
That’s why I said I wouldn’t recommend this to kids older than 7. While there’s a reward for completing an East-West connection, these simplifications really tone the game down.

It’s about completing a route while spending the fewer trains possible. Unlike the original where it was also about long trains and the longest route, now it’s about the shortest route. In First Journey, you just draw the top two from the face-down deck and what you get is what you’re stuck with.Ĭontrary to its big brother, you can’t score any points for your routes, it’s just about completing them. The original Ticket to Ride mitigated this by having cards you could pick from face-up on the table, giving you additional options. That said, there’s an element of luck involved regarding the card draw. Often you must take a sub-optimal route because that’s just how you drew the cards. There’s a decent element of tactics involved, planning your routes. 3 and 4-year-olds can play with some assistance, while older kids can be quite competitive on their own. Ticket to Ride First Journey is an excellent boar game introduction to pre-school kids aged 3-6. The game runs until one of the players accumulates 6 goals or runs out of train tokens. Such a situation can occur in games with more players when some routes can get blocked more easily. If for some reason you decide you won’t be able to complete your goals, you can discard both and draw two new ones.If you connect any of the Westernmost cities to any of the Easternmost, you get an East-to-West card, which acts as another completed goal.When you complete your goal, you put it aside and draw a new one.You can also combine the cards with a joker suit. discard a number of cards of one color (1, 2, or 3 – depending on the length and color of the desired route) and place trains on that route.On your turn you can do one of two things: This is even more true for First Journey.īefore the game, each player receives a hand of four cards and two goal cards.
#TICKET TO RIDE FIRST JOURNEY HOW TO#
How to Play Ticket to Ride: First JourneyĪs already mentioned, Ticket to Ride is one of the easiest board games to learn. How To Choose The Best Board Game For A Preschooler? It’s nice to know you’ll be able to play without any problems if one of the pieces goes missing. We all know how kids are at taking care of components. There are also some spare pieces added, which is a nice bonus.

The trains themselves are large plastic pieces and they come in four colors. The cards with trains are pretty standard – there are six basic colors (suits) and a joker suit. Our 5 yo had no problems identifying what routes she should work towards. The symbols are replicated on the goal cards, together with a map outline. Basil’s cathedral for Moscow, Brandenburg Gate for Berlin, etc.) or other cultural symbols so that kids can easily tell them apart, even if they can’t yet read. Major cities are pictured with illustrations of famous landmarks (you-know-what for Pariz, Big Ben for London, St.

When you open the box, you’re greeted with a big, stylized, and simplified map of Europe (the US edition is available too). Alternatively, the game ends if one of the players runs out of train pieces. The first player to complete six such goals wins. You draw cards from a deck and when you have enough of the cards of the same color, you can claim a route of a certain color by discarding the cards and placing your train tokens on the map.ĭuring the game, you will receive several goals (connect city A with city B). Ticket to Ride is one of the more basic set-collection board games. The Theme, Victory Conditions, and Components of First Journey Since we have a 5 yo daughter, it looked like a perfect gift for her. First Journey is suited for pre-school children.
#TICKET TO RIDE FIRST JOURNEY FULL#
Read the full Best Train Board Games article hereĮven though Ticket to Ride is not a complicated game in itself, Days Of Wonder decided to bring its gameplay to an even younger article. It’s an ideal family game, and it quickly gained popularity, becoming a modern-day Monopoly, if I may make such a comparison. Of course, the theme is quite popular in board gaming as well, albeit mostly in slightly heavier, economy games.īut there’s room for lighthearted fun as well, and that’s where Ticket to Ride steps in.

It’s something majestic about the metal beasts that makes them so attractive – even to adults, admittedly. Kids and trains go together like peanut butter and jelly. What can kids learn from it and what ages is it suitable for? Introduction to Ticket to Ride: First Journey (Europe) – Review If you’re considering getting a board game for your pre-school child, today’s Ticket to Ride: First Journey (Europe) – Review should interest you.
