

 

Base Games

The base games come with everything you need to play – board, card, and pieces. Different sets are best suited to different numbers of players. You need to have one of these sets before you purchase any other expansion, or you won’t be able to play. All the base games take around 45 minutes to play.

Name	Region	Notes
Ticket to Ride	USA	The original – no extra rules, 5 players.
Ticket to Ride Europe	Europe	Some extra rules (Stations, mountains, sea routes), 5 players
Ticket to Ride Nordic	Norway, Sweden, Denmark	Best for 2-3 -players – the one we advise if you are a small group
Ticket to Ride Germany	Germany	5 players, no extra rules

 

Cities

A recent introduction, the Cities range provides the core TTR experience in a smaller, quicker, less expensive box. The games have rewritten rules to make them easier to learn/teach, play 2-4 people and are done in 15-20 minutes on their smaller boards.

City	Vehicle	Special Rule
New York	Taxi	Tourist Connections
London	Bus	Route ‘sets’
Amsterdam	Cart	Merchandise

 

Map Collection

There are 8 (at least) map collections. They come in thinner boxes and it is vital to understand that they are expansions – that is, you cannot play them without also owning a base game with the appropriate number of players (Nordic, for example, only gives you pieces for 3 players, so won’t let you play with 5 on another map). Most of the maps also have rule tweaks. There are two maps in some boxes on opposite sides of the board.

Collection/Number	Region	Notes
Asia	Team Asia & Legendary Asia	Team Play for 4 or 6 players
India	India & Switzerland	Switzerland 2-3 players; India 2-5
Heart of Africa	Nigeria-Sudan south to South Africa	2-5 Players; Terrain Cards. Only one map.
Nederland	Netherlands	2-5 players; Bridge Tolls, special 2P rules with Neutral player.
France	France & Old West	2-5 players: Old West can be 6 players with home bases
Japan	Japan and Italy	2-5 Players; Ferry cards and Bullet trains
United Kingdom	UK+Ireland & Pennsylvania	Inventions & Train Company stocks; the most complex version
Polska	Poland	Polish release only; Trade Routes

 

Expansions

There are a few small expansions which add options to the game. Again, these are no use without a core box.

Expansion	Region	Notes
USA 1910	USA	Larger cards than original, some rules options
Europa 1912	Europe	More cards for Europe
Alvin and Dexter	Any	GIANT MONSTERS!!!
Orient Express	Europe	New Tickets

 

Specials

There are three special versions. These are hard to find and expensive! The trains are larger so not really compatible with other maps

Version	Region	Notes
10th Anniversary	USA	Lovely trains; out of print
Rails and Sails	The World (Great Lakes on reverse)	Boats added; longer game
15th Anniversary	Europe	Lovely trains; coming soon

 

Buying Order

Our recommendation to buy is straightforward:

• One of the Cities to see if you like the game - they are quick and inexpensive
• Either the Original (USA) or Europe
• A map
• By then you have sampled the three main product lines and should be good to judge for yourself

You can buy some Ticket to Ride at https://www.theludoquist.com/collections/ticket-to-ride .

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