Each Ticket to Ride map plays differently. Choose yours below.
The original game. Connect cities across North America with your colored train cars.
View rulesAdds tunnels, ferries, and stations. More forgiving than the USA map.
View rulesA dense, tight 2–3 player map through Scandinavia. Competitive and fast.
View rulesTwo bonus maps. India adds Mandala routes; Switzerland is built for 2–3 players.
View rulesCombines train and ship routes. Play on the World or Great Lakes map.
View rulesFirst Ticket to Ride? Get the USA version. Already have it? Europe is the best follow-up. Nordic Countries is the best pure 2-3 player experience.
Every Ticket to Ride map uses the same core: collect colored train cards, claim routes, complete destination tickets. Maps change the terrain, route lengths, player count sweet spots, and special mechanics like tunnels (Europe) or ferries.
The USA map is the cleanest learning experience. Europe introduces tunnels and ferries which add variance. Nordic Countries is intentionally tight for 2-3 players — do not play it with 4-5.
| Map | Players | Time | Special Rules | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA | 2-5 | 30-75 min | None | Best starting map |
| Europe | 2-5 | 30-90 min | Tunnels, ferries, stations | Best follow-up to USA |
| Nordic Countries | 2-3 | 30-60 min | Dense, tight map | Best 2-3 player experience |
| India & Switzerland | 2-4 | 30-60 min | Mandala routes (India) | Bonus maps, smaller groups |
| Rails & Sails | 2-5 | 60-120 min | Ships + trains | World map, longer games |
Yes — it works fine with 2. The USA map is less tense with 2 since there's less route blocking. Nordic Countries is specifically designed for 2-3 players and is much better at that count.
Destination tickets are cards with two cities and a point value. If you complete the route connecting them by the end of the game, you score the points. If you don't, you lose those points. Managing which tickets to keep is a core decision.
When a player reaches 2 or fewer trains, every other player gets one final turn. Then the game ends and scores are calculated.
This depends on the game state. Early on, drawing more tickets gives you more scoring potential but more risk. Late game, tickets with routes you're already building are nearly free points. Completing all your tickets while others don't is often the path to victory.
The player with the longest continuous path of routes gets a 10-point bonus at the end of the game. Competing for this can be worth sacrificing some ticket completion.
Ticket to Ride if you're newer to board games, have kids under 10, or want something that works well with 2 players. Catan if your group has played some games before and you want more social interaction and trading. Full comparison here →