Game Review: Ticket to Ride USA 1910

By Greg J. Schloesser
February 14, 2007

Publisher: Days of Wonder
Designer: Alan R. Moon
Players: 2-5
Playing Time: 60 minutes

Can’t get enough of Alan Moon’s Spiel des Jahres winner Ticket to Ride? In addition to two subsequent stand-alone games in TTR: Europe and TTR: Marklin, you can now expand the original game with USA 1910.

Ticket to Ride has become a major franchise for both the designer and the publisher, Days of Wonder. The game has become popular amongst gamers and is spreading its reach to more and more of the general public. Copies of the game have surfaced on the shelves of retail stores across the world, including major bookstores and toy giant Toys ‘R Us. The success of the game has been most gratifying, and the expansion possibilities seem endless.

The first expansion to the game was the promotional “Mystery Train” expansion, which added four new destination tickets (along with some special cards) and was distributed at various conventions. USA 1910 is the first commercially available expansion, and it includes not only the four “Mystery Train” destination cards, but an additional three-dozen destination tickets. Further, it replaces all of the train and destination cards from the original game with larger, more colorful cards. This is a nice touch and provides relief for the folks who complained about the diminutive size of the original cards. The new cards come packaged in an attractive tin, which sadly won’t fit intact inside of the original box without discarding the inserts.

How are these new cards incorporated into the game? Three methods are provided:

1910: Only the new destination cards are used. These provide some new connections, so those who have played the game so many times that they have memorized existing destinations will find new routes to connect and block. Further, the “Longest Route” bonus card is replaced with a new “Globetrotter” card, which gives a 15-point bonus to the player completing the most destination tickets.

MEGA GAME: All destination tickets—original and new—are shuffled together. The initial number of tickets dealt to each player is increased to five, with players required to keep at least three.

BIG CITIES: Thirty-five of the destination tickets are marked “Big City”. Only these cards are used, which means that all destinations will begin or end at one of these seven cities. This causes a bit of nastiness, as players generally rush to secure routes into and out of these cities. Completing tickets can be considerably tougher with this version.

The 1910 version’s main addition is the Globetrotter card, which encourages players to pursue the completion of multiple tickets. The new destination cards only add some alternative routes that aren’t present in the original game. Thus, the play of the game feels virtually identical to the original. The Mega Game significantly increases the number of routes available, making it easier to select routes that can be completed. As such, it makes choosing new destination cards during the course of the game less risky.

The variant with the biggest impact is Big Cities, which, as mentioned, can cause fierce competition for routes leading into and out of the seven key cities. Those routes tend to be claimed early, which makes choosing new destination tickets during the course of the game a very risky endeavor. This actually reduces player options as the game progresses and forces players into a certain method of playing, neither of which is a good thing.

Is this expansion worth securing? It really depends on what you are seeking. If you are unsatisfied with the small size of the original cards, then the larger cards will make you a happy gamer. Further, if you have memorized all of the original destinations—a feat that I’ve never attempted to accomplish and never will—then the new destination cards will add variety. However, other than when playing the Big Cities variant, which in my opinion actually harms the game, don’t expect a significantly different feel to your games. Games played with the new destination cards will feel virtually the same as always. I was actually surprised by this, as I expected it to alter the game in a very noticeable fashion. That simply doesn’t happen. So I’d recommend securing the expansion only if you must have larger cards. Otherwise, it really doesn’t add much.

Still, I applaud Days of Wonder for hearing the complaints of a few and making available larger cards and more destination tickets. They continue to be a company that cares about the opinions of their customers.

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