Valerie Putman: Ticket to Ride Everywhere

How many of you have gone on vacation and brought home a souvenir to remember the place—perhaps a snow globe or a post card?  I know one guy who collects Monopoly games everywhere he goes—and they are out there.  You can get a Monopoly themed for just about anything.  But what’s the point?  They play the same, so additional copies are just for show.  Now imagine Ticket to Ride collectibles—with new maps, new tickets, but few if any new rules, available at every tourist attraction and vacation destination.  After a trip to Disney World, you pick up a copy of Ticket to Ride Disney and relive your vacation by planning your routes between the amusement park attractions.  You have fond memories of your trip to New York City?  Break out the Ticket to Ride NYC with subway and bus routes to retrace your steps.

I want to be absolutely clear.  I am not being sarcastic about the fact that yet another Ticket to Ride game is available at Essen.  I am the queen of Age of Steam and Power Grid maps—I love new ways to play my favorite games.  And I think Ticket to Ride is the perfect non-gamer game that should replace monopoly as the one game in every American household.  But even better, every time you visit a friend you look forward to playing Ticket to Ride because they have a dozen maps you’ve never seen before—like the one that came free with 12 box tops from Cheerios!  The collectors would swoon.

I would expect Days of Wonder and Alan Moon to profit from it, of course, though I admit that I don’t know how licensing deals work.  I know that Age of Steam has gained such a following because the maps are seemingly endless, but that this is fraught with legal issues.  Surely if Hollywood can figure out how to allow 100 different Batman toys and games, it can be done.  I would even like to see a Ticket to Ride Monopoly, with trolley routes in Atlantic City connecting Boardwalk to Park Place to Oriental Avenue!

Hmmm…time to go buy stock in DoW.

Tichu Puzzle 10/14
Thanks to all the readers who submitted responses!  Just a reminder, last week I asked what you would pass when given all 4 specials (the 1, the dog, the phoenix, and the dragon), 2, 3, 7, J, J, Q, Q, K, K, A—and would you call tichu.  Well, two-thirds of you went with the most obvious option.  You passed the 2 right, the 3 left, the Dog to your partner and you called tichu after the pass as you played your 1.  That’s fine and I’m sure you would make your tichu.  But I must admit, I was far more intrigued by the other solutions.  The next most common response was to pass the 7 left, the J right, and the Dog to your partner—calling the tichu before the pass.  Your opponents can’t stick you with the dog and the low cards you receive could make a ladder pair or a low straight with your phoenix.  Finally, several of you opted not to pass the Dog to your partner and reasoned that with such a strong hand, you could work towards the one-two-tichu by keeping the dog or passing it to your left (and maybe that you could have called a Grand Tichu).  Thanks to everyone who participated!  The responses increased this month, so I’ll be sure to run another one soon!

Essen
First of all, I’d like that thank all of the Essen attendees who have been posting pictures, reviews, Fairplay ratings, and other tidbits.  You have been my lifeline this week!  Today I pick Dale up at the Columbus airport and I’ll be like a kid on Christmas while he reveals the goodies in his suitcases.  Luckily I was able to convince him to spend a night in Columbus at the Putman Inn before heading back to Cincinnati!  Woo hoo!  I should have several new games to write about next week!

I’d rather be gaming,
Valerie Putman

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