Customer Reviews

Ticket To Ride - Marklin

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Bavaria/Marklin edition of Ticket to Ride stands alone from the basic (United States) and Europe editions of the game, both in the narrow sense that it is not an "expansion set" to those games, but also in the broader sense that it's a lot more than just the old game with a different map. The rules are fairly similar, so learning all three games only takes a modest amount of time, but the differences across the games alter the strategies a fair bit. Each one feels like a distinct experience.

For those unfamiliar with the series, here's what they all have in common: There is a game board indicating routes among a bunch of cities. The object of the game is to amass the most points, and in one way or another those points come from collecting the routes strategically. Collecting any route between two places will generate points, but each player holds Ticket Cards indicating longer routes of special importance to that person, and stringing together little routes to make this longer connection adds to the payoff (whereas failing to do so imposes a penalty). How do the players take possession of routes? They take turns drawing cards that, when collected into sets, determine which routes they can use, and eventually they start using those cards to claim routes. The main random element is the timing of when those cards turn up in the deck.

The Bavaria/Marklin edition contains a few differences from the other two, but the main new feature is the introduction of Passengers. Each player gets three little plastic guys who can be sent for a ride along the railway, collecting points at each town/city visited. The longer a player's rail, other things equal, the more points the little fellow can collect. But the value of visiting a town/city drops each time, so there's a nice tension between wanting to send them early (while the places are more valuable) and send them late (when more places have been connected). The addition of this rule (and the large number of points associated with it) really alters the strategy from the other two editions.

I don't know that I've done the games justice. They're truly outstanding. You don't have to care a whit about trains. Even small children can enjoy these games, as long as they focus on the pleasure of successfully connecting things instead of focusing on beating the older players. (A suggestion: Keep a pad of paper in the box and track the child's points so that the competition is personal rather than with the adults.) The pace is especially fast, as each player takes turns drawing cards or claiming routes. (My family likes to play a board game while we eat but this one moves so quickly that we have a hard time doing both at the same time.) The boards are gorgeous, the pieces colorful and sturdy. We have just been thrilled with these purchases.

I guess I'll end with a single criticism, only because it's related to the hazy word choice I had to use here. For whatever reason -- I won't speculate why -- the designers pitched these games as representing some kind of competition among travelers to visit places. It feels totally artificial. (Why exactly is a railway route unavailable once someone else has traveled it?) I've used neutral language, saying that players "collect" or "take possession" of routes, which they do in the game's backstory by riding the line. But we found it much more comfortable to interpret the game in a robber baron context, with players either building or buying railway lines -- and by the second time we played we were already referring to the claiming of a route as "laying rail." The game plays the same with either interpretation.

A couple of years ago, my family was introduced by some friends to the USA version of Ticket to Ride. We play a lot of different board games (A LOT) and thought it was pretty fun. I decided to purchase it for my dad for Christmas. What happened next is still slightly a mystery. Logically, I guess I probably messed up and ordered the Marklin/Germany version rather than the USA version, though I still can't believe I made that mistake. However it happened, we ended up with this version showing up in the mail, and we couldn't be happier. The USA version was fun, but the Marklin version is much, much superior. My family plays board games all of the time, and whenever I'm home vising my parents, it's no exaggeration to say that we play this game every night. It's captured all of our imaginations and has provided us with years of fun.

Ticket to Ride: Marklin is similar to the USA version in many ways. The winner is the person who at the end accumulates the most points. Each player draws and chooses several routes at the beginning of the game and then tries to draw cards with the colors corresponding to the tracks that will take you through the towns you need to visit. Of course, there's a limited number of routes between cities, and if other players take your route, you may have to find creative ways to get where you're needing to go. Each track you lay is worth points, and connecting the routes are worth points, too. Each turn consists of either laying a track, drawing cards, choosing new routes, or traveling with a passenger.

It's that last feature--the passengers--that the Marklin version of the game has added, and it makes all the difference in the world. In addition to accumulating points by laying the tracks and connecting cities, each city also has three numbered tiles (for a lack of a better word) on it. For three turns of the game, you may send one of your three passengers down one of the routes you've completed (you can't travel between the same two end-points twice), picking up points from each city on the path.

This changes the game drastically because it means that there are many ways to win (long routes typically win the other versions of the game). You may win with longer routes that accumulate a lot of points, or you may with with shorter routes that have more passenger points along the way. You must plan when you're going to send your traveler, as the other players may beat you to those points. You may also win by completing more routes. You may win by a combination of those strategies.

The effect is that this is a new game every time, and you constantly are having to adapt your strategy to the contingencies on the board. There is a heavy level of strategy, but it's not all strategy. You can be frustrated by bad luck or just by good play by other players. It's also quick moving. Each game takes around forty minutes to an hour, and you are pretty well consumed the entire time. Lastly, that may all sound difficult, but it's not so difficult to catch onto. We've taught a lot of people to play it over the years, and they've enjoyed it and picked it up quickly.

So, I give this my highest recommendation for board games. It's challenging, exciting, and fun, and it's a new game every time you play it. I've played a lot of board games over the years, and I would never hesitate to claim that this one is my favorite.

The Marklin (Germany) Edition of Ticket To Ride is a lot of fun but not everyone at my gaming table agrees with me (although we are all fans of the Ticket franchise in general). They complain the new passenger mechanic in Marklin adds too much complexity to what should be a simple game as well as too many opportunities for opponents to quickly rack up bonus points. Both are valid criticisms from a certain point of view; however, I happen to think they are strengths, not weaknesses. I will agree that Marklin should probably not be your introduction to Ticket To Ride. You're better off starting out with the original Ticket to Ride (but don't play it without the Days of Wonder Ticket to Ride 1910 Expansion, Ticket to Ride Europe (get the Days of Wonder Ticket to Ride 1912 Expansion) or Days of Wonder Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries Board Game.

Although I love Markin, my favorite edition remains Ticket To Ride Europe since you can't be cut off as easily and it is slightly more complex than the original American version (but not as complex as Marklin). The American version is the most aggressive with many ways to really cut off your opponents. Both games are greatly enhanced by their respective expansion packs; they provide more route tickets to choose from and new rules options (and I won't play the American version any other way). Nordic Countries is a good choice if you usually only have 2-3 players at your table since you can use the double routes that you need a minimum of 4 players to use in the other editions.

TTR; Marklin was my 2nd delve into the realm of European games (Carcassonne was the first). My love of board games is officially back! This is absolutely a must own. I won't go into another full description of game play, but the mix of strategy, ease of play, and fun is astounding. I will say that as a couple we love this game, but I will be purchasing TTR; Europe as the cut throatedness is seemingly turned down quite a bit with the addition of stations. It's not a major issue, but the choice of a TTR advanced strategy and TTR less confrontational seems like a nice mix. I enjoy deeper strategy. She enjoys route completion.

Again, this a must own in my opinion. I will have more Europe style games to review soon. Pandemic is on the way, and Puerto Rico is on the to do list. You won't regret this purchase. Good luck, and happy gaming...

I bought this game for my husband as a Christmas present. We have played the US edition and enjoyed it very much and my husband saw this one and thoguht it would be a lot of fun. It was easier to learn since we had already played the US version. The addition of an extra 4+ wild card and passengers adds an extra twist to the game. We played with newbies last night without passengers and they also enjoyed it and caught on quickly.

The most challenging part for me is learning the geography of Germany. I now know of cities and their locations in Germany that I never knew existed. If I ever get to travel there I'll have an idea of where I am now.

I'm waiting for them to come out with a version of boats and planes to connect the two versions. The only downside to the game is the limitation of the number of people that can play. Five is the max so if there are 3 couples someone always has to sit out. With us, the person that sits out deals the cards.

Ticket to Ride is a fun train building game. Players collect cards to lay tracks between cities. Each player has a secret route to build and may be blocked by other players. Marklin edition adds passengers; players may place passengers and move them to collect points from cities.

I really like the Marklin edition, because I'm not particularly good at building track. Adding passengers increase the variety of strategies available.

I have found that some friends have trouble playing a game with a German map. This game, unlike the regular American Ticket to Ride, uses a German map instead of a US map. As a result, it's difficult for some players to find the cities that they want to connect. (i.e. NY to San Francisco is more familiar than Kiel to Nurnburg) You could teach a little German geography with this game.

Pros
Two player friendly!
Passengers are a nice addition
Rules are excellent
Packaging aids organization and storage of pieces, but the design could be more transparent

Cons
German map is confusing for some

Great game, everybody loves it! from 10 to 75 years old absolutely every single person that I've teach them to play.
The whole thing could seem a little daunting if you are not familiar with this kind of games but 20=30 min later
I always get the same response: Can we play again?
The passenger variable can confuse some people, but you can decide not to play with it until the other players are
comfortable playing with the rest of the game.
I highly recommend this version if you want to buy your first ticket to ride, since it is friendlier to people learning
vs the other versions.
Buy it! and have fun, fun, fun!

I've played board games for as long as I can remember, and none has captured my love as quickly, nor for as long, as "Ticket To Ride". I've played three different versions (American, Europe and Marklin), and feel that Marklin is the best of the three. There is still an element of luck to win Marklin, but there is much more strategy used with this version. Another thing is that you can play this without passengers for an easier version when younger players are involved.

I've hooked my family, my extended family, and friends on this game. Lots of fun, and it's a different game each time you play!

Ticket to Ride (all editions) is the rage among my friends... we can't get enough. We are all well-educated adults with professional jobs. We used to be too busy to get together... now we are getting together all the time -to play Ticket to Ride. Marklin is more complicated that the other versions - we call it Ticket to Ride AP. That isn't a bad thing! It does take a bit more concentration than some of the other versions but it is just fun.

This one has more twists as to how you can get from place to place. Seemed a little harder than the original, but still loads of fun! Our favorite thing to do is play Ticket to Ride in the evenings!!