Tabletop games
Ticket to Ride
Days of WonderAlan R. Moon2004
- players
- 2–5
- minutes
- 60
- years
- 8+
In the box
1 board · 240 train cars in 5 colours · 110 Train cards · 30 Destination Ticket cards · 1 Longest Route card · 5 score markers
Official rules (PDF, publisher's site)
Box details
- Designer
- Alan R. Moon
- Artwork
- Cyrille Daujean, Julien Delval, Fajareka Setiawan, Régis Torres
- Publisher
- Days of Wonder
- Mechanics
- ConnectionsObjectivesHand ManagementNetwork BuildingOpen Drafting
- Expansions
- Ticket to Ride: USA 1910 · 2025
- Ticket to Ride Map Collection 2: India & Switzerland · 2021
- Ticket to Ride Map Collection 1: Asia + Legendary Asia · 2022
- Ticket to Ride Map Collection 5: United Kingdom & Pennsylvania · 2025
- Ticket to Ride: Europa 1912 · 2025
Where to buy it
Near you and online
In a shop
Within 50 km.
Online
Affiliate link: Marquoir may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
The basics
Each player connects cities with their trains to complete their destination tickets. On your turn, take a single action: draw two train car cards, claim a route by discarding as many cards of its colour, or draw three tickets and keep at least one. When a player is down to two trains or fewer, everyone plays one last turn; routes, completed tickets (or failed ones, as negative points) and the longest path make up the total, and the highest wins.
Checked against the official rules · September 2026
The rules, step by step
Setup
45 trains each, 4 train car cards, At least 2 of 3 tickets
- Each player takes 45 train cars in their colour and four train car cards.
- Each player receives three destination tickets and keeps at least two.
- Five train car cards are laid out face up; the rest form the draw pile.
- The Longest Path bonus card is placed beside the board.
How to play
Draw 2 cards, Claim a route, Draw tickets
- On your turn, choose a single action out of three.
- Draw two train car cards, face up or from the deck. A locomotive taken face up counts as two and ends your draw; you also cannot take one as your second card.
- As soon as three locomotives are face up at the same time, discard all five cards and turn over five new ones.
- Claim a route by placing trains on it, discarding as many cards of the right colour. A grey route accepts any colour, as long as all the cards are identical. Locomotives are wild.
- Only one route per turn, and never both tracks of the same double route.
- With two or three players, only one of the two tracks of a double route can be used: the other stays closed.
- Draw three new destination tickets and keep at least one; those you return go to the bottom of the pile.
Scoring
Routes 1 to 15 points, Failed ticket: negative, Longest path +10
- Route of 1 train: 1 point. 2 trains: 2. 3 trains: 4. 4 trains: 7. 5 trains: 10. 6 trains: 15. This scale is the one for the USA map.
- Completed ticket: its value as positive points. Uncompleted ticket: the same value as negative points.
- Longest continuous path: 10-point bonus. A path may pass through the same city more than once, but no train car counts twice. In case of a tie, each tied player receives the 10 points.
- A ticket is only completed if both cities are connected solely by your own trains.
End of the game
2 trains or fewer, Last turn for everyone, Highest total
- When a player is down to two trains or fewer, everyone plays one last turn, that player included.
- Tickets are then revealed and points are counted.
- The highest total wins. In a tie, the player who completed the most tickets wins, then the player with the longest path.
House rules and pitfalls
Uncompleted tickets are expensive: better to refuse a doubtful ticket than to keep it out of optimism.
- Uncompleted tickets are expensive: better to refuse a doubtful ticket than to keep it out of optimism.
Going further
Frequently asked questions · Rules on video · In the same family · Play with the game assistant
Frequently asked questions
What do you do on your turn?
Just one of the three actions: draw two train car cards, claim a route between two cities by discarding cards of the right colour, or draw new Destination cards.
How does drawing train car cards work?
Take two cards: from the five face-up ones or from the top of the deck. A face-up locomotive (wild) counts as two: taking it is then your only card for the turn, and you cannot choose it as your second card. Drawn blind from the deck, it only counts as one.
What do claimed routes score?
Immediate points depending on their length: 1 point for a 1-train route, up to 15 points for a 6-train route. Long routes are far more rewarding per train.
What are Destination cards for?
Each one connects two specific cities and scores its points if the route is completed by the end of the game — but takes them away if it is not. Taking too many is the classic risk.
How does the game end?
As soon as a player has two trains or fewer left, everyone (that player included) plays one last turn. Then count routes, completed and failed destinations, and the longest continuous path bonus. In a tie, the most completed destinations decides.
What happens if you cannot finish a destination?
Its points are subtracted from your total. Sometimes it is better to give up an impossible destination and focus on routes that pay.
Rules on video
Videos in French, hosted on YouTube.