Ticket to Ride rules
Claim train routes across the map to connect cities and complete tickets.
- Players
- 2–5
- Time
- 30–60 min
- Ages
- 8+
- Goal
- Claim train routes across the map to connect cities and complete your secret Destination Tickets. Most points at game end wins.
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How to play Ticket to Ride
Setup
- Board: place the board in the middle of the table.
- Each player takes 45 trains in one colour and puts their scoring marker on Start (0) on the scoring track.
- Train Car cards: shuffle them and deal 4 to each player. Put the rest face down next to the board as the draw deck, then turn its top 5 cards face up beside it.
- Three Locomotives showing? If 3 of those 5 face-up cards are Locomotives, discard all 5 and turn up 5 new ones.
- Bonus card: place the Longest Path bonus card face up next to the board.
- Destination Tickets: shuffle them, deal 3 to each player (4 in the 2025 edition), and put the rest face down next to the board. Keep at least 2 (you may keep all); put the rest on the bottom of the deck (2025 edition: shuffle them first). Keep yours secret.
- Whoever's the most experienced traveler goes first; play then passes clockwise.
Your Turn
Take exactly one of these 3 actions. You can't pass.
- Draw Train Car cards: take 2, from the 5 face-up cards or the top of the deck. A face-up Locomotive has its own limit.
- Claim a route: play cards matching its colour, one per space, then place your trains and score it straight away.
- Draw Destination Tickets: draw 3 and keep at least 1.
Routes
- Gray routes take a set of any one colour.
- Locomotives are wild in any set.
- Double routes: you can never claim both of a pair; with 2–3 players, the other one closes.
Scoring
- Route scoring: 1, 2, 4, 7, 10 or 15 points for a route of 1–6 spaces, scored when you claim it.
- Destination Ticket scoring: at game end, add a ticket's value if your routes connect its two cities, or subtract it if not.
- Longest Path: +10 at game end for the longest continuous chain of your trains.
Example: A 4-space route scores 7 at once. An unfinished 12-point ticket costs 12 at game end.
Game End & Winning
- Game end: once a player finishes a turn with 2 or fewer trains, everyone gets one last turn.
- Final scoring: score your tickets, then the Longest Path bonus.
- Winner: most points. The tie-breaker is most tickets completed, then the Longest Path card.
Expansion rules
Only needed if you play with the expansion named on each heading.
USA 1910 USA 1910
- Setup: choose a way to play: 1910 (only 1910-logo tickets; the Globetrotter replaces the Longest Path card), Mega Game (all 69 tickets, both bonus cards, deal 5, keep at least 3) or Big Cities (deal 4 Big Cities tickets, keep at least 2).
Asia Asia (Map Collection 1)
- Setup: Team Asia (4 or 6 players, teams of 2 seated together): each team takes 54 trains (27 per teammate), one score marker and two cardholders; deal 4 Train cards and 5 tickets to each player (keep at least 3), then each teammate puts 1 ticket in the team holder.
- Setup: Legendary Asia (no teams): 45 trains each; deal 1 Long (purple) and 3 regular tickets, keep at least 2; undealt Long tickets and setup rejects go back in the box unseen.
India & Switzerland India & Switzerland (Map Collection 2)
- Setup: India: deal 4 tickets, keep at least 2. Switzerland (2–3 players): 40 trains each; deal 5 tickets, keep at least 2; tickets not kept leave the game.
The Heart of Africa The Heart of Africa (Map Collection 3)
- Setup: deal each player 4 tickets (keep at least 2) and 1 Terrain card; put 2 Terrain cards face up and the rest as a deck.
Nederland Nederland (Map Collection 4)
- Setup: 40 trains each; give each player the same 30 points of Bridge Toll tokens (two 4s, six 2s, ten 1s), the rest form the Bank; stagger the score markers; deal 5 tickets, keep at least 3.
UK & Pennsylvania United Kingdom & Pennsylvania (Map Collection 5)
- Setup: United Kingdom: 35 trains each; use the UK Train deck; deal 4 Train cards plus 1 Locomotive and 5 tickets (keep at least 3); Technology cards beside the board.
- Setup: Pennsylvania: sort the 60 Stock Shares by railroad, #1 on top; deal 5 tickets, keep at least 3.
France & Old West France & Old West (Map Collection 6)
- Setup: France: 40 trains each; track pieces sorted by length beside the board; deal 8 Train cards and 5 tickets (keep at least 3).
- Setup: Old West: 40 trains and 3 City Markers each (white trains for a 6th player); deal 5 tickets, keep at least 3; from the last player counterclockwise, place a City Marker on your starting city.
Poland Poland (Map Collection 6½)
- Setup: 35 trains each; sort the Country cards by country and stack them face up beside that country on the board, highest on top; deal 4 tickets, keep at least 2.
Japan & Italy Japan & Italy (Map Collection 7)
- Setup: Japan: 20 trains each; Bullet Trains beside the board, Progression Markers on 0; deal 4 tickets, keep at least 2. Italy: Ferry cards in a pile by the Train deck; deal 5 tickets, keep at least 3.
Iberia & South Korea Iberia & South Korea (Map Collection 8)
- Setup: Iberia: 35 trains each; shuffle the 54 Festival cards into Iberia's Train deck and slip the Ticket Draft card in about halfway (2 players), two-thirds (3) or three-quarters down (4–5); deal 6 tickets each; pick 1 and pass the rest left until each has 6; keep exactly 4.
- Setup: South Korea: 45 trains each; use Iberia's Train deck without the Festival and Ticket Draft cards, or the base deck; Province mat and card beside the board; each player's +1, +2, +3 Express cards face up; draft tickets as in Iberia.
Warehouses & Depots Warehouses & Depots
- Setup: after tickets are kept, each player takes a Warehouse and 5 Depots, keeps 4 beside it and, from the last player counterclockwise, places the 5th Depot in any city.
Alvin & Dexter Alvin & Dexter
- Setup: the last two players in turn order place Alvin and Dexter in different cities; put the 40 Monster cards and 2 Bonus cards beside the board.
Dice Expansion Dice Expansion
- Setup: set aside the Train cards; put the Single and Double Route tokens beside the board and take the 5 Train dice (and the 3 Tunnel dice on tunnel maps).
Mystery Train Mystery Train
- Setup: after the opening ticket deal, shuffle the 10 Mystery Train cards into the ticket deck.
All Ticket to Ride rules (62)
General
- Your Turn
- Draw Train Car Cards
- Claim a Route
- Gray Routes
- Train Car Card Colors
- Double Routes
- Reshuffling the Train Car Deck
- Draw Destination Tickets
Clarification
- You Can Never Pass
- Taking a Face-Up Locomotive
- Three Face-Up Locomotives
- There's No Hand Limit
- One Player, One Route of a Pair
- Spent Cards Go to the Discard Pile
- If Both the Deck and Discards Are Empty
- Setup Keeps More Than a Draw Does
- What Counts as a Continuous Path
Scoring
- Scoring Overview
- Route Length & Points
- Destination Ticket Scoring
- Longest Path Bonus
- How the Game Ends
- Final Scoring Order
- Winning & Ties
USA 1910 expansion
Asia (Map Collection 1) expansion
- Team Asia
- Team Asia: Shared Cards and Tickets
- Team Asia: Routes, Tunnels and Bonuses
- Legendary Asia
- Mountain Routes
India & Switzerland (Map Collection 2) expansion
The Heart of Africa (Map Collection 3) expansion
Nederland (Map Collection 4) expansion
United Kingdom & Pennsylvania (Map Collection 5) expansion
France & Old West (Map Collection 6) expansion
Poland (Map Collection 6½) expansion
Japan & Italy (Map Collection 7) expansion
Iberia & South Korea (Map Collection 8) expansion
Warehouses & Depots expansion
Alvin & Dexter expansion
Dice Expansion expansion
Mystery Train expansion
Expansions covered
- USA 1910 new tickets and variants
- Asia (Map Collection 1) Team Asia, Legendary Asia
- India & Switzerland (Map Collection 2)
- The Heart of Africa (Map Collection 3)
- Nederland (Map Collection 4)
- United Kingdom & Pennsylvania (Map Collection 5)
- France & Old West (Map Collection 6)
- Poland (Map Collection 6½)
- Japan & Italy (Map Collection 7)
- Iberia & South Korea (Map Collection 8)
- Warehouses & Depots from Europa 1912
- Alvin & Dexter
- Dice Expansion
- Mystery Train 2004 promo