Ticket to ride europe rules of the game. Ticket to Ride game strategy. Taking carriage cards

Place the game board in the center of the table. Each player receives a set of 45 carriage cards, three stations of the chosen color and a corresponding scoring token, which he places on the starting field of the scoring track that runs along the edges of the playing field. As the player earns points in the game, he moves his token to the corresponding field of the scale.

Shuffle the deck of carriage and train cards and deal four cards to each player. Then place the deck near the playing field, and next to it, place five cards next to each other on top of the deck, face up.

Also place the European Express card and the scoring card (as a “reminder” for the players) next to the board.

Take the directional route deck and separate the long route cards (six cards with a blue background) from the regular route cards. Shuffle the long route cards and deal one card randomly to each player. You can put the remaining cards back into the game box - they will no longer be needed. Try not to show players which route cards have not been dealt out.

Now shuffle the simple route cards (with a normal background), deal three cards to each player, and place the remaining ones face down next to the board

Done - you can start playing!

Beginning of the game

Before the start of the first turn, each player must choose from the received route cards those that he wants to keep. The player must keep at least two routes (although he can keep more). Also put the remaining unnecessary route maps in a box without showing them to anyone. You can opt out of both simple and long routes. The selected route cards will remain with you until the end of the game.

Purpose of the Game Ticket to Ride Europe

The goal of the game is to score as many points as possible.

Points can be earned as follows:

  • Create a route between two neighboring cities on the map;
  • Create a continuous route between the cities shown on your route map.
  • Create the longest continuous route in the game to get the European Express card;
  • And also for each unused railway station.

If at the end of the game the player was unable to create the route indicated on his route card, then the number of points indicated on it is deducted from the score.

Move order

The player who has visited the most European countries in his or her lifetime starts first, after which play proceeds counterclockwise.

During his turn, a player must do one (and only one) of four actions:

Draw Train Cards – The player may draw either two train cards or one train card if it is face up.

Build a route – The player can build a route if he has a sufficient number of carriage cards of the color required for the route in his hand. After that, he places trailers of his color on each square of the route on the playing field, and moves his token along the score scale to the number of points corresponding to the length of the route. Played carriage cards are placed separately from other cards in one pile.

Draw a Route Card – The player draws three route cards and chooses at least one of them to keep.

Build a train station – The player can build a station in any city that does not already have one. To build the first station, the player must give one carriage card of any color. To build the second station, he must use two cards of the same color. And to build the third station, he must use three cards of the same color.

Attention! To play you need the basic version of Ticket to Ride or Ticket to Ride: Europe!

Amsterdam has many water canals that turn the city into the Venice of the north. But not all of the Netherlands uses shipping routes. Many bridges support the railway lines in this low-lying country, where 20% of the landscape is below sea level! Be careful not to admire the beauty, otherwise you will spend most of the money on “bridge tolls”!

This beautiful card brings a new twist to the game. If you are the first to make your way across one of the many bridges, you will have to pay a fee for moving to the bank, but the second player on this bridge will pay you! Moreover, at the end of the game, players will receive additional bonus points for the Bridge Toll tokens. Plan your routes and enjoy the vastness of the Netherlands!

Trains, trains...Ticket to Ride is a German-style railroad game created by Alan R. Moon and published by Days of Wonder in 2004.

Already in the year of release, the game was awarded many awards, including “Game of the Year”, “Best Board Game of the Year”, “Best Board Game for the Whole Family”.

A real railroad tycoon must always strive not only to create and strengthen his empire, but also to take care of his competitors. It is necessary to lay out the longest and most efficient routes, not forgetting to cut off opponents from important transport hubs. The main thing is to maintain a balance between greed and moderation: long, tedious journeys certainly bring profit, but for a quick arrival at the desired destination, many are willing to fork out serious money...

Each of the additions makes its own changes, but the Rules of the Original are always the basis:

At the beginning, each player receives a route map, where two cities located at different ends of the map are marked. This card must be kept secret! The goal is to build a railway between these points. To carry out this grand plan, each turn players are given train cards of different colors and joker cards with a picture of a locomotive, they are also allowed to take additional route cards and place train cards on the playing field, gaining victory points. The route can be laid out to any possible length, as long as there are enough cards of the same color and no opponents interfere with you. Moreover, winning points are awarded for the length of the route non-linearly, but at times!

When one player's trains run out, the game is declared over. All players reveal their hidden routes and count their points. If the task indicated on the route map is completed, then points are added, and if it is failed, then vice versa. And, most importantly, the player who laid the longest route receives an additional ten points!

Game author Alan Moon wrote: “The rules of the game are simple enough to be squeezed onto a train ticket - every turn you either draw new cards, take a route, or take new tickets. The tension in the game arises as the player is forced to balance his greed with desire to receive new cards in your hand means, through your fear, to give away a key section of the path to your opponent."

Ticket to Ride continues the tradition of large-format board games from the Days of Wonder company: magnificent illustrations, high-quality components - a huge map of North America, two hundred carriages, colorful maps. All over the world, the game Ticket to Ride is recognized as one of the best games for “initiation” of beginners - introducing novice players into the world of board games. TtR is easy to learn, beautiful, rich, and endlessly fun. Try planning your route in the world of Ticket to Ride!

Equipment:

  • map of the Netherlands;
  • tickets with routes;
  • new Bridge Toll tokens;
  • rules of the game.

This board game is about traveling along the railroads of North America. The players' task is to connect certain cities, usually located at a considerable distance from each other, with railroad tracks.

Purpose of the game

The players' task is to score more victory points, which they receive in the following cases:
  • For creating a route connecting neighboring cities on the map;
  • For creating a route connecting the cities specified in the route map task;
  • For creating the longest railway route at the end of the game.
  • If by the end of the game the participant was unable to complete the task of his route card, then the victory points guaranteed for it are deducted from the final amount.

    Progress of the game

    Determine the starting player, then the players move clockwise. During a turn, each player must perform one of three possible actions:
  • Take "Wagon" cards - The player can take 2 of these cards. He has the right to choose them in any order from the 5 open cards, or pull them out of the deck in the dark. If a player takes one of the open cards, before taking the second, he must put the top card from the deck in place of the first card. The player can take one face-up card and the second from the deck. Additional information is contained in the “Car Maps” section;
  • Lay a railway between two cities – Having discarded “Cars” cards from his “hand”, corresponding in color and number to the sections of track connecting two neighboring cities, the player lays a railway route between them. On the laid route, the player places figures of carriages of his color (one carriage for each section of the path). Then the player counts points for the created route and moves his marker along the score scale;
  • Draw New Route Cards – The player draws 3 cards from the route card deck. He must keep at least one of these cards, or 2, or even all of them if he wishes. All returned route cards are discarded into a separate pile and participate in further play.
  • "Wagon" cards

    So, the deck contains 110 cards of various types of cars and colors (96 cards of cars and 14 cards of locomotives) - corresponding to the colors of the railway tracks connecting various cities on the playing field (purple, blue, brown, white, green, yellow, black and red). Locomotive cards act as a joker and can be played instead of card cars of any color. A locomotive card in a row of open cards is worth 2 simple cards or taken from the dark deck, so if a player decides to take it, then the turn immediately passes to the next player. A player cannot take an open locomotive card if he has already taken one card, regardless of whether it is from the row of face-up cards or from the deck. If a situation occurs in the game in which a row of open cards contains 3 locomotive cards at the same time, the player must discard all the cards in the open row into a separate pile of played cards and re-deal it from the deck. The player can have an unlimited number of “Cars” cards in his hands. When the deck of cards runs out, players must shuffle the stack of played cards and use it as a new deck for the game. Mix carefully, as cards are usually discarded in sets of the same color. In a situation where the game deck has run out and there are still no cards in the played pile (all the cards are in the players’ hands), players cannot choose the action associated with receiving “Wagon” cards, but must either create new routes or take new route cards.

    Board game “Ticket to ride” - the most famous creation Alana Moon. The original plunges participants onto the railroad tracks North America, however, there are modifications with cities in European countries and cities within a specific country. Subsequent versions of the game are popular all over the world and bring unforgettable pleasure. Depending on the number of players, the party takes 30 – 60 minutes.

    Difficulty level: easy

    Number of players: 2-5

    Develops skills: strategy, knowledge of geography

    What's included?

    The original version of "Ticket to ride" includes:

    • map of North America - playing field;
    • plastic cars – 240 pcs. + 3 reserves for each color;
    • cards with images of carriages – 96 pcs.;
    • cards with locomotives – 14 pcs.;
    • route maps – 30 pcs.;
    • a brochure with the rules of the game;
    • bonus card for the longest route;
    • advertising cards – 2 pcs.;
    • memo;
    • key to the online version of the game;
    • multi-colored wooden chips.

    Game version "Train Ticket to Europe" differs in the contents of the playing field and the numerical value of the components.

    What types of games and add-ons are there?

    In addition to the basic modification described in the review, “Ticket to ride” has quite a lot of additions and independent games with other countries on the field:

    • « Train ticket junior: Europe» will introduce young travelers to new cities and help create routes to historical places. The rules are simplified, but the gameplay does not lose its depth. A great way to improve your geography knowledge in such an engaging and fun way!
    • « Ticket to ride: America 1910 » – an expanded and improved version of the original game. The specifics of route selection are such that you can create your own rules. Innovations are expected in the version: three alternative options for conducting a game, routes through megacities, a bonus for the most traveling participant, additional issue of cards and more.
    • « TickettorideNordiccountries» is filled with “fresh”, northern design and new rules. Routes from Copenhagen to Oslo, from Helsinki to Stockholm will have to be connected, and Russian Murmansk is also among the destinations.
    • » publications Marklin accompanies participants around the cities of Germany. The publication is dedicated to the oldest company producing collectible trains of the same name. The rules of the game are close to the basic version, but now passengers can leave the carriages and buy something along the way; missions are divided into short and long.
    • « Ticket to ride: Switzerland"designed for three players and contains tunnels, locomotive cards and countries surrounding Switzerland.

    Who is this game for?

    • For looking for an unusual gift for a holiday, because everyone will like the game “Ticket to ride”;
    • for people who first time dealing with desktops to create a favorable impression from the very beginning;
    • For eternal tourists to think about which states of America you should visit;
    • For railway workers who go crazy from just the sight of trains;
    • For history buffs railways;
    • for those who want spend an evening with a small group;
    • For family holiday with children, recommended age – from 8 years, it's time to start studying geography.

    Appeared in my collection of board games quite a long time ago. This was almost the first serious game and, probably, the only one that I have been playing for so long. Moreover, what’s interesting is that, unlike the same “Colonizers”, “Carcassonne” or Magic: The Gathering, it cannot be said that this game is different every time and therefore you can play it endlessly. No, apart from the additions, the map is very static, the set of routes is quite limited and the entire variety of the game is limited by which routes you get at the beginning of the game. At first glance, everything is quite boring. But this is only for the first time. I was prompted to write this article by the fact that I recently acquired a free online version of “Train Ticket” for iPad. Without going into details, I want to note that even if I honestly paid 229 rubles, I still would not regret it. However, this allowed us to look at this tabletop in a new way. In fact, this happens often. If you sit down to play a game with friends from time to time, then usually (with rare exceptions) you don’t bother about the ideal strategy, since the main goal is still to get the maximum pleasure from communication and the gameplay itself. When playing virtually, everything is completely different. Here the rating appears, and with it the thirst to win, the thirst to show everyone else how cool you are at running the railway empire. However, all of the text below will also be useful for the regular, offline version of the game, with which everyone begins to get acquainted with.

    It just so happens that in my collection of board games there are almost all versions of TTP, except for the main one (America). Well, I don’t know why this happened. Moreover, I have never played an offline map of America in my life. Meanwhile, from the point of view of minimizing luck and “pure” strategy, this card is the most correct.

    I don’t know, unfortunately or fortunately, but, as in the vast majority of board games, in TTP your winnings depend on luck. Of course, this dependence is not as great as in many other games (for example, “Cow 006” with a large number of participants becomes absolutely random), however, I would rate the degree of randomness at the “below average” level, since in my opinion, the skill of the player here still slightly more important than luck. Moreover, the final outcome is influenced not only by the presence/absence of the necessary resources on the table (and those that come across when drawing from the top of the deck), but also by the set of tasks that you receive on the starting hand and during the drawing process (slightly less).

    When I first started playing the online version, I read several articles on the English-language Internet on the topic of proper tactics and noticed that there was no consensus on this matter. This is understandable. The following does not in any way claim to be the truth in the highest authority and reflects solely the author’s position on this issue.

    So, first of all, it’s worth noting that the tactics in almost all versions of TTP are different. Today we renew ourselves on the most popular map - America.

    We will be transported overseas and travel through the cities of North America. Here are some simple tips that might help you earn a little more points:

    1) Trite, factual. Only long routes decide the game. Unlike Europe, there is no initial division of routes into long and short, so randomization in this matter is off the charts. Usually, when playing with an equal opponent, the absence of routes on the hand of more than 12 points means very, very big problems. Why? Yes, because most of these routes are located in the center of the map or on the right side of it (where there are a lot of small stages worth 2 points each, and while you are puffing yourself up, doing your little jobs and earning 2-7 points for each road construction, your opponent will connect two opposite parts of the map and only by building long roads will you earn more points than you on all your routes). The only advice that can be given in this case (unless, of course, all the tasks are located close to each other) is to take on additional tasks at the very beginning of the game. In any case, if you are unlucky again this time (which is unlikely), then most likely you will lose. Yes, yes, you can cherish the hope of finishing your small tasks as quickly as possible, then collect more routes and take them in quantity rather than quality, or simply finish the game as quickly as possible in the hope that your opponents will not have time to complete their tasks, but in practice this can be extremely rarely. Therefore, the main advice is to build your strategy based on long routes, take small routes only if they do not force you to deviate too much from the optimal route or if they prolong your route. Below is a great example of a starting hand for a drain.

    2) Locomotive cards. Are they important? Many articles on TTP strategy write that the basic strategy should be to take cards from the top of the deck for the first few (actually 10-12) moves. The authors claim that this approach is due to the fact that at the very beginning of the game you do not know exactly which route you will take and which colors you will need most, and taking from above gives you a chance in a few moves to take a couple of locomotives, which are extremely useful for the game .

    There is some grain of truth, in my opinion. However, this practice is not always appropriate. Firstly, you need to understand that not building anything, but only taking, will most likely only work in a two-player game, where each player in his soul hopes that his opponent will not interfere with him and he will build everything quickly, quickly, because he the coolest and knows how to connect cities into one chain. When playing with four players, and even more so with five players, the tactic of waiting and taking several moves in a row from above can result in extremely disastrous consequences. But that's not all. The fact is that blindly drawing from above ultimately leads to the fact that at some point, as a rule, we are left with quite a lot of unnecessary cards. As practice shows, the number of these cards can reach 10 or even more. If we divide the number of cards in half, it turns out that we made 5 or more moves in the game in vain. Wouldn't it be easier to spend these 5-6 moves to take a guaranteed locomotive? I think the conclusion is obvious. I would reformulate this rule a little: you should definitely take from above if:
    a) there are many colorless roads on your route;
    b) there are many long roads of different colors on your route;
    c) there is nothing to take from the board, and there is nothing to build with.

    If this happens, and there are only 2 or 3 colors on your path (unfortunately, this is all the time), and you have already selected the necessary colors for the rest of the roads or they have already been built, you should not take from above in any way case. It would be better to take the locomotive (if there is one on the board). By the way, it is very significant that by the end of the game locomotives often become very rare, because... players are already despairing of finding one specific color on top. Therefore, I recommend getting ahead of everyone and starting taking locomotives a little earlier. By the way, the probability of a locomotive coming from above depends on the presence of them on the board and in your hand (as well as in the hands of your opponents - but this information is inaccessible, so it can be neglected). If there are no locomotives on your hand, and there are no locomotives on the table, the probability that among the two cards taken from above one will be a locomotive is about 20% (there are 110 cards in the game, of which 14 are locomotives). Those. approximately (very approximately) - only every fifth turn in the dark will bring you one joker card.

    3) Start of the game. As you begin to pave the road, that’s how you will build it. What am I talking about? Oh yes, the beginning of the game is a very important part in many cases. First of all, after taking tasks, it is necessary to identify the so-called. "narrow places. These are the places that, if you lose them, you will have a very hard time. On the map of America, there are quite a lot of such places (unlike Europe), but the most unpleasant are the routes Nashville - Atlanta, New Orleans - Houston, Portland - Seattle (when playing with two players), as well as Las Vegas - Los Angeles, the latter is less critical due to the small number of routes passing through Vegas. Almost any place can be “narrow” for you, the closure of which will lead to significant complications. Identifying and building these places is your main task at the very beginning of the game, not drawing an infinite number of cards from above in the hope of . Small bridges between network cities also play a very important role. In most cases, if there is only one road between any cities within your proposed network, then it is advisable to build it, regardless of what routes will come later. Therefore, if this jumper is not a double (and even more so if it takes significant effort to bypass it), it should also be erected as soon as possible.

    4) Should I take routes? Or should I complete the existing ones first? In most cases, the answer is clear - get it! Why? Because in the vast majority of cases, after completing all the initial tasks and taking on new ones, you will find that you could have done them along the way, while spending only a few more trailers and laying out the overall route in a completely different way. Now, in order to complete these tasks, you will need to build branches (so you will no longer see the final bonus for the longest continuous route!), and it may also turn out that to complete these tasks you need a lot of cards of a certain color, and at the end of the game - this oh what a problem! Therefore, I recommend taking on tasks as soon as you are sure that all the bottlenecks are closed and that you can afford to spend a whole turn exploring new routes. In addition, it will be useful to take on new tasks at the beginning of the game even if your oxygen is cut off in one of the “bottleneck” places and you have to go around the gardens. In this case, as a rule, there are several workaround options, and the likelihood that new tasks will overlap with one of the workaround options is extremely high.

    5) Bonus for the longest route. How critical is it?

    As practice shows, when playing with a large crowd (4-5 people), this bonus is very critical. The fact is that due to great competition, players are practically deprived of the opportunity to collect tasks during the game, and it often happens that several players finish the game with the same number of tasks. Believe me, 10 points in this case is an extremely pleasant surprise in the end. Therefore, whenever possible, try to connect cities into one chain. However, don't get carried away. If the direct path is closed, the detour is too long, but there is an option to make a small branch, it is usually better to choose the second one, and the time you would spend resuming your chain would be much smarter to spend taking on and completing new tasks. And of course, it’s worth considering at the very beginning: is it even possible to build a chain of your tasks and how much more difficult it will be than simply connecting all the tasks into one network. If the issue is 2-3 extra roads, then this is usually justified. If you have to go almost around the entire map for the final bonus, make a network, it also has its advantages.

    6) Long or short roads?
    Here the answer is almost as clear as to the question with routes. In the vast majority of cases, you need to choose long roads. For example, from Los Angeles to El Paso there are two main routes: directly or through Phoenix. In this case, the same number of trailers will be spent. However, in the first case, to perform this action you will need one move, which will bring you 15 points, the second option will require 2 moves and will bring you 8 points. I think the conclusion is obvious. However, sometimes (usually towards the end of the game) you should still choose the second option. For example, if the players have an average of 12-17 trailers left, and you take on new tasks where Los Angeles is, your network has already reached El Paso and you have no black resources at all. Sure, you can draw cards from the top in hopes of collecting 6 black cards, but hey! Opponents have 12 trailers! This means that the game may end in 3-4 moves, or even earlier. You shouldn't care how many points you lose by building 2 small roads instead of one big one. You must get to the City at all costs!

    7) Which routes to leave? If this happened and at the very beginning of the game you took very close routes, this does not mean at all that until the end of the game you should look for routes that are also close to yours and discard the rest. As a rule, such luck runs out quickly, and at the end of the game you are left with a small network in the middle of the map (or on one edge), with a set of not very long routes and without the ability to quickly get to any of the corners of the map (or to an entire part of the map) . But a lot of long routes start (or end) right from the corners! So here's my advice: don't be afraid to branch out into any (or several) corners at the very beginning. This way, you will minimize in the future the risks that, having taken 3 additional routes at the end (each worth 12-20 points), you will not be able to complete any of them.

    8) And finally, a few banal tips, following which you can avoid fatal mistakes:

    — Always count the number of trailers before leaving additional routes. Very often it seems that a route worth 20 points fits perfectly into your network; building for it is nothing at all, just 2 roads, but 20 points at once! But it turns out that you have not yet completed several old routes (the bottlenecks are closed, no one will stop me from connecting there!). As a result, the new route becomes a priority for us, we actively take maps for it, build a road, and then it turns out that one locomotive is not enough to connect the two sections. It’s stupid, of course, but believe me, this happens all the time. In addition, it is highly advisable not to count “back to back”. Even if it seems to you that none of your opponents will build roads where you need, it is always possible that your opponent comes up with several “unrealistic” routes and, in order not to earn a minus, he chooses some short route on the other side of the map from its network, and still does it! And you are left with nothing, because... the detour doesn’t seem to be difficult, but there are no trailers for it anymore!

    — Keep track of the number of trailers and cards your opponents have. When the average number of trailers becomes less than 20, as a rule, this is an indicator that the game will most likely end in a few moves. Especially if one of your opponents has a lot of cards. It is quite possible that he has been saving up for long journeys all this time and will finish the game in 3-5 moves. This is especially true if there are long roads near its chain. In the case of a more active game, when opponents have few cards, the number of 15-20 trailers should not confuse you. Usually this outcome means that opponents will start taking on new tasks soon, which means that it is actually only the middle of the game!

    — Do not delay the construction of long roads. Even if they are not a bottleneck (such as in the case of doubles), taking the long road by your opponent can make your life very difficult. Of course, you can indirectly tell whether someone is going to build this road or not by what cards your opponents take. But again, this is not a panacea! You never know what cards he had in his starting hand and which he takes in the dark hand, and it is possible that this path is not obligatory for him, so he takes cards that are more important to him, and he has accumulated 6 cards of this color accidentally. One way or another, don’t delay building a long road. In the event of an overlap, you will either have to save up again (which can be fatal already in the middle of the game), or take a detour using shorter roads (if there is no duplicate, there are no options left). In this case, you will not only lose several moves, but also a lot of points. Remember that building a road of 6 trailers is equivalent to completing one and a half average tasks!

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