Family game
Ticket to Ride
Collect coloured cards and claim railway routes across America.
- 2–5best with 4
- 30–60 minper game
- About 5 minto set up
- 8+years
- Easy
- Littlereading
The official edition, on Amazon.in
There's no Indian edition, so this is the official imported game. Amazon shows today's price, the seller and delivery.
Paid link. We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
The game in a nutshell
Ticket to Ride is a train-route game for 2 to 5 players aged 8 and up that takes 30 to 60 minutes. You collect coloured cards and use them to claim railway lines across a map of North America. It is one of the easiest modern board games to teach, so it suits mixed-age families, cousins at a get-together and people trying hobby games for the first time. Genuine copies are imported from Days of Wonder, and the current box is the 2025 Refresh.
Is Ticket to Ride right for you?
Great if
- Mixed ages – children from about 8 can play alongside grandparents
- Groups of up to 5, one more than Catan's base box allows
- People new to board games beyond Ludo and Monopoly
- A gift that looks good on the table and is easy to learn
Skip it if
- Someone in your group gets upset when another player takes the route they needed – blocking is part of the game
- You want deep strategy every week – this is light, and the card draw adds some luck
- Your budget is tight – every copy is imported, so it is not a cheap buy
A place on the honours list
Good company to be in.
Recognition from beyond our table.
Spiel des Jahres
Germany’s Game of the Year: the jury’s top family-game honour.
Meet the jury’s choice ↗More recognition 3
Origins Award, Best Board Game, 2004 (Winner)
Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming, 2005 (Winner)
As d'Or (France's Game of the Year), 2005 (Winner)
How Ticket to Ride plays
The board is a map of the USA and southern Canada. Cities are linked by coloured routes from 1 to 6 spaces long, and each player has 45 plastic trains in their colour.
- Time to teach: about 10 minutes.
- Reading and language: City names on the board and on the destination tickets are in English. The train cards have no text, so anyone who can find cities on a map can play.
How to Play Ticket to Ride · Triple S Games
Choose a video · Watch right here
If this creator doesn’t allow embedded playback, watch on YouTube ↗.
Your turn, step by step
- 1Draw
Take 2 train cards, from the 5 face-up cards or the top of the deck. Locomotives are wild, but taking a face-up locomotive uses your whole draw.
- 2Claim
Or play cards matching a route's colour and length, put your trains on it and score straight away: 1 point for a 1-train route, up to 15 for a 6-train route.
- 3Tickets
Or draw 3 destination tickets and keep at least 1. Each is a secret goal: link its two cities to gain its points, or lose them at the end.
- 4Win
When someone is down to 2 or fewer trains, everyone gets one last turn. Add completed tickets, subtract failed ones and give 10 points for the longest continuous path. The highest total wins.
The full explanation: how a game of Ticket to Ride goes
At the start you get 4 train cards and 4 destination tickets. Tickets are secret goals, such as connecting two particular cities, each worth points, and you must keep at least 2 of them. (The original box dealt 3 tickets.)
On your turn you do one thing. You can draw two train cards (from five face-up cards or the deck), claim a route by playing a set of cards that matches its colour and length and placing your trains on it, or draw more destination tickets. Locomotive cards are wild, but taking a face-up locomotive uses your whole draw.
Longer routes score far more than short ones: a 1-train route is worth 1 point and a 6-train route 15. Another player can block you by taking a route you were counting on, and that is where the tension comes from. With 2 or 3 players, only one track of each double route can be used.
When someone is down to two or fewer trains, everyone gets one last turn. You then score your completed tickets and lose points for unfinished ones, and the longest continuous path earns a 10-point bonus. The highest total wins.
What's in the box
- 1Game board
map of North American train routes, with the score track around the edge - 225Plastic trains
45 in each of 5 colours; the rulebook says a few spares of each colour are included - 110Train cards
12 in each of the 8 route colours, plus 14 wild locomotives - 33Destination tickets
the original 2004 box has 30 - 1Longest path bonus card
worth 10 points at the end - 5Scoring markers
1 in each train colour (wooden, per Days of Wonder's list) - 1Rules booklet
Box: 29.8 × 29.8 × 7.6 cm, 1.47 kg. Handy to know for gifting and travel.
From the 2025 Refresh rulebook (Days of Wonder, April 2025) and the contents list on Days of Wonder's Ticket to Ride page. The original 2004 box has the same parts, but 30 tickets instead of 33 and smaller train cards. Days of Wonder lists 225 trains, while the rulebook says a few spares are included, so count out 45 per player.
Where to buy
The official edition, on Amazon.in
There's no Indian edition, so this is the official imported game. Amazon shows today's price, the seller and delivery.
Opens Amazon.in in a new tab.
No Ticket to Ride is made in India, so every genuine copy is imported from Days of Wonder. Many cheaper marketplace listings called 'Ticket to Ride America' or similar come from brands unrelated to Days of Wonder. Our Amazon.in link goes to the 2025 Refresh (USA map), an import.
How to make sure you get a genuine copyA little care before you click.
- The box should carry the Days of Wonder logo (newer boxes also show Asmodee). The official name is simply 'Ticket to Ride'; a 'Ticket to Ride America' sold under another brand is a red flag.
- Compare the contents with the official list: 225 plastic trains in 5 colours, 110 train cards, destination tickets, a longest-path bonus card and 5 wooden scoring markers.
- Reports of unofficial copies describe thin boxes and boards, route colours on the board that don't match the cards, and a blank back on the board.
- An imported box sold in India should have a sticker with the importer's name and address.
- Be wary of a new copy that costs a fraction of the usual price; much cheaper sets sold under the name are unlikely to be genuine Days of Wonder copies.
We link to one Amazon.in listing that we've checked against the maker's own information. We don't show prices: Amazon shows today's price, the seller and delivery. Paid link. We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
What reviewers and players say
Reviewers still call Ticket to Ride one of the best first games for people new to modern board games. The rules are short, a turn is quick, and the map gets tense as routes fill up and someone takes the line you needed. The 2025 Refresh plays the same, with a cleaner board, bigger cards and three more tickets. Reviewers say it is the version to buy if you have none, but not a reason to replace an old copy. The catches: the luck of the card draw and tickets, blocking that can upset some players, and a game that experienced players may find too simple.
What people love
- Easy to teach in about 10 minutes, so children, parents and grandparents can play together
- The tension of racing for routes, and the satisfaction of finishing a long ticket or a six-train route
- A big, colourful map that looks good on the table; the Refresh board has a clearer font and the larger cards are easier to hold
- It stays fun over many plays, because the map fills up differently each time and you have to adapt as key routes disappear
Common complaints
- Luck can sting: some turns you draw cards you can't use, or get tickets that don't fit together
- Blocking is part of the game, and some families find it mean when a route they needed is taken
- Light for experienced players, and the Refresh's changes are small if you already own the game
Based on 9 reviews and discussions
- Review Ticket To Ride (2025 Refresh Edition) (Dale Yu, August 2025) · The Opinionated Gamers
- Review Ticket to Ride (Refresh) review (Kevin Brantley, September 2025) · Meeple Mountain
- Video Ticket to Ride Refresh Edition (2025) comparison - What's New? (Game Boy Geek, July 2025) · YouTube (Game Boy Geek)
- Review Ticket To Ride: A Railway-Themed Board Game (July 2018) · Outlook Traveller (India)
- Players How Unethical Is A Purely 'Blocking' Move In Ticket To Ride? (January 2011) · Board & Card Games Stack Exchange
- Players In Ticket to Ride, how do you overcome bad initial tickets? (January 2012) · Board & Card Games Stack Exchange
- Award Zug um Zug (Ticket to Ride), Spiel des Jahres 2004 · Spiel des Jahres jury
- Reference Ticket to Ride (board game): accolades table and box size · Wikipedia
- Reference Ticket to Ride - Refresh (EN): 'What's New and Improved?' list · Asmodee Canada
Summarised in our own words from the sources above. We don't use Amazon reviews or ratings.
More like Ticket to Ride
Our picks if Ticket to Ride isn't quite right
| Feature |
Ticket to Ride |
Catan |
Splendor |
Azul |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | 2–5 | 3–4 | 2–4 | 2–4 |
| Best with | 4 | 4 | 2-3 | 2-4 |
| Play time | 30–60 min | 60–90 min | 30 min | 30–45 min |
| Age | 8+ | 10+ | 10+ | 8+ |
| Rules | Easy | Medium | Easy | Easy |
| Indian edition | Import | Yes | Import | Yes |
| Why look at it | This page | Another family classic with more trading and dice, and an official made-in-India edition | The same collect-then-spend rhythm in 30 minutes, and good with two | A quick, calm game with a similar light but tactical feel |
More by Alan R. Moon
More from Days of Wonder
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See all
Ticket to Ride: First Journey
A shorter, simpler Ticket to Ride made for children six and up
Splendor
A quick gem-trading race where every card makes the next easier.
Jaipur
Two rival merchants trade goods and camels in old Jaipur
Rummikub
Rummy with tiles: build runs and groups, then rearrange the table
Sushi Go!
Pick a dish, pass the rest, build the best sushi meal
Better with just two players
Ticket to Ride: First Journey
A shorter, simpler Ticket to Ride made for children six and up
Splendor
A quick gem-trading race where every card makes the next easier.
Jaipur
Two rival merchants trade goods and camels in old Jaipur
Connectors: Mission Space
Link picture tiles into a path through planets and galaxies
Wingspan
Calm card game about birds where every new bird boosts your turns.
Questions people ask about Ticket to Ride
Is Ticket to Ride available in India?
Yes, as an import: no Ticket to Ride is made in India. Our Buy on Amazon.in button goes to the listing we've checked, the 2025 Refresh; make sure the brand is Days of Wonder or Asmodee.
Is there a Ticket to Ride India map?
Yes. 'Ticket to Ride: India' is Map Collection Volume 2, with India (set in 1911) on one side of the board and Switzerland on the other. It is an expansion, so you need the base Ticket to Ride or Ticket to Ride Europe for the trains and cards. The India map plays 2–4.
Can 2 people play Ticket to Ride?
Yes, it plays 2 to 5. With 2 or 3 players, only one track of each double route can be used, so the map still feels crowded enough to block each other.
Should I buy the original or the 2025 Refresh?
Either is fine. The 2025 Refresh keeps the core rules and map but updates the art, uses larger train cards and has 33 destination tickets. Buy whichever genuine copy you find.
Game facts
- Designed by
- Alan R. Moon
- Publisher
- Days of Wonder (Asmodee)
- First published
- 2004
- Players
- 2–5
- Language
- Little reading – City names on the board and on the destination tickets are in English. The train cards have no text, so anyone who can find cities on a map can play.
- Box size and weight
- 29.8 × 29.8 × 7.6 cm, 1.47 kg
- Awards
- Spiel des Jahres (Germany's Game of the Year), 2004 (Winner); Origins Award, Best Board Game, 2004 (Winner); Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming, 2005 (Winner); As d'Or (France's Game of the Year), 2005 (Winner)
Sources & photo creditsThe references behind this guide.
Facts on this page come from the publisher, the Indian maker or distributor, and the sources below. Photos are credited under each one.
- Ticket to Ride (board game) – Wikipedia
- Ticket to Ride – Days of Wonder
- Ticket to Ride: India – Days of Wonder
- Ticket to Ride: India Map Collection 2 – Asmodee store
- Ticket to Ride India & Switzerland Map Collection 2 – Miniature Market
- Ticket to Ride: India/Switzerland – Off The Shelf Games
- Ticket to Ride (2025 Refresh Edition) – Opinionated Gamers
- Ticket to Ride rulebook – RulesPal
- Counterfeit Ticket to Ride – Luck and Strategy
- Ticket To Ride 2025 Refresh – Board Games India
- Days of Wonder products – Board Games India
- Ticket to Ride – Gameistry
- Ticket to Ride Map Collection Volume 2 – Board Games India