Ticket to Ride Europe

1 Overview

Ticket to Ride Europe is a 2 to 5 player route-building board game set on a map of Europe, designed by Alan R. Moon and published by Days of Wonder. Players collect colored train cards and spend them to claim railway routes between European cities, trying to complete destination tickets (secret route objectives) for bonus points. Europe introduces three mechanics absent from the original: Tunnels, Ferries, and Train Stations — all of which add strategic depth and make Europe the recommended starting point for most new players.

2 Components

• European map game board
• 240 colored train cars (48 per player in 5 colors)
• 110 train cards (12 each of 8 colors, plus 14 locomotive/wild cards)
• 46 destination tickets
• 15 train station tokens (3 per player)
• 5 player reference cards
• Score marker pawns

3 Setup

1. Place the board in the center. Each player takes 45 train cars and 3 train stations in their color.
2. Shuffle the train cards and deal 4 to each player. Place 5 face-up in the draw row.
3. Shuffle the destination tickets and deal each player 6 long-route tickets and 1 short-route ticket (separate decks). Players keep at least 1 long-route and 1 short-route ticket, returning unwanted cards to the bottom of their respective decks.
4. The player who has most recently traveled by train goes first.

4 Gameplay

On your turn, take one of three actions:

• Draw train cards: Draw 2 cards from the face-up display or the deck. A locomotive (wild) from the face-up display costs 2 draws.
• Claim a route: Pay matching colored cards equal to the route's length to place your trains on that route. Gray routes can be claimed with any single color.
• Draw destination tickets: Draw 3 from the destination deck and keep at least 1. Unfinished tickets at game end subtract their point value from your score.

5 Tunnels

Tunnels are routes marked with a tunnel symbol on the board. They represent mountain passages where the required number of cards is uncertain. When attempting to claim a tunnel:

1. Announce your attempt and lay down the required matching cards.
2. The active player then flips 3 cards from the top of the train card deck.
3. For each flipped card that matches your tunnel's color (or is a locomotive), you must pay one additional matching card.
4. If you have the additional cards, pay them and claim the route. If you don't, take your original cards back and your turn ends without claiming the tunnel.

Tunnels create genuine risk. A 3-card tunnel could require up to 6 cards if all 3 flipped cards match. Always attempt tunnels with at least 1 to 2 extra matching cards as insurance.

6 Ferries

Ferries are routes crossing water (typically the English Channel, Baltic Sea, and Mediterranean). They are marked with a locomotive symbol on some of their spaces. When claiming a ferry route:

• Each locomotive symbol on the route requires exactly 1 locomotive (wild) card.
• The remaining spaces are filled with any one matching color card.

Example: A 4-space ferry route with 2 locomotive symbols requires 2 locomotive cards plus 2 cards of any matching color. Ferries are the primary drain on locomotive cards, so managing your locomotive supply is critical to accessing key water routes.

7 Stations

Each player starts with 3 train stations. A station is placed on a city at the cost of train cards (1 card for the 1st station, 2 for the 2nd, 3 for the 3rd — any color). Placing a station on a city allows you to use one of another player's routes connected to that city to complete your own destination tickets.

You can only use one route from that city via your station, even if the opponent has multiple routes through it. Stations help you recover from being blocked without requiring you to build a complete alternate path.

Unused stations at game end are worth +4 points each — a significant reward for careful play.

8 Scoring and Winning

Same route-length scoring as base game. Additionally:

• Each unplaced Station: +4 points
• Longest continuous route: +10 points (Globetrotter bonus)
• Completed destination tickets: add points; incomplete: subtract points

9 Strategy Guide

Hoard Locomotives Early

Ferries require locomotives, and tunnels benefit enormously from having spare locomotives to cover surprise extra costs. Prioritize drawing face-up locomotives when available early in the game. A hand with 3 or more locomotives gives you the flexibility to attempt ferries and tunnel backups simultaneously.

Plan Around Tunnels

Tunnel attempts can fail and cost you a turn. Before attempting a tunnel, have 2 to 3 extra matching cards as insurance against unlucky draws. Never attempt a tunnel with exactly the minimum cards required — the risk of failing and losing your turn is too high, especially in the mid-game when routes are being contested.

Save Stations as a Last Resort

Placed stations cost you the 4-point bonus per token. Only use them when losing a destination ticket would cost more than 4 points and you cannot reroute. Three unused stations at game end is 12 free points — massive. Treat station placement as a late-game emergency option, not an early-game convenience.

Control Key Bottlenecks

The European map has several critical chokepoints: Marseille, Wien (Vienna), Warszawa, and Petrograd connect large regions of the map. Claiming routes through these cities early denies opponents flexible routing options and often forces them to use stations or take costly detours.

Take Destination Tickets Aggressively Early

Drawing additional destination tickets early in the game is low risk because you have flexibility to reroute before committing trains. Drawing in the mid or late game is dangerous — your network is partially built and rigid. Front-load your ticket drawing in the first half of the game.

10 Common Mistakes

• Attempting tunnels without backup cards: The most common costly error. Going into a 3-card tunnel with exactly 3 matching cards and no spare means any tunnel hit ends your turn and wastes your cards.
• Spending locomotives on non-ferry routes: Using a locomotive as a wild card to fill a regular gray route wastes its ferry/tunnel utility. Save locomotives for routes that require them unless you have a clear surplus.
• Placing stations too early: Using a station in the opening turns because you're worried about a route is premature. Routes often remain open longer than expected. Save stations for genuine late-game emergencies.
• Ignoring the Longest Route bonus: Ten points for the longest continuous route is often the deciding margin. Track who is building long unbroken chains and decide early whether to contest the Globetrotter award or concede it and score more tickets instead.
• Forgetting to reveal destination tickets at game end: All players reveal their tickets at the final scoring. Both completed and failed tickets affect the score. Missing a failed ticket during scoring is a common error in casual play.