Review - Ticket To Ride, First Journey

Playing games is something we have always enjoyed and over the years our board game collection has grew and grew until now we can only have a section downstairs and the majority have gone in the loft until we are ready to play. As big J got older our games become more for adults as he was able to understand more complicated games and had a longer attention span. One of our favourite games is Ticket to Ride. The game is a cross-country train adventure in which players collect and play matching train cards to claim railway routes connecting cities throughout North America. As part of the Board Game Club, last month we received Ticket To Ride, First Journey which is aimed at younger players. 

The aim of the game is still the same as the adult version. Players collect train cards, claim routes on the map, and try to connect the cities shown on their tickets. 

In more detail, the game board shows a map of Europe with certain cities being connect by coloured paths. Each player starts with four coloured train cards in hand and two tickets. Each ticket shows two cities, and you're trying to connect those two cities with a contiguous path of your trains in order to complete the ticket.

On your turn, you either draw two train cards from the deck or discard train cards to claim a route between two cities. for this latter option, you must discard cards matching the colour and number of spaces on that route (e.g. two yellow cards for a yellow route that's two spaces long). If you connect the two cities shown on a ticket with a path of your trains, reveal the ticket, place it face up in front of you, then draw a new ticket. (If you can't connect cities on either ticket because the paths are blocked, you can take your entire turn to discard those tickets and draw two new ones.) 

If you connect one of the West Coast cities to one of the East Coast cities with a path of your turns, you immediately claim a Coast-to-Coast ticket. The first player to complete six tickets wins.

Alternatively, if someone has placed all twenty of their trains on the game board, then whoever has completed the most tickets wins.

As you may have guessed little J is only 4 so is a little too young to grasp this type of game which is a shame. It is designed for players aged 6+ and I think in a few years he will love this as much as we love playing the original game, Ticket to Ride

Ticket To Ride First Journey is available from most good game retailers and online at Amazon.

Michelle

Disclosure - We are part of the Blogger Board Game Club and this game was sent to us for the purpose of this review.