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How to play
Grounded in Ticket to Ride's rulebook — cite-checked answers, not guesses.
Get a straight answer with the exact rulebook passage to back it up.
The easy-to-forget bits, straight from the rulebook.
Starting Train Car cards
Each player starts with a hand of 4 Train Car cards.
Starting Destination Tickets
Each player is dealt 3 Destination Ticket cards and must keep at least two.
Game end
The game ends when one player's stock of colored plastic trains gets down to 0, 1, or 2 trains left at the end of their turn, after which each player gets one final turn.
Longest Path tie
In the case of a tie for the longest path, all tied players score the 10 point bonus.
Game tie-breaker
If two or more players are tied for the most points, the player who has completed the most Destination Tickets wins; if still tied, the player with the Longest Continuous Path card wins.
Draw Locomotive card
If a Locomotive card is drawn from the five face-up cards, the player may only draw one card instead of two.
Three face-up Locomotives
If at any time three of the five face-up cards are Locomotives, all five cards are immediately discarded and five new ones are turned face-up.
Hand limit
A player may have any number of cards in their hand at any time for both Train Car cards and Destination Ticket cards.
Double-Routes in 2-3 players
In 2 or 3 player games, only one of the Double-Routes between cities can be used.
To set up the game of Ticket to Ride, follow these steps: 1. Place the board map in the center of the table. 2. Each player takes a set of 45 Colored Train Cars and its matching Scoring Marker. 3. Each player places their Scoring Marker on Start on the Scoring Track. 4. Shuffle the Train Car cards and deal 4 cards to each player. 5. Place the remaining Train Car deck near the board and turn the top five cards face-up. 6. Place the Longest Path Bonus card face-up next to the board. 7. Shuffle the Destination Ticket cards and deal 3 cards to each player. 8. Players look at their Destination Tickets and decide which to keep, keeping at least two, but possibly all three. Any returned cards are placed on the bottom of the Destination Ticket deck. 9. Place the Destination Ticket deck next to the board. Players keep their Destination Tickets secret until the end of the game.
On your turn, you must perform one (and only one) of the following three actions: 1. **Draw Train Car Cards**: You may draw 2 Train Car cards. You can choose to take any one of the face-up cards, immediately replacing it, or draw the top card from the deck (a blind draw). You then draw your second card, also choosing between a face-up card or a blind draw. 2. **Claim a Route**: You can claim a route on the board by playing a set of Train Car cards that match the color and length of the route. For example, a blue route requires blue Passenger Car cards, while gray routes can be claimed with any single color set. After playing the cards, you place one of your colored trains on each space of the route. All cards used are then discarded. You then record your score by moving your Scoring Marker. You may only claim one route per turn. If there are Double-Routes between cities, you cannot claim both, and in 2 or 3 player games, only one of the Double-Routes can be used, closing the other. 3. **Draw Destination Tickets**: You draw 3 Destination Tickets from the top of the deck. You must keep at least one of them, but you may keep two or all three. Any cards you choose not to keep are placed on the bottom of the deck. If fewer than 3 Destination Tickets are left, you draw only the available cards. These tickets are kept secret and contribute to or deduct from your score at the end of the game. You may have any number of Destination Ticket cards during the game.
Rules summaries are AI-generated from the official rulebook and may contain mistakes — check the manual for anything critical.
You win the game by scoring the highest number of total points. Points are scored in several ways: * Claiming a Route between two adjacent cities on the map. Points for routes are recorded immediately. * Successfully completing a Continuous Path of routes between two cities listed on your Destination Ticket(s). These points are added at the end of the game. * Completing the Longest Continuous Path of routes. The player with the Longest Continuous Path receives a 10-point bonus at the end of the game. * Points are lost if you do not successfully complete the route given on the Destination Ticket(s) you kept. At the end of the game, after all scores are tallied, the player with the most points wins. If there's a tie for the most points, the player who completed the most Destination Tickets wins. If still tied, the player with the Longest Continuous Path bonus card wins.
Scoring in Ticket to Ride works in several ways throughout and at the end of the game, with the goal being to score the highest total number of points. Here's how points are scored: * **Claiming Routes** When you claim a route between two adjacent cities, you immediately record points by moving your Scoring Marker on the Scoring Track. The points scored depend on the length of the route claimed: * 1 length route = 1 point * 2 length route = 2 points * 3 length route = 4 points * 4 length route = 7 points * 5 length route = 10 points * 6 length route = 15 points * **Destination Tickets** At the end of the game, you reveal your Destination Tickets. You add points for successfully completing a continuous path of routes between the two cities listed on a ticket. If you fail to connect the cities on a Destination Ticket, you subtract its value from your score. * **Longest Continuous Path** The player who has the Longest Continuous Path of routes receives a special bonus card worth 10 points. A continuous path only counts plastic trains of the same color and can include loops, but no single plastic train may be used twice in the same path. If there's a tie for the longest path, all tied players receive the 10-point bonus. Final scores are calculated once the game ends, which occurs after each player gets one final turn when one player's stock of colored plastic trains gets down to 0, 1, or 2 trains left at the end of their turn. The player with the most points wins the game. In case of a tie for the most points, the player who completed the most Destination Tickets wins. If still tied, the player with the Longest Continuous Path card wins.
The game ends when one player's stock of colored plastic trains is reduced to 0, 1, or 2 trains remaining at the end of their turn. Once this condition is met: 1. Each player, including the one who triggered the end condition, gets one final turn. 2. After everyone has taken their final turn, the game concludes, and players proceed to calculate their final scores.