Ticket to Ride: United Kingdom & Pennsylvania Board Game Review

My Issues With TTR

Ticket to Ride is eminently enjoyable, teachable, and replayable. It’s why the original game is a cultural touchstone in the modern board gaming hobby. It has earned its place on modern gaming’s Mt. Rushmore.

It’s also not nearly as exciting or cerebral as many others that have come after it, even ones in the TTR series. The simplicity that made it a great game also makes it one that struggles to capture my interest these days.

To be clear, some people never move on from so-called “gateway” board games like TTR, and this is perfectly fine. But many of us do. Additionally, some gateway games seem to have more longevity for me and my game groups than others. TTR doesn’t. The base game, at least.

Which is where the follow-up standalone games and expansions come into play.

What About Pennsylvania?

So, embarrassing story…I haven’t played the PA side enough to truly cover it in a review. I’ve played once, and liked it well enough, but my sense is that the strength of this version of TtR lies in the UK side.

The lack of plays has to do with the fact that when this game is pulled, one side of the board is always going to look more attractive to the majority of gamers. And here’s a hint: it’s probably not the PA side.

The PA side went well enough with teh group I played it with, but when I suggest playing on Pennsylvania, I invariably get cocked eyebrows and grimaces. Apparently no one loves the Midwest here in the Midwest (I live in Ohio). Alas.

As such, this review (outside of this small section) is specific to the UK side.

Components

The artwork here is lovely. There’s something about the color tones used on the map that is absolutely striking without being overbearing. I love it. The card art matches in quality.

In all, this is one of the more beautiful entries into the TTR series, which is saying something.

Variations on a Theme

The conceit of the UK side is that players must upgrade their railroad technology to do nearly anything. At the start, they can only lay down tracks of 1- or 2-length. This is very limiting, of course. Upgrades are a necessity.

So to build tracks into Ireland or Wales, you’ll need to buy permits. Want to do a 3-length track? That’s an upgrade. 4- or 5-length? Upgrade. Over sea channels? Upg…you get the idea.

Lastly, there are bonus cards that will let you take special actions or, sometimes, get extra points for certain actions. Some carry a risk/reward proposition, where you’ll get endgame points for having the most/longest of something, but will subtract those points if you don’t (much like route cards in various iterations of the series).

Herein lies the tension. So, for example, you can eschew the 3-length upgrade and go straight to the longer stuff. This saves you time, but you’ll need to plan your routes more carefully and will be at risk of being blocked more easily.

Or maybe you’re stuck with a single route card that would take you to Ireland, but it’s of low point value and the game so far has seen you building in other directions. Maybe you’re even close to the destination, but would need to purchase two upgrades to be able to get there legally. Do you cut your losses and ignore it, or expend those extra resources to be able to build into Ireland for the points?

You also won’t be able to purchase every upgrade, so when and which you buy is crucial.

Then there’s the eyeballing between players that occurs when multiple players want the same bonus card. It’s a slight bump in interaction, beyond the more well-known route-blocking that occurs in pretty much every edition of this game.

This is all layered overtop of the elegant Ticket to Ride gameplay structure. In all, it adds an extra layer of depth to the proceedings, adding new considerations and opportunities for savvy strategies and counters.

The Possibilities and Limits of Ticket to Ride

TTR is such an elegant core game that mechanics like the UK’s technologies can be bolted onto it, and the game doesn’t miss a beat. It doesn’t feel like I’m playing a game with another game latched onto it. The experience is smooth and coherent throughout.

However, it’s still Ticket to Ride. For some regular gamers, this is going to be a better version of the classic game. But the classic game is still evident in its experience.

So if you’re “done” with TTR, this probably isn’t enough to sway you. But if you want a great permutation on the core experience, this is a wonderful entry into the series.

For my money, the UK map is my favorite that I’ve played. That group includes the base game, Nordic Countries, Europe, India and Switzerland. Along with Nordic Countries (for lower player counts), it’s also the only one I’ll readily recommend to gamers or suggest playing.

The base game remains the gold standard in the series for new gamers who are unfamiliar with the series. Its place as a wonderful introduction to a lot of ideas in modern gaming will not soon be usurped. If you want more, though, I’d encourage you to give this one a look.

And hell, maybe the Pennsylvania side is good too.