During the 2020 year of isolation, we understandably started spending more time together as a family. But still, we never really sit around unless for a meal.
My husband bought the Ticket to Ride North America board game around Christmas because he heard it was “fun.” To be honest, I think he heard the word “trains” and was sold. “Ugh,” I thought.
We first played this game around the holidays. The instructions say it takes 60 minutes– it took us 2 1/2 hours. But, we were hooked.
I have been pleasantly surprised by this game. Over the following week, we must have played Ticket to Ride at least 10 times.
Quick Ticket to Ride Summary
For those of you who aren’t familiar with how to play Ticket to Ride….
You start with 3 destination cards. The goal is to get your trains from point A to point B by the end of the game. If you connect the destinations, you get points. If you don’t make it, you lose points.
The destination routes are connected by certain colored train cars. If you get enough train cards of one color, you can exchange those cards to put your trains down on that route. So, if you get 5 orange car cards, you can put down 5 trains on the orange route. Each route you snag also gives you points.
The game ends when one person runs out of trains. The person with the most points wins.
Ticket to Ride Board Game Review
After playing Ticket to Ride North America countless times (and watching my husband and 8-year-old play a few times), this is my review:
- It’s fun!
- It’s strategic.
- It’s easy to learn how to play.
- The anticipation of getting the right color cards and getting your trains down before someone else STRESSES ME OUT. But at the same time, I really enjoy it.
- There is a lot of satisfaction in connecting your routes or getting that final colored card.
- They say the game is for ages 8+, which I find to be accurate. My 6 year old can play but it’s better when she teams up with someone else. Otherwise, she loses interest in the game and gets more focused on her card set-up or tells people her strategy.
- As a mom, my favorite part is the end when I see my kids adding up everyone’s scores. There is a lot of math in this game. Shh, don’t tell them.
- I love that the kids are also learning the geography of North America. It might not be a lot, but it’s something!
- The quoted 30-60 minutes for a game must be with all adults who make quick decisions. It takes us usually 60-90 minutes.
- I love that each game is quality time with my family.
- It’s interesting to see the different strategies people use, which makes it exciting. Are you a conservative player? Risky? Let’s see!
- Playing with two people is so much easier than with 3+. We haven’t played with 5 players, but I can imagine it really changes your strategy or chances of connecting your routes.
- The rules say the person with the most travel experience goes first. In my house, that’s me. So I always get to go first if I enforce the rule, which I often don’t always. But still, that makes me happy.
- I like that there is a clear end to the game. So if you really want the game to end, just start putting your trains down wherever and whenever you can and boom, game over! (Not that I’ve done this or anything….)
- Yes, it has to do with trains, but you don’t have to love trains one bit to enjoy this game.
- I’m so glad he bought this game. #tryit
The only downside is we can only play if my toddler is asleep or an adult is with her elsewhere. Otherwise, she takes our cards or messes up the board for fun.
It’s gotten to the point where my kids rush to get through the bedtime routine to have enough time that they can play Ticket to Ride before bed. We have a new house rule: you have to start the game before 8:00 p.m. (on weekends) or no game that night.
My kids love this game so much that they’ve even played over FaceTime with other friends who have the game. They replicated each move on both boards. I was quite proud of them for figuring that one out!
We’ve done Sorry!, UNO, Candy Land, Guess Who? and a bunch of other games, but a lot of those are chance games, too short or go on forever (*cough* Monopoly *cough*). Ticket to Ride is a nice blend of strategy and chance.
Have you played Ticket to Ride? If so, please comment below; I’d love to hear your thoughts on it too!
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