Ticket to Ride is a series of turn-based strategy railway-themed Eurogames designed by Alan R. Moon, the first of which was released in 2004 by Days of Wonder. This game is the world's highest-selling train game. As of 2026, over 20 million copies of the game have been sold worldwide, and it has been translated into 33 languages. Alt URL Days of Wonder has released digital versions of the board games, card games, puzzles, and a foreshadowed on-screen adaptation.

Concept

Inception

The game was created by Alan R. Moon. The inspiration for the game was ocean waves, which Moon had viewed on a walk while reflecting on an unsuccessful session of a complex war game.

Gateway game

The introductory nature of Ticket to Ride has been noted. Alan R. Moon wrote, "the rules are simple enough to write on a train ticket – each turn you either draw more cards, claim a route or get more destination tickets". Days of Wonder wrote in its promotion that Ticket to Rides elegantly simple game play can be learned in less than five minutes." Giving the game a 4.7 out of 5, "Board Game Review" wrote, "those in the board game community call games like these 'Entry Level'. Ticket To Ride epitomises this term and is one of the best entry level games." In 2006, Eric Hautemont (Days of Wonder CEO) wrote, "Ticket to Ride has universal appeal ... Moon's simple, yet elegant design delivers a great gaming experience, whether you're a first-time player or a dedicated gamer. It's the perfect gateway into the new world of boardgaming."

Board Game Quest wrote that it is "one of the greatest gateway games ever made", Chris Heindenriecht (Gameology), when listing notable gateway games, "those games striking a balance between simplicity and depth, making them perfect for beginners and seasoned gamers alike", argued that "Ticket to Ride is a classic gateway game that combines strategy, route-building, and a touch of luck". With respect to the game's ability to get new players into board gaming, Ticket to Ride scored second in a 2019 Meeple Mountain survey of over 800 people, in the critical ability of bringing new people into the market and by capturing more spending of existing gamers.

Reception

Impact Ticket to Ride has been regarded as a landmark title of the "board game renaissance", an early 2000s shift away from the 20th-century domination by well-established standby games like Monopoly and Life.

Influenced in part by the game's popularity, the game's box dimensions (30 cm × 30 cm × 8 cm) became a popular standard for medium-size games, and are commonly referred to as "standard TtR size".

Sales

Ticket to Ride was first published in the United States by an American company, Days of Wonder. The very first sale of the game to a German distributor was 600 units, shipped on 27 February 2004, with French and English sales coming soon after. On 12 November 2004, nine months after its release, 250,000 copies of the Ticket to Ride board game had been sold. As of 2026, over 20 million copies of the game have been sold worldwide. The estimates of the total number of the board games sold since the game's release show a consistent increase:

Year Cumulative copies sold 2004 250,000 2005 300,000 2006 500,000 2007 750,000 2010 750,000 2011 1,500,000 2012 2,000,000 2013 3,000,000 2014 3,000,000 2015 3,000,000 2018 6,000,000 2019 6,000,000 2021 10,000,000 2022 10,000,000 2023 15,000,000 Alt URL 2024 18,000,000 Alt URL 2026 20,000,000

Critical reception The reception to the Ticket to Ride series, as a whole, had been generally positive. Giving the series an 8.6 out of 10, Board Game Halv wrote "Ticket to Ride is one of the most popular games in the world, period. They have painstakingly earned that distinction over several years and several iterations of the game so it is all well deserved."

Gameplay The gameplay is based on the format of the original 2004 game's rules (United States 1910), Alt URL with a few unique rule variations for each version:

Set-up

At the beginning of each version of the game:

Each player selects a prescribed number of coloured train pieces specified for that version, with a matching scoring marker. Players are usually dealt 4 train car cards. Alt URL The exceptions are the cities' versions (2 train cards); France (8 train cards); Rails and Sails (3 cards, with 7 ship cards); Great Lakes (2 cards with 2 ship cards); United Kingdom (an additional wild card); and Africa (an additional terrain card). Players are also dealt a prescribed number of destination ticket cards which show a route between specified destination cities, the numbers of which are specified in that version's rules. Each player must keep a prescribed number of those assigned ticket cards, but can discard any other unwanted tickets. Retained destination tickets may not be discarded for the rest of the game.

Play

Each turn, the player chooses from one of three options:

Draw two railway car cards in various colours from the face-up 5 draw cards or the pack. The Rails and Sails and Great Lakes versions use two draw card piles of 3 train cards and 3 ship cards instead, with the restriction that drawing a face-up wild Locomotive card forfeits drawing another card for that turn (this restriction does not exist in the Switzerland map Alt URL or the Nordic Countries version). Any removed face-up draw cards are automatically replaced, with all the face-up draw cards being immediately completely replaced if three or more wild locomotive cards are face-up; or Draw a number of additional destination ticket cards, specified by the version being played, keeping a specified minimum number in that version; or Play their collected railway car cards from their hand to claim a route on the board and place the corresponding number of train pieces from their store on the claimed route. The routes are of varied lengths, and only one player can claim each discrete route marked on the board. Some cities are connected by two parallel routes that can be claimed by two different players (unless the game is played with a number of players lower than a stated threshold of players, in which case only one of the routes can be claimed). A single player may not claim both parallel routes between two cities. On their turn, a player can claim any route on the board that has not already been claimed, regardless of whether the route helps to complete their destination tickets.

The game ends when one player possesses a number of their remaining coloured train pieces which falls below three trains (except for the Rails and Sails version, which is ended when the combined number of any player's own trains/ships falls below 7). Every player then takes one additional turn (two turns in the Rails and Sails version) and then reveals their previously hidden retained ticket cards.

Scoring

+ Standard Route Scores Route Length(Trains) Score(Points) 1 1 2 2 3 4 4 7 5 10 6 15 7 18 8 21 9 27 10 40

Players can earn points by: Routes – The points awarded for a route are based on the number of wagons required for that route, using a standard point value for every version. Tickets – The combined prescribed points on the ticket cards whose objectives have been completed, i.e. by connecting specified cities in one of their ticket cards (occasionally in a specific order), once the combined prescribed points of any ticket cards with uncompleted objectives have been subtracted. Longest Road – A 10 point bonus for the player, or each player for those tied in length, who has built the longest continuous route. In some versions, there is a "globetrotter" instead, i.e. a road from one end of the board to the other, with each player potentially obtaining the points if they build it. Some versions do not have this bonus. Most Completed Tickets – A point bonus for the player, or each player for those that tied in number, who completed the most tickets (10 or 15 points depending on the version). Some versions do not have this bonus.

Some versions have additional special rules.

Stand-alone versions

Multiple editions have been published depicting maps of various countries, cities, and regions, many of which have been positively received by critics.

AccessoriesTrain CardsThe transport cards are based on various models of train carriages:

+ Transportation Cards Card colour Model of train carriage Black Hopper car Alt URL White Reefer Red Coal car Green Caboose Blue Passenger car Yellow Boxcar Purple Freight car Orange Tanker Multicoloured Wild Steam locomotiveTrain PiecesEach stand-alone game has its own sets of standard plastic train pieces, in the following colours:

+ Train Playing Piece Colours Version Colours Red Yellow Black Green Blue Purple White Original (1910 United States) – – Europe – – Alt URL Märklin – – Alt URL Nordic Countries – – – – Germany – – Rails and Sails – – Northern Lights – –