The setting is...set in the turn of the century America. The players represent a club of travelling tycoons with a wager on who could travel the furthest by rail (insert your favorite blustery, vaugely british/rich drivel...). The game play is very simple (almost deceptively so...): You pull your routes (Random 3, keep at least 2...), then you can do 1 of 2 things on your turn. Either draw train cards (only one that's face up if it's a locomotive/rainbow...) or play enough train cards to make a route (from 1 track up to 8...). You get different points per amount of trains played, as well as points for completed routes and if you have the longest continuous connected route. That was longer than I originally anticipated. But, once you get into the game it is crazy, crazy simple to play and replay...
I may have stumbled up why I am not as good at Ticket to Ride as I am at other games (partially thanks to my lovely wife Tara's insight...). Consider: I'm very damn good at Small World (another game for another day...). There are few games that I have played that have more player on player interaction than Small World. It holds the game together, at least for a guy like me. Now, back to Ticket to Ride; there is very little to no player on player interaction from game to game. What Ticket to Ride DOES have is great player on player TENSION, and this is important to making Ticket to Ride unique. In essence, TtR gives each player their own puzzle to complete and they must complete it faster than the other player else too many obstacles get in the way. However, one player cannot do anything PROactive about what the other players do (other than guessing what the other players will do next and taking the cards the other players might want [poker-type players might be quite good at TtR...]...), but must be REactive to the board state as it changes...
It is here where I lose my game playing mojo. I am better (mayhaps even excel at times...) at games where I can pit my skills directly against another player(s...) skills and have sort of a battle of wits and wills during the game. But, in a game where you can do so little against the other players, my skills founder and it shows. I get frustrated that an area can get locked away by the other players and there is NOTHING to be done about it except adapt. Don't get me wrong, adapting strategies is cool with me. I find it to be a necessary skill for a good game player to have. But, when the only thing you can do to 'adapt' is just find a new route to your destination, adaptation doesn't help as much as it would in a game like Settlers of Catan...Now, you may imagine that this is an overly scathing review of TtR, but I find it to be one of the most frustrating games I've ever played and still not figured out yet. It's the challenge that brings me back to it each time. It is so simple in execution; and that is the exact reason of my frustration. I'm at a point in my board gaming career (yeah, chew on that idea...) that a game such as this should be more easily beaten than the luck I've been having. But, this is a game for anyone who has, or wants to, venture out into the wide world of grown-up board games. It's simple to grasp, it's not cutesy, it appeals to many different kinds of people. I recommend this game highly; I just may not want to play it with you all the time...
Grade: A...
4 comments:
I like the colorful game pieces, they look like they could fit up your nostrils.
oh, they are and they would. Surprisingly, it hasn't ever come up. I'm a little ashamed of my friend group now...
I like this phrase: "TtR gives each player their own puzzle to complete and they must complete it faster than the other player". It perfectly captures the essence of a lot of "euro games". They do that because it staves off player elimination, keeping all the players in the game until the end. Though sometimes it devolves into what some players deride as "multiplayer solitaire". TtR, Agricola, and even Dominion can all fall into this.
Games with conflict are MUCH harder to do that with: that's one of the innovative features that's really nice about Small World. Settlers of Catan of course is nice too but it gets that way by trade, and so doesn't work with less than three players.
That being said, I think you're still missing some of the nuances of TtR. You say you like games "where I can pit my skills directly against another player(s...) skills and have sort of a battle of wits and wills during the game." and that TtR is "a game where you can do so little against the other players". I'd argue that TtR *IS* a heavily skillful battle of wits: where is your opponent headed? Do you block them off or try to complete your route? Do I have time to dig for color cards or must I take the one face up wild card now before they screw me? And conversely there's a lot you can do against your opponents: Block them from where you think they're going. Take the critical routes first. Take the colors they need. Etc.
Just keep on truckin' (or trainin', as the case may be)
I guess my point is that it is a different kind of skill set to battle with (and apparently one I am not as strong with...). TtR require (I suppose...) much greater planning and forethought than a game such as Settlers and especially greater than Small World. You must be aware of more of the goings-on rather than what happens in the moment as in many other games. Dominion is another example of this but also has a bit more player-on-player action...
I guess that is where my strength truly lies within games; when I am able to go literally head-to-head (say, in a game of Magic...), I am using the tools at hand to work towards my goal AS WELL AS stopping my opponent from reaching his. The second part is not as important (nay, almost non-existant...) in TtR. Once a player plays a track, that's it. That track is down for good. There is not cards to play for sabotage, no robber to shut an area down, nothing. You just have to deal with it. That statement is the boiled down version of my frustration. I guess I deal with it worse than most (at least in the realm of TtR...)...
Now, I will say I (mostly...) approve of the additions to the European version, specifically the stations. That alone removes some of the frustration of making it to your destinations. It adds a certain amount of endgame satisfaction as well as smooth out the dynamics of the game play. If I had to add something to add to my enjoyment of TtR, it would be a trading/stealing mechanic, similar to that which is used in Settlers. It doesn't add much player to player interaction, but it is more than what is there now...
If you notice, I still gave TtR an A. It wouldn't have been right of me not to. The game is extremely elegant in it's simplicity and still retains a high replay value. Combining these two is a tricky prospect and the boys at Days of Wonder did it almost magically. I honestly believe other aspiring game designers should look at this game for inspiration (at least in how it is designed...). Make your game as simply as possible and then add on the extra stuff as needed. Start with the very most basic and simple game play concepts and build up. Don't get distracted by the 'kewl stuffs' you want in the game. It's why I've been stuck on M.U.L.E. for so long...
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