Collect your missions and grab your train cars, this is a fast trip. We played The San Francisco themed Ticket to Ride and quickly understood why this is such a great family game. Whether it was just Spider and Cat or we included Owl (9) and Dog (7), we had a ton of fun playing this game.
Our scores varied pretty wildly depending on the strategies we chose, but that added fun to this low-pressure pleaser. There is definitely an opportunity to add a take-that mechanism and stop other's trains dead in their tracks, but that is not our family vibe. We tend to work together to help each other reach our objectives and score the high cumulative score with all players involved.
Cat really liked the fast turns and simplicity of the overall game. It never felt boring or like she had to wait too long. Spider also really liked simplicity and how quickly the game flowed. This was just a San Francisco map, so the routes were really short which made things quick. Neither Cat nor Spider have played another version of Ticket to Ride, so they were not sure if this version is representative of other versions.
No matter what happened in each turn, the actions always felt rewarding. There didn't seem to be any moment of filler or busy-work. The vibe of the game was fun. The components were great. They loved that they actually had little trolly cars. It was just the right mix of production value and theme. Spider thought that growing up near San Francisco left a feeling of nostalgia for a kind of lost city now.
Even though the turns were quick and the game was overall simple, there had to be strategy to win. Determining how deep to go with secret mission cards, trolly placement, and card drawing was a delicate balance. Spider tried a few different strategies with varying outcomes. Cat typically focused on the objective cards and collecting them. It worked out well when the routes overlapped.
As parents of three kids, getting them all to the table is usually pretty tough, but the quick playtime and easiness to learn made that possible with this game. Although, Spider liked that it was short, he felt sometimes it was almost a little too short. Sometimes, he would get to a point where he just had an opportunity to place the trolly cars and start to get rolling with objectives and then it was over. This was also what it made great for the kids. It prevented over thinking the game.
Spider was not a fan of the destination tokens. He said they almost felt like after-thoughts. It seemed like they could have been collected as rewards for achieving specific objectives or longer routes, but they weren't. Some of them could have been collected for placing a single trolly, which didn't seem to flow with the game.
Overall, this was a great game. I'm sure Spider and Cat will get other versions and keep on buying Tickets to Ride.
Pros:
Quick Game Play
Simple Turns
Easily Achieved Objectives
Great Components
Cons:
Sometimes Too Short
Destination Tokens
Spiders:
Cats:
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