Board Game Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries

"Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries" continues the famous series of Ticket to Ride. The main objective for players is to travel to as many cities on the map as possible. However, the actions of the game have now moved to Scandinavia. By collecting various train cards and fulfilling the instructions indicated on them, players earn additional victory points, bringing them closer to the long-awaited victory. Ticket to Ride is a family game with fairly straightforward rules that do not require long learning. A huge advantage of this board game is its ease of learning and the "tension" of the gameplay. Despite the relatively simple rules, players must make decisions on every turn and plan their actions several moves ahead.

The game board represents a map of Scandinavia. The game features cities from Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, as well as the northern Russian city of Murmansk, which is very pleasant. All the cities are connected by colorful lines. Players will travel along these lines, moving between cities and earning victory points. The route between different cities varies in length. When a player travels from one city to another, they place train pieces on the board. The longer the route, the more train pieces need to be placed. Each player starts the game with the same number of train pieces, and they are not replenished during the game. The longer the routes made from these pieces, the more points the player earns. There are also train cards in the game, which are used to establish routes. Additionally, players have destination ticket cards. The ticket card indicates two cities, and if a player manages to build an uninterrupted route between them, they receive additional points.

The game ends when one of the players has fewer than 2 train pieces remaining. After that, players make their final move and calculate their points. In addition to the points already earned for establishing routes, players also count points for the destination tickets in their hands. This is where the main intrigue lies, as players do not know what tickets others have, and the situation in terms of game points can change dramatically. The player who was trailing may have established routes precisely matching their tickets and ends up scoring more points than the others.

"Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries" is a wonderful game. The rules of the game do not differ significantly from the regular Ticket to Ride. The design of the game evokes a festive, New Year’s mood. The entire game board is covered with snowflakes, the trains are dusted with snow, and the box features a Scandinavian Santa Claus.

Number of players: 2–3.
Game duration: 30 to 60 minutes.