How to Play Ticket to Ride — Original (USA)
The original Ticket to Ride is set on a map of North America. On each turn you take just one of three simple actions, slowly building a rail network while quietly working toward the secret cities on your destination tickets.
Its elegance is in that single-action turn: easy to teach, but full of tension as opponents race for the routes you need.
Last reviewed 2026-07-27
What's in the box
- Board map of North American cities and routes
- 240 colored train car pieces (45 per player)
- 110 train car cards in eight colors plus locomotive wilds
- 30 destination ticket cards
- A scoring track and the Longest Route bonus card
Setup
- Give each player 45 trains of one color and place their scoring marker at the start.
- Deal 4 train car cards to each player and put 5 face up beside the deck.
- Deal 3 destination tickets to each player; each must keep at least 2.
- The most experienced traveler goes first.
How to play — the rules
One action per turn
- Draw 2 train car cards — from the five face-up cards or blindly from the deck. A face-up locomotive (wild) drawn as your first card uses your whole turn.
- Claim a route — play a set of same-colored cards equal to the route’s length and place your trains on it.
- Draw destination tickets — take 3 new tickets and keep at least 1.
Claiming routes and scoring
A route between two adjacent cities has a length and often a color. To claim it, discard that many cards of the matching color (gray routes accept any single color), then cover it with your trains.
Longer routes are worth disproportionately more: 1 train scores 1 point, 2 score 2, 3 score 4, 4 score 7, 5 score 10, and 6 score 15.
Destination tickets
Each ticket names two cities and a point value. If you connect them with an unbroken chain of your routes by game end, you add those points; if you fail, you subtract them.
Tickets are your hidden agenda — and your biggest risk. Overreaching on too many can sink your score.
A turn, step by step
- Choose exactly one action: draw train cards, claim a route, or draw tickets.
- If claiming, discard the matching card set and place your trains.
- Update your score for any route you just claimed.
- Play passes to the left.
How to win
When any player is reduced to 2 or fewer trains at the end of their turn, everyone — including that player — takes one final turn, and the game ends.
Now reveal tickets: add completed tickets, subtract failed ones, and award the 10-point Longest Route bonus to the player with the longest continuous path. The highest total wins.
Strategy tips
- Claim the routes your tickets need first; contested long routes are often the first to disappear.
- Hoard locomotives — the wild cards are what let you finish those tricky gray and long routes.
- Long routes score far more per train than short ones. A single six-train route is worth 15 points.
- Don’t draw more tickets late unless you can realistically complete them; failed tickets are subtracted.
- Block sparingly. Taking a route purely to deny an opponent costs you tempo and trains.
Frequently asked questions
How many actions can you take on a turn in Ticket to Ride?
Exactly one: draw two train car cards, claim a single route, or draw new destination tickets. That single-action turn is what makes the game so quick to learn.
What happens if you don’t complete a destination ticket?
Its point value is subtracted from your score at the end of the game. Completed tickets add points, so unfinished ones are a real penalty.
How does the game end?
When a player has 2 or fewer trains left after their turn, each player takes one last turn and the game finishes, followed by ticket and Longest Route scoring.
What do locomotive cards do?
Locomotives are wild and can substitute for any color when claiming routes. If you take a face-up locomotive as your first draw, it uses your entire turn.
House-rule ideas
- Deal an extra starting ticket for a more goal-driven, higher-scoring game.
- Play the “Longest Route only” variant, ignoring tickets, to teach the basics.
- Use a global time limit per turn to keep five-player games brisk.
Buy Ticket to Ride USA
Ticket to Ride Board Game (USA)
The original North America map — the ideal first modern board game.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.