Anyone lucky enough to have experienced the drama and tenseness of a keenly fought Ticket to Ride game, apart from being able to consider themselves a fortunate human being, may have wondered "which Ticket to Ride is the best." So here is the The Games definitive guide to Ticket to Ride.

The Series

Everyone loves ticket to ride, like parfait, if you ask someone for a game, nobody says "no I don't like ticket to ride." Building trains and watching your rail empire spread over the known world (game board) is a satisfying adventure. You might not come away with the win, but connecting Moscva to Palermo in the last round of play feels pretty great. The race for key routes is a great aspect of the game also, as all players add more and more trains it gets exponentially trickier to achieve missions. Its my experience that 'gamers' and non-gamers alike love, and get addicted to, Ticket to Ride.

Ticket to Ride

Set in the USA, Ticket to Ride offers the most straight forward of the series. No tunnels, or sea routes, or passengers just build the biggest and the fastest, and complete the most missions and you'll win - the American way ;-). Super fun - it maintains the essence of what makes ticket to ride great but without the complexities. Another benifit for most New Zealand users is the familiarity of the place names. 'New York' and 'Chicago' can be a bit easier to find on a map than 'Smolensk' (Europe) and 'Magdeburg' (Marklin) making the game just that wee bit easier to pick up.

Ticket to Ride wins the 'Make Friends' award for 'Best Ticket to Ride version to introduce to new players'

Ticket to Ride Europe

Streching from Edinburgh to Rostov, Ticket to Ride Europe offers more diversity than its US based counterpart. Western Europe has lots short tracks and tunnels, it is usually hotly contested from early in the game. Eastern Europe has more long tracks meaning big points can be made in this area with the right missions, then down around the Mediterranean there are more sea routes. The game has a good balance to it. It is the version I have played the most.

Ticket to Ride Europe wins the 'Lets play again' award for 'Best Ticket to Ride version to play over and over with anyone and everyone'

Ticket to Ride Marklin

A level up in gaming intensity from the two above, Ticket to Ride Marklin is intense. First of all there are no 'Railway Stations' - meaning if someone else takes 'your spot' you have to find another way, or die (fail that mission) trying. Inevitably most players will miss out on a few of their missions and so the final count up of points is pretty exciting. Then there are 'passengers' who provide opportunities for scoring some big points if managed well - timing is everything, but how to get that right while staying on top of the other areas of the game? So not for the light-hearted but a great challenge.

Ticket to Ride Marklin wins the 'Test Friendship' award for 'Best Ticket to Ride version to beat your mates or family at.'


Which is your favourite?