Ticket to Ride
The world's highest-selling train game, where simple rules meet strategic route-building.
Last updated
According to Days of Wonder, Ticket to Ride holds the record as the top-selling train-themed board game worldwide.[1]
Making and release
The original version was based on a 1910 map of the United States and southern Canada.[2] That expansion was given away free with the original core game as a limited release of 30,000 decks, exclusively at the convention.[3] A Europe version was released in mid-2005 as the second installment, based on a 1912 map of Europe.[4] On 26 April 2006, a version entitled Ticket to Ride: Märklin was released by the German toy company Märklin, based on a map of 1902 Germany.[5]
After a frustrating playtest of a complicated war game, Moon took a walk and found his creative spark in the sight of ocean waves, which led to the game's design.[6] The original Ticket to Ride board game launched in Europe during the final days of February 2004, and then in Korea and North America during the final days of March 2004.[2] The inaugural commercial transaction for the game involved 600 units delivered to a German distributor on 27 February 2004.[7]
What the cited sources add
A 2004 report from the Spiel convention noted that Days of Wonder produced the Mystery Train mini-expansion for the convention after Zug um Zug won the Spiel des Jahres 2004 award.[8] Vincent of Dad's Gaming Addiction wrote that the base game is perfectly playable by itself and can provide entertainment for years, with most casual gamers happy with just that.[9] Vincent also stated he would have liked another train set so six players could play, but that USA 1910 does the job as-is even if it is a tad expensive.[9]
References
- Wikipedia, "Ticket to Ride (board game)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Net flix punces its “Ticket to Ride” with global windening deal on board game phenomenon Development Underway on the First Feature Film Out of the Deal", Days of Wonder (daysofwonder.com), 17 February 2026; "Net flix punces its “Ticket to Ride” with global windening deal on board game phenomenon Development Underway on the First Feature Film Out of the Deal", Days of Wonder (daysofwonder.com), 17 February 2026; "Days of Wonder announces Deluxe Train Sets for Ticket to Ride", Asmodee (asmodee.com), 3 July 2024; "Net flix pun en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ticket to Ride (board game)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bosch, "Ticket to Ride expansions reviewed", Board Game Theories, 13 September 2020; Kaufmann, "Days of Wonder announces Ticket to Ride – The Cross-Country Train Adventure Game!", Days of Wonder (daysofwonder.com), 12 January 2004 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ticket to Ride (board game)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Ticket to Ride: Mystery Train Expansion (2004)", Days of Wonder (daysofwonder.com); "The Speil Games Convention at Essen / Germany The SPeil 04", Kulkmann's G@mebox (boardgame.de); Evans, "Spiel '04 │ Notes on the 2004 games fair by Pevans", Pevans (pevans.co.uk), 21 February 2005; "The Speil Games Convention at Essen / Germany The SPeil 04", Kulkmann's G@mebox (boardgame.de); "Ticket to Ride: Mystery Train Expansion (2004)", Days of Wonder (daysofwonder.com); "The Speil Games Convention at Essen / Germany The S en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ticket to Ride (board game)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Ticket to Ride: Europe (2005)", BoardGameGeek (boardgamegeek.com); "The Speil Games Convention at Essen / Germany The SPeil 04", Kulkmann's G@mebox (boardgame.de) (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ticket to Ride (board game)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Ticket to Ride Marklin Edition", Previewsworld (previewsworld.com), 6 February 2006 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ticket to Ride (board game)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Press Release: Ticket to Ride Celebrates 20 Years! A Journey Across a Global Network", Asmodee (asmodee.net), 11 June 2024 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ticket to Ride (board game)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rubin, "Board Game 'Ticket to Ride' Celebrates 10 Years With a Gorgeous New Edition", Wired (wired.com), 18 June 2014; Moon, "GTM #170 – The History of Ticket To Ride", Games Trade Magazine (gametrademagazine.com), 21 May 2014; Kaufmann, "Days of Wonder's Award-Winning Ticket to Ride™ is a runaway hit with over 250,000 boardgames sold!", Asmodee (asmodee.com), 12 November 2004; "Net flix punces its “Ticket to Ride” with global windening deal on board game phenomenon Development Underway on the First Feature Film Out of the D en.wikipedia.org
- "The Speil Games Convention at Essen / Germany The SPeil 04", Kulkmann's G@mebox (boardgame.de). facts only, no text reused. boardgame.de
- Vincent, "Ticket to Ride: USA 1910 (Expansion)", Dad's Gaming Addiction (dadsgamingaddiction.com), 1 January 2015. facts only, no text reused. dadsgamingaddiction.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Ticket to Ride (board game) (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
Also in the Codexery
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Ticket to Ride (board game) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced