The current Ticket to Ride box (2025 refresh)Photo: Days of Wonder / Asmodee
What's in the boxPhoto: Days of Wonder / Asmodee
Ready to playPhoto: Days of Wonder
A game well under way: routes claimed across the mapPhoto: Days of Wonder / Asmodee UK
Collecting matching train cards to claim a routePhoto: Days of Wonder / Asmodee UK
Plastic trains mark the routes you claimPhoto: Days of Wonder / Asmodee UK
A destination ticket: connect the two cities to score itPhoto: Days of Wonder / Asmodee UK
Train cards in each colour, plus wild locomotivesPhoto: Days of Wonder / Asmodee UK
Long tickets score big, but cost you if you failPhoto: Days of Wonder
Video

Family game

Ticket to Ride

Collect coloured cards and claim railway routes across America.

2–5players · best with 4
30–60 minplaying time
8+recommended age
Learning curve
Easy2 / 5
EasyDemanding
Luck & skill
Luck and skill
LuckSkill
Interaction
Medium
Set-up
About 5 min
Reading
Little

The quick verdict

Full verdict ↓

Great for Mixed ages – children from about 8 can play alongside grandparents

Think twice if Someone in your group gets upset when another player takes the route they needed – blocking is part of the game

How we rate it

Learning curve. Ticket to Ride is our anchor for 2: three choices a turn and one scoring table, easier than Catan or Carcassonne.

Luck & skill. Card draws and the tickets you are dealt matter, but choosing routes, when to claim and when to take more tickets decides most games.

Interaction. No attacks or trading, but everyone races for the same routes, and taking a route someone needs can wreck their plan.

Set-up. Usually about 5 minutes: hand out 45 trains and a score marker each, shuffle and deal the cards, and turn 5 train cards face up. The first time, add a few minutes to bag the trains by colour. There is nothing to punch out.

Reading. City names on the board and on the tickets, in English. The train cards have no text.

Learning curve: 1 = UNO or Connect 4; 3 = Catan; 5 = a heavy strategy game. These describe the experience, not an overall score.

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Is Ticket to Ride right for you?

Great if

  • Mixed ages – children from about 8 can play alongside grandparents
  • Groups of up to 5, one more than Catan's base box allows
  • People new to board games beyond Ludo and Monopoly
  • A gift that looks good on the table and is easy to learn

Skip it if

  • Someone in your group gets upset when another player takes the route they needed – blocking is part of the game
  • You want deep strategy every week – this is light, and the card draw adds some luck
  • Your budget is tight – every copy is imported, so it is not a cheap buy

A place on the honours list

Good company to be in.

Recognition from beyond our table.

Spiel des Jahres · Winner · 2004 official award mark
Winner · 2004

Spiel des Jahres

Germany’s Game of the Year: the jury’s top family-game honour.

Meet the jury’s choice ↗
More recognition 3

Origins Award, Best Board Game, 2004 (Winner)

Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming, 2005 (Winner)

As d'Or (France's Game of the Year), 2005 (Winner)

How Ticket to Ride plays

The board is a map of the USA and southern Canada. Cities are linked by coloured routes from 1 to 6 spaces long, and each player has 45 plastic trains in their colour.

  • Time to teach: about 10 minutes.
  • Reading and language: City names on the board and on the destination tickets are in English. The train cards have no text, so anyone who can find cities on a map can play.
Ready to play · Photo: Days of Wonder

How to Play Ticket to Ride · Triple S Games

Choose a video · Watch right here

If this creator doesn’t allow embedded playback, watch on YouTube ↗.

A turn, step by step

  1. 1
    Draw

    Take 2 train cards, from the 5 face-up cards or the top of the deck. Locomotives are wild, but taking a face-up locomotive uses your whole draw.

  2. 2
    Claim

    Or play cards matching a route's colour and length, put your trains on it and score straight away: 1 point for a 1-train route, up to 15 for a 6-train route.

  3. 3
    Tickets

    Or draw 3 destination tickets and keep at least 1. Each is a secret goal: link its two cities to gain its points, or lose them at the end.

  4. 4
    Win

    When someone is down to 2 or fewer trains, everyone gets one last turn. Add completed tickets, subtract failed ones and give 10 points for the longest continuous path. The highest total wins.

Read the official rules (PDF)Ticket to Ride rules (2025 Refresh, English) · English
The full explanation: how a game of Ticket to Ride goes

At the start you get 4 train cards and 4 destination tickets. Tickets are secret goals, such as connecting two particular cities, each worth points, and you must keep at least 2 of them. (The original box dealt 3 tickets.)

On your turn you do one thing. You can draw two train cards (from five face-up cards or the deck), claim a route by playing a set of cards that matches its colour and length and placing your trains on it, or draw more destination tickets. Locomotive cards are wild, but taking a face-up locomotive uses your whole draw.

Longer routes score far more than short ones: a 1-train route is worth 1 point and a 6-train route 15. Another player can block you by taking a route you were counting on, and that is where the tension comes from. With 2 or 3 players, only one track of each double route can be used.

When someone is down to two or fewer trains, everyone gets one last turn. You then score your completed tickets and lose points for unfinished ones, and the longest continuous path earns a 10-point bonus. The highest total wins.

What's in the box

What's in the box · Photo: Days of Wonder / Asmodee
  • 1Game board
    map of North American train routes, with the score track around the edge
  • 225Plastic trains
    45 in each of 5 colours; the rulebook says a few spares of each colour are included
  • 110Train cards
    12 in each of the 8 route colours, plus 14 wild locomotives
  • 33Destination tickets
    the original 2004 box has 30
  • 1Longest path bonus card
    worth 10 points at the end
  • 5Scoring markers
    1 in each train colour (wooden, per Days of Wonder's list)
  • 1Rules booklet

Box: 29.8 × 29.8 × 7.6 cm, 1.47 kg. Handy to know for gifting and travel.

From the 2025 Refresh rulebook (Days of Wonder, April 2025) and the contents list on Days of Wonder's Ticket to Ride page. The original 2004 box has the same parts, but 30 tickets instead of 33 and smaller train cards. Days of Wonder lists 225 trains, while the rulebook says a few spares are included, so count out 45 per player.

Where to buy

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How to make sure you get a genuine copyEditions and the details worth checking.

About the editions

No Ticket to Ride is made in India, so every genuine copy is imported from Days of Wonder. Many cheaper marketplace listings called 'Ticket to Ride America' or similar come from brands unrelated to Days of Wonder. Our Amazon.in link goes to the 2025 Refresh (USA map), an import.

Before you choose

  • The box should carry the Days of Wonder logo (newer boxes also show Asmodee). The official name is simply 'Ticket to Ride'; a 'Ticket to Ride America' sold under another brand is a red flag.
  • Compare the contents with the official list: 225 plastic trains in 5 colours, 110 train cards, destination tickets, a longest-path bonus card and 5 wooden scoring markers.
  • Reports of unofficial copies describe thin boxes and boards, route colours on the board that don't match the cards, and a blank back on the board.
  • An imported box sold in India should have a sticker with the importer's name and address.
  • Be wary of a new copy that costs a fraction of the usual price; much cheaper sets sold under the name are unlikely to be genuine Days of Wonder copies.

What reviewers and players say

Reviewers still call Ticket to Ride one of the best first games for people new to modern board games. The rules are short, a turn is quick, and the map gets tense as routes fill up and someone takes the line you needed. The 2025 Refresh plays the same, with a cleaner board, bigger cards and three more tickets. Reviewers say it is the version to buy if you have none, but not a reason to replace an old copy. The catches: the luck of the card draw and tickets, blocking that can upset some players, and a game that experienced players may find too simple.

What people love

  • Easy to teach in about 10 minutes, so children, parents and grandparents can play together
  • The tension of racing for routes, and the satisfaction of finishing a long ticket or a six-train route
  • A big, colourful map that looks good on the table; the Refresh board has a clearer font and the larger cards are easier to hold
  • It stays fun over many plays, because the map fills up differently each time and you have to adapt as key routes disappear

Common complaints

  • Luck can sting: some turns you draw cards you can't use, or get tickets that don't fit together
  • Blocking is part of the game, and some families find it mean when a route they needed is taken
  • Light for experienced players, and the Refresh's changes are small if you already own the game
Based on 9 reviews and discussions

Summarised in our own words from the sources above. We don't use Amazon reviews or ratings.

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Questions people ask about Ticket to Ride

Is Ticket to Ride available in India?

Yes, as an import: no Ticket to Ride is made in India. Our Check price on Amazon.in button goes to the listing we've checked, the 2025 Refresh; make sure the brand is Days of Wonder or Asmodee.

Is there a Ticket to Ride India map?

Yes. 'Ticket to Ride: India' is Map Collection Volume 2, with India (set in 1911) on one side of the board and Switzerland on the other. It is an expansion, so you need the base Ticket to Ride or Ticket to Ride Europe for the trains and cards. The India map plays 2–4.

Can 2 people play Ticket to Ride?

Yes, it plays 2 to 5. With 2 or 3 players, only one track of each double route can be used, so the map still feels crowded enough to block each other.

Should I buy the original or the 2025 Refresh?

Either is fine. The 2025 Refresh keeps the core rules and map but updates the art, uses larger train cards and has 33 destination tickets. Buy whichever genuine copy you find.

Game facts

Designed by
Alan R. Moon
Publisher
Days of Wonder (Asmodee)
First published
2004
Players
2–5
Language
Little reading – City names on the board and on the destination tickets are in English. The train cards have no text, so anyone who can find cities on a map can play.
Box size and weight
29.8 × 29.8 × 7.6 cm, 1.47 kg
Awards
Spiel des Jahres (Germany's Game of the Year), 2004 (Winner); Origins Award, Best Board Game, 2004 (Winner); Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming, 2005 (Winner); As d'Or (France's Game of the Year), 2005 (Winner)
Sources & photo creditsThe references behind this guide.

Facts on this page come from the publisher, the Indian maker or distributor, and the sources below. Photos are credited under each one.