The story behind Ticket to Ride

Ticket to Ride captures the golden age of rail travel in a race to connect iconic cities. Each turn is a meaningful choice: draw new train cards, take a chance on destination tickets, or spend your hard-earned sets to claim the routes you need before someone else does.

Players: 2–5Ages: 8+Playtime: 30–60 min

Ticket to Ride map and trains

Who this game is perfect for

  • Families seeking a welcoming strategy game that scales from kids to grandparents.
  • New gamers who want clear rules with exciting, interactive decisions.
  • Hobby groups looking for a fast, competitive warm-up or weeknight staple.
  • Couples and friends who enjoy friendly rivalry and clever route planning.

With approachable rules and satisfying depth, Ticket to Ride keeps everyone engaged from the first turn to the final train.

How to play

  1. On your turn, either draw train cards, draw destination tickets, or claim a route.
  2. To claim a route, spend matching-colored train cards equal to the route length.
  3. Place your plastic trains on the board to build continuous paths between cities.
  4. Score immediately for each route; later score destination tickets you complete (lose points for incomplete ones).
  5. When a player has two or fewer trains left, finish the round; highest total score wins (Longest Path bonus adds a big boost).

What's in the box

  • Game board (map of North America)
  • 240 colored plastic train cars
  • 110 train cards
  • 30 destination tickets
  • 5 scoring markers
  • Longest Path bonus card
  • Rulebook