Some Thoughts About 'Ticket to Ride'

While digging through my backlog, I discovered I acquired turn-based strategy game 'Ticket to Ride' years ago, possibly from a Humble Bundle. I decided to give the game a quick look.

In Ticket to Ride, you and the other players take on the role of a railroad tycoon, connecting as many cities as possible by drawing cards with train carts and locomotives or building railroads each turn. When I opened the game and noted its fairly simplistic presentation, it was obvious: This is a digitized version of what was originally a traditional boardgame. Apparently it's pretty popular, but I hadn't heard of it before now.

Losing Charm

Now, the game is fun, and I'll talk a bit more about that later, but it's immediately apparent that a lot was lost in the transition from traditional to digital. One of the game's charms in its traditional form is placing the little train carts of your color down onto the routes between cities, clearly indicating that you've claimed them. Just look at how charming and appealing this looks:

In the digital version, the adorable train carts are replaced by colored squares on a flat map. It does the job, but it has no charm whatsoever:

If there is ever a new iteration of this game, adding a little depth could go a long way. Changing the perspective, or even having simple 3D models of the plastic pieces, would be perfect. There's a reason why engines like Tabletop Simulator have garnered an audience; the feeling of messing around with pieces on a board, even digital, has an appeal of its own that can't be underestimated.

As a matter of fact, some fans have actually made Ticket to Ride in Tabletop Simulator, showing that the "official" version couldn't quite scratch the itch that the original boardgame did.

Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1636855953

That's the Ticket

In spite of some missing details, however, the game itself functions perfectly well. It's a turn-based strategy game that's easy to pick up and understand, and the digital version has the advantage of telling you when and why a certain action cannot be taken - for example, if you're trying to claim a route between two cities because you think you have enough train carts but you're missing the necessary locomotive to make it happen. If that happens, the game will stop you and explain why the move is against the rules without wasting your turn.

Another great advantage of this digital release: It has a thriving online community. Before I wanted to post my impressions, I really wanted to try an online game but I dreaded how long it might take to find one. But there were many games to join and you could just as easily start your own, much to my delight. I wanted to try a simple match with one other player, so I did just that - and in my home territory of Europe, of course.

The game may initially seem like you just need to get the right train carts and just keep building between the cities, but planning ahead is actually very important. You can choose which 'tickets' you're trying to validate (that is, which cities you are trying to create a route between). If you claim a ticket, you'll lose points if you fail to connect the cities by the end of the game, but if you wait too long, it can be too late; your opponent could claim the necessary tracks or you could run out of carts. There's a nice bit of risk/reward involved. 

Unfortunately, planning ahead isn't my strong suit, so my opponent proceeded to crush me into the ground.

But all in all, I had a good time with the game. It's a fun concept that's simple and easy to understand. I just wish they could've preserved some of that original board game charm. If you're into turn-based strategy or just really like trains, you might want to look into this game.