TICKET TO RIDE

OBJECTIVE OF TICKET TO RIDE: The objective of Ticket to Ride is to be the player with the most points when the game comes to an end. 

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 to 5 Players 

MATERIALS: 1 Game Board, 240 Colored Train Cars, 144 Illustrated Cards, 5 Wooden Scoring Markers, 1 Rulebook 

TYPE OF GAME: Hand Management Board Game 

AUDIENCE: Ages 8 and Up 

OVERVIEW OF TICKET TO RIDE 

Ticket to Ride is a game about exploration, power, and strategy. It is a cross country train adventure in which the players will collect and play train cards that match in order to claim certain routes that connect the large and upcoming cities scattered through North America. The longer their routes, the more points the players will score. If players are able to connect two large cities, then they may earn bonuses.  

SETUP 

To begin setup, place the map in the center of the playing area. Then allow each player to collect a set of 45 train cars and their score marker to match. The marker is placed on the start space of the game board. Shuffle the train cards and deal four cards to everyone. The rest of the deck is placed beside the board. The top five cards are placed facing up beside the deck.  

The bonus card is placed beside the board face up. A random player will shuffle the destination ticket cards, and then they will deal three cards to each player. Each player will choose at least two destination cards to keep, but the player may keep all three if they wish. The players are not allowed to share their destination cards. The game is then ready to begin. 

GAMEPLAY 

The most experienced player makes their first move, then rotates clockwise around the group. During their turn, the player will choose one of three actions to complete. They will either draw destination tickets, claim a route, or draw train car cards. They can not complete more than one action.  

If the player draws train car cards, then they may draw two cards. The player may choose two of the cards facing up, they may draw two cards, or they may take one of each. If they choose to take a face up card, then the player must replace it with another card from the deck. Players are permitted to have any number of cards in their hand, because there is no limit. If a player wants to claim a route, then they must play a number of cards that is equal to the number of spaces found along that route.  

If the player chooses to draw destination ticket cards, then they are permitted to draw up to three cards from the destination ticket deck. The player has to keep at least one of the cards, but they are allowed to keep all of the ones drawn if they wish. If the player is able to connect the destinations, then they score points. If not, then they lose points.  

END OF GAME 

The game comes to an end after the final turn. The final turn begins when a player only has two or less trains remaining. The players will then tally their points. The player with the longest continuous path will score an additional ten points. Whoever has the highest score, wins the game. 

Ellie Phillips
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