If you have ever been to New York City, you know that the hustle and bustle of the city are enough to keep anybody on their toes. On top of that, it is filled with history, rich culture, and beautiful architecture. Ticket to Ride New York is a game that has embodied New York City in all of these senses.
In this path-building game, you will hop from taxi to taxi, trying to complete the most routes between popular tourist attractions and exciting neighborhoods before your opponents. Players can visit Chinatown, Central Park, and Time Square in under fifteen minutes, and you have to be the first to get your taxi there, or else you could miss your chance.
A Quick Overview of Ticket to Ride New York
Players: 2-4
Time to Play: 10-15 minutes
Ticket to Ride New York is a fast-paced version of the original Ticket to Ride that is great for beginners. Without any complex rules, it is simple enough that the whole family can enjoy this game. It is also competitive enough to keep the biggest game enthusiasts in the family entertained.
What Is Ticket to Ride New York
Pros
- Short playing time
- Smaller size
- Can learn to play in less than three minutes
- Fun for all ages
- A stand-alone game
Cons
- It may get boring over time
- No expansions
History
Ticket to Ride New York was created by Alan R. Moon and published in 2004. This game is a spin-off of the original Ticket to Ride. It was designed to be faster-paced and smaller in size, making it great for travel or when you want something quick to play.
About the Game
Ticket to Ride New York takes you back to the 1960s when the New York City streets were filled with taxis zooming to new destinations. This game mimics the feel of the city by creating a fast-paced game that takes you all over the city. Complete routes between popular places, finish destination tickets that take you all the way across the city and hit some of the most popular tourist attractions to outtravel your opponents.
What’s Included:
- One game board
- 60 plastic taxis plus a few spare
- 44 transportation cards
- 18 destination tickets
- One scorepad and pencil
How to Play Ticket to Ride New York
Set-Up
Hand each player a set of 15 colored taxis and deal each player two transportation cards. Take the top five cards of the transportation card deck and place them face up by the game board. If three of the five transportation cards lying face up are taxi cards (multicolored cards), discard all five cards and lay out a new set.
Next, deal two destination ticket cards to each player. You must keep these cards secret until the end of the game, so do not show any other players. Each player must choose if they want to keep one destination ticket or both but must keep at least one. If a player decides only to keep one, place the unwanted destination ticket on the bottom of the draw pile.
How to Win
The goal of Ticket to Ride New York is to score the most points by the end of the game. You can score points in multiple ways, including:
- Completing a route between two cities
- Completing destination tickets by forming a continuous path between the two places
- Connecting tourist attractions
Don’t forget that you will lose points for any uncompleted destination tickets at the end of the game.
On Your Turn
Chose your first player and continue taking turns in clockwise order. In your turn, you may do one of the following actions:
Draw Transportation Cards
There are seven different types of transportation cards. Six of these types are colored to match the routes on the game map (blue, green, pink, orange, black, and red). The seventh type is a multicolored taxi car and is considered a wild card. You can use the taxi cards to complete routes you don’t have enough matching transportation cards for.
You may draw up to two transportation cards in a turn, either taking from the face-up cards or a blind draw from the deck. If you draw from the face-up cards, replace that card with one from the deck. You may have any amount of transportation cards in your hand at a time.
You may not draw a second card if you draw a taxi wild card from the face-up cards. Also, if a taxi card is flipped to fill an empty spot, you may not take that taxi card on that turn. You may still choose your second card when a taxi card is drawn during a blind draw. Immediately renew the five face-up cards if three of them are taxi cards.
Complete a Route Between Two Places
You may only complete one route in a turn. New routes do not have to be connected to another route you have already completed. You may start a route anywhere on the game map. If you don’t have enough plastic taxis left to complete a route, you may not claim it.
Routes are the colored spaces between two places. Some of these routes may be double routes, indicated by two routes next to each other going to the same locations. One player may not complete both of these routes. Only one of these routes may be claimed by any player when playing with two people.
To complete a route, you must have the same matching colored cards in your hand as spaces on the route. You may replace one or more of these spaces with taxi wild cards if you do not have enough of the same colored cards in your hand. Discard the cards you are using to complete the route and place your plastic taxis into the spaces.
There are also eight grey routes on this game map. Grey routes can be claimed with any colored cards, as long as they match. You may also use wild cards to complete these routes.
Draw New Destination Tickets
Destination tickets are cards that give you extra points once you complete a continuous path between the two places listed on the ticket. At the end of the game, you reveal your destination tickets to the other players and add on the points of the completed routes. If you have any uncompleted destination tickets, they are worth negative points at the end of the game.
During your turn, you may pick up two more destination tickets. You must keep at least one of these cards but can keep both. Place any unchosen destination tickets on the bottom of the draw pile. You can not discard any destination tickets that you already possess. If there is only one destination ticket left in the draw pile, you can draw this last card but have to keep it.
Ending The Game
Once a player has two or fewer plastic taxis left, each player gets only one more turn, including that player. Each player then calculates their scores on the scorepad. Add up your points in three different parts as listed below:
- Add up the points accumulated from your completed routes according to the table on the board map. Longer routes are worth more points.
- Reveal your destination tickets and add or subtract the points indicated on the card. For all completed destination tickets, you add points. For all uncompleted destination tickets, you subtract points.
- Add one point for each tourist attraction you have a route to on the map. Tourist attractions are indicated on the map with the number one inside a penny.
Whoever ends up with the most points is the winner of the game. In case of a tie, whichever of the tied players who finished the most destination tickets is the winner. If there is still a tie, both players are the winners of the game.
Where to Buy Ticket to Ride New York
Amazon
Get Ticket to Ride New York shipped right to your door in a couple of days with Amazon Prime. If you don’t have Prime, no worries. You can still get free shipping if you spend over twenty-five dollars on items shipped by Amazon. You also get free returns for this game by shipping it through Amazon.
Walmart
Walmart itself may not actually have this game in stock. However, they do carry it online, and you can have it sent to a store near you to pick it up. The advantage to this is you won’t have to worry about the package sitting on your doorstep, you don’t pay for shipping, and you can return it to the store if needed rather than shipping it back. Walmart can usually have the item at the store within a couple of days.
Your Local Board Game Store
Ticket to Ride New York is a pretty specific version of this game, so it may not be available in all local gaming stores. I’m sure that the store would be happy to order the game for you, though, and you could pick it up when it gets there. Plus, you get to support a local business.
Other Ticket to Ride Games
Ticket to Ride
Pros
- Easy to learn
- A larger version of Ticket to Ride New York
- A base game for all the expansions
Cons
- It can get boring after repeated play
Ticket to Ride and Ticket to Ride New York are extremely similar games, and the only differences are that the original is bigger, takes more time to play, and has the longest path bonus. If you like Ticket to Ride New York, you should definitely try out this original version.
Ticket to Ride Europe
Pros
- More Complex
- An even larger map and cards
- Can play with up to five players
Cons
- It can be too difficult for younger kids
Ticket to Ride Europe was the second edition of this game to be released with more components, longer gameplay, and more available players. Most people find this version of the game more fun than the original Ticket to Ride, but it can be too complex for younger kids. With tunnels, ferries, and the original components of Ticket to Ride, you will be sure to enjoy this game for many years.
Ticket to Ride India
Pros
- It comes with two game maps (India and Switzerland)
- Possible bonus points
- In between Ticket to Ride and Ticket to Ride Europe
Cons
- You need the original Ticket to Ride or Ticket to Ride Europe
Ticket to Ride India is an expansion pack for Ticket to Ride, so that you will need a few pieces from the original or Europe edition. If you already have one of those games, this game can add hours of new gameplay. With two maps, new bonuses, and more components, Ticket to Ride will remain a favorite in the household.
Ticket to Ride London
Pros
- A stand-alone game
- Fast-paced
- Compact
Cons
- No expansions
Ticket to Ride London is extremely similar to the New York edition, and it was basically created as an alternative map to Ticket to Ride New York. On top of having a whole new map to play with, they have added the extra component of districts. If you loved Ticket to Ride New York but find it getting boring, this version is a great addition.
FAQ’s
Question: Is Ticket to Ride New York stand-alone?
Answer: Yes. You do not need any pieces from any previous Ticket to Ride Games. Ticket to Ride New York uses taxis instead of railcars, so they have new transportation cards and different pawns. However, you can not use any Ticket to Ride expansions with Ticket to Ride New York’s pieces.
Question: How do you play Ticket to Ride New York?
Answer: Ticket to Ride is a path-building game where you take taxis across New York City to different destinations. You build taxi routes by laying down matching colored cards. You can also complete destination tickets and take your routes to tourist attractions, giving you more points. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.
Question: How long does it take to play Ticket to Ride New York?
Answer: 10 to 25 minutes. Ticket to Ride New York is meant to be a faster-paced game than any other version. There are only fifteen taxi cars for each player, and the map is smaller. Therefore, you run out of taxis quickly.
Question: Can adults play Ticket to Ride New York?
Answer: Yes! This is a very competitive board game due to quickly taking up routes. If you don’t find this version of Ticket to Ride challenging enough, Ticket to Ride Europe may be a better game for you.
Overall Impression of Ticket to Ride New York
Ticket to Ride New York is great for on-the-go play, and it’s smaller in size so that it can fit into luggage or smaller spaces. Also, the fact that you can play it in less than twenty minutes makes it great for situations where you may be waiting around, such as airports, road trips, or even a train station.
The one thing that I do not like about Ticket to Ride New York is it lacks complexity. It is actually an in-between of the original Ticket to Ride and Ticket to Ride First Journey. There are no bonuses with this game other than getting an extra point for simply having routes go through certain places. It doesn’t take too much strategizing to play this game.
Even though this probably wouldn’t be the first game I would whip out for a game night at home, it is really nice that I could throw it into a large bag and take it anywhere with me. If you are someone who loves Ticket to Ride and want a version that is easy to take with you, this would be a great addition to your collection.
Recommended reads:
- A Complete Overview of Ticket to Ride
- Best Ticket to Ride Strategies – The Ultimate Guide
- A Complete Overview of Ticket to Ride India
- How to Find the Best Solo Board Games
- Cards Against Humanity Expansions List - February 26, 2023
- Ticket to Ride Europe Guide - April 19, 2022
- A Complete Overview of Ticket to Ride - March 17, 2022