The Game of the Month series will highlight one of the many games in our library at Ravenwood Castle.  We will briefly describe the game, how to play it, and why we like it.

Game: Ticket to Ride

Publisher: Days of Wonder

Our last two Games of the Month were fairly new releases. Like most board gamers, we do love a shiny new game, fresh out of its shrink wrap. But ask any of us to about our top ten games, and you’ll find as many well-worn classics as shiny newcomers in the list.

November’s Game of the Month is one such classic. Ticket to Ride is a wonderfully elegant game which has a permanent place on our game shelf. It is one of the easiest games in our library to learn, yet is deep enough to sustain our interest through countless plays. It’s one of the first games we reach for when a guest confides that they’re new to “this whole gaming thing”, yet it just as frequently hits the table with a group of hard core gamers. We even include a dedicated Ticket to Ride World Tour table at Hoop & Stick Con.

In Ticket to Ride, players collect matching train cards which are used to complete routes through North America. Expansion sets allow you to capture routes through Europe, Asia, Africa, India or the Netherlands. Regardless of where you’re travelling, the longer the route you create between cities the more points you earn.

Players also start the game with two or three destination cards in their hands, and earn extra points by connecting the cities listed on them. If you’re daring you can draw additional destination cards – but fail to complete the routes and you’ll lose points.

The limited number of connections between cities – and the resulting bottle necks – adds another strategic dimension to the game. If your opponents can figure out where you’re heading before you get there, they just might block your route!

So the next time you visit us at Ravenwood Castle, be sure to bring along your conductor’s hat. Pull up a seat at the table, and give Ticket to Ride a whirl.

All aboard!

Jim Reed

Jim Reed is a lifelong gamer who started with the original red box Dungeons & Dragons. After spending 20 years in the corporate world, he decided it was high time that work be fun and struck out on his own. Jim now owns and operates Ravenwood Castle, and spends his days ensuring his guests have as much fun as he does.