OVERVIEW
Ticket to Ride: Europe is an expansion of the original train-building board game Ticket to Ride. Created by Alan R. Moon in 2005, it is completely separate from the original version with a new map. Players go on a train adventure across Europe with all of the cities in between, collecting train cards and connecting locations.
If you don’t own Ticket to Ride: Europe already, check it out here on Amazon.
GAMEPLAY
Setup
At the beginning of the game, all players are dealt 4 destination ticket cards and may choose to keep anywhere from 2-4 of them in their hand. These cards represent cities that you must connect before the game is over, otherwise you will lose points, and the ones you choose to keep in the beginning of the game cannot be discarded. Destination tickets that you choose not to keep will be discarded and will not be used in the game.
Goal
The object of the game is to claim routes and connect cities on the map to gain victory points.
Player Actions
During each player’s turn, they will either draw a train card, claim a route, draw destination tickets, or build a station. When drawing a train card, you will draw 2 cards and can choose them from the face down deck or the face up cards. If you draw a wild locomotive card from the face up deck, this will count as 2 cards. All face up cards that are drawn must immediately be replenished from the face down deck. When the deck runs out, shuffle the discard pile to replace it.
When claiming a route, you will discard cards from your hand that map the length and color of the route in question. A wildcard will count as any color for claiming routes. You will then place trains from your supply on those spaces and move your scoring marker according to the number of spaces that are covered. The point values are indicated on the board and summary cards. Gray routes can be claimed using any color, but your cards must all be the same color, including wild cards. Double routes can be built as one of the 2 colors. Spaces with locomotive images on them indicate that you must use at least 1 wild card to build there. To claim a tunnel (path with gray outlines), you must first reveal the cards you will be using and then turn over the top 3 cards from the draw pile. For every card that matches the color of the route you are trying to create, you must play an additional card of the same color. If you can’t complete the route, take all your cards back into your hand.
To draw a destination ticket, take the top 3 cards from the destination deck. You must keep at least one of these, but can also keep 2 of them or all 3.Any unused cards will go to the bottom of the draw pile, and the ones you use will stay with you for the rest of the game.
To build a station, you will use other player’s trains to connect cities. This should be used when you are trying to connect a city but the spaces are already filled. You must have 3 station pieces in your supply to do this, and you can place your station on any city that does not already have one. These are worth 4 points at the end of the game. The first station will cost 1 matching card, the second will cost 2, and the third one will cost 3. Only one station can be placed per turn.
This cycle continues clockwise around the table and each player completes only 1 of these 4 actions per turn.
How to End the Game
The game ends when any player has 2 or fewer trains left in reserve.
How to Score the Game
For each destination card you have completed a continuous route through by the end of the game, you will receive the amount of points that are indicated on the card. For each that you have not completed, you will lose that many points. The player with the highest score wins the game.
Variations of the Game
Variations of Ticket to Ride: Europe include the Chinese, German, Hungarian, Romanian, and Slovenian/Croatian Editions among other language versions.
Strategies
It is a common strategy to complete as many short routes as possible before you complete the long ones. This way, you will be guaranteed points at the end of the game instead of counting on the completion of more complicated routes. Additionally, when building tunnels you should always make sure to have at least 1 extra card so you can afford to build the connection.
Rule Variations for Playing with Kids
To make the process of connecting cities more simple for kids, you can build up destination cards before the start of the game until each player only has connecting routes in their hand. Alternatively, you can choose to draw only 3 destination tickets per player in case some routes are not completed to avoid penalty.
QUICK INFO
Time to play: 30-60 minutes
Alternative titles of the game: Les Aventuriers du Rail: Europe, Menolippu Eurooppa, Zug um Zug: Europa
Manufacturer suggested player age: 8+
Community suggested player age: 8+
List of expansions: Ticket to Ride Map Collection, Antarctica, Indiana, Japan, Ohio, Russian Empire 1912
Community rating: 7.6/10
Popularity: Rank 97
Difficulty: Easy
Designer Credits: Alan R. Moon
Published year: 2005
Awards: 2013 Hungarian Board Game Award Special Prize Winner, 2006 Golden Geek Best Family Board Game Nominee, 2006 Arets Spill Best Family Game Winner
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Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries, Carcassonne, Small World