Games Like Ticket to Ride: Route Building Games to Play Next, and How to Play Ticket to Ride Online
By The Rondovo team · Published · Updated · 9 min read
The closest games like Ticket to Ride are other route building games: TransAmerica and Railroad Ink for something lighter, Thurn and Taxis for more planning, and the Ticket to Ride Cities boxes for a 15 minute version of the real thing. If what you love is the card collecting rather than the map, Splendor scratches the same itch. To play Ticket to Ride itself online, the official Marmalade Game Studio app is $14.99 on Steam as of October 2026, and Board Game Arena runs it in a browser as a Premium game.
In short
- Lighter than Ticket to Ride: TransAmerica (one shared network) and Railroad Ink (everyone draws at once).
- Deeper: Thurn and Taxis for planning, Power Grid if your group wants a heavy network game.
- Same family, smaller box: Ticket to Ride Cities and First Journey from Days of Wonder.
- Ticket to Ride itself plays 2 to 5, takes 30 to 60 minutes and suits ages 8 and up, per Days of Wonder.
- Online: a paid app from Marmalade Game Studio with online, private and asynchronous games, or Board Game Arena, where one Premium member can open a table for friends on free accounts.
Games like Ticket to Ride
These are the games route building fans most often move to. Each keeps something from Ticket to Ride and changes something else.
TransAmerica
The lightest step. Everyone builds onto one shared rail network instead of their own, trying to link a hand of secret cities. Since your track helps everyone, the fun is in nudging the network toward your cities without helping the others too much. Rounds are quick, and it is easy to teach to people who have never played a modern board game.
Railroad Ink
A roll and write game: dice show road and rail pieces, and everyone draws the same pieces onto their own small board at the same time. No waiting for turns, which makes it good for bigger groups. It keeps the satisfaction of linking routes but drops the card collecting.
Thurn and Taxis
Postal routes across old Germany. You collect city cards and lay them in a line to build a route, closing it for points before your hand gets out of shape. More planning than Ticket to Ride, less blocking. A good next step for people who found Ticket to Ride too random.
Ticket to Ride Cities and First Journey
Days of Wonder's own smaller boxes. The Cities line (New York, London, Amsterdam, San Francisco, Paris and Berlin) uses one small city map and plays in about a quarter of an hour. First Journey simplifies the rules for younger children.
Ticket to Ride maps and Europe
If it is Ticket to Ride you love and you only want more of it, a new map is the answer. Europe adds tunnels, ferries and train stations; the map packs change the rules a little each time. Many are also sold as add-ons in the digital app.
Power Grid
The heavy end of the family. You build a network of cities across a map, buy power plants at auction and pay for fuel as prices move. It keeps the "connect the map" idea and adds a lot of maths. Only for groups who want a two hour game.
Catan and other trading games
If what you love is the race to connect places, Catan gives you roads and settlements with trading instead of card drafting. Our guide to games like Catan covers that family.
Splendor and engine builders
If what you love is the quiet card collecting and the "one more turn and I can claim it" feeling, Splendor gives you that with gem tokens instead of trains. See games like Splendor.
Which game like Ticket to Ride to play when
| Your situation | Play |
|---|---|
| New players, 30 minutes | TransAmerica or a Ticket to Ride Cities box |
| Six people | Railroad Ink, since everyone plays at once |
| Young children | Ticket to Ride: First Journey |
| You found Ticket to Ride too random | Thurn and Taxis |
| A group that wants a long, thinky evening | Power Grid |
| Friends in different places tonight, nothing to buy | A free browser game such as Night Express |
How Ticket to Ride plays
Ticket to Ride is Alan R. Moon's train game, published by Days of Wonder in 2004. Each player has 45 plastic trains and a few secret destination tickets, each naming two cities. Completing a ticket scores its value at the end; failing it takes those points away.
On your turn you do exactly one thing:
- Draw train cards. Take two, from five face-up cards or the deck. A face-up Locomotive (wild) counts as your whole draw.
- Claim a route. Play cards of one colour equal to the route's length and put your trains on it. Grey routes take any one colour.
- Draw more tickets. Take three, keep at least one.
Longer routes are worth much more: 1, 2, 4, 7, 10 and 15 points for lengths one to six. When anyone ends a turn with two or fewer trains, everyone gets one last turn. The player with the longest continuous path earns 10 bonus points. The full rules are in Days of Wonder's rulebook.
What makes it work: every turn is a small choice (draw or claim?), there is almost no direct attack, and yet a single blocked route can wreck someone's plan. That mix of calm and sudden panic is what people mean when they ask for "something like Ticket to Ride".
Tips that win more games
- Claim the bottleneck first. If your ticket depends on one short route between two big cities, take it early, even before you need it. Everything else can wait.
- Long routes are efficient. A six-length route scores 15 points for six trains; six single routes score 6. Spend cards on length when you can.
- Do not hoard forever. Holding 20 cards tells everyone you are about to do something big, and other players will read your colours from the face-up row you keep drawing.
- Draw tickets late, carefully. New tickets that overlap your existing network are free points. New tickets across the map are a trap.
- Count trains. Once anyone drops below about ten trains, the end is close. Stop drawing and start claiming.
How to play Ticket to Ride online
Here is what each official option offers, checked on its store or game page in October 2026.
| Option | Where | Cost | Playing with friends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ticket to Ride (Marmalade Game Studio) | Steam, mobile, consoles | $14.99 on Steam; most map add-ons $7.99, Europe $9.99 | Private online games, asynchronous games over days, couch play, AI opponents |
| Board Game Arena | Browser | Free account; the game is Premium | Create a table and invite friends; one Premium member opens it |
| Physical box plus a video call | Your table | The board game | One person moves pieces on camera; clumsy but works |
The Marmalade app came out on Steam on 14 November 2023 as a fresh adaptation of the game. It supports online matchmaking, private games with friends, asynchronous games where you are notified when it is your turn, and couch play on one screen. Online play needs a Marmalade Bubble account. Steam reviews are mixed overall but recent ones are very positive (as of October 2026).
Board Game Arena has run Ticket to Ride since September 2022. It plays in any browser with no download. The catch is that it is a Premium game, so someone at the table needs a Premium membership to start it; everyone else can join on a free account.
Night Express: our own route building game
Night Express is Rondovo's own take on the genre: claim rail lines across a map of the USA and connect your secret routes. It is free, runs in the browser, and plays 2 to 5 players in about 45 minutes. One person hosts a room, everyone joins on their own screen with a four letter code, and your cards and routes stay private on your screen while the map sits on the TV (or on everyone's screen if there is no TV).
The familiar parts: 45 carriages each, four cards to start, draw two cards or claim one line per turn, a face-up Locomotive is wild and counts as both cards, and lines score 1, 2, 4, 7, 10 and 15 by length. You are offered four secret routes and keep at least two; you can later draw three more and keep at least one. When someone ends a turn with two or fewer carriages, everyone gets one final turn, and the longest continuous line earns 10.
What is ours:
- The Signal. Express lines cross mountains, sea or desert and score 2 extra points, but you can only claim them while the Signal is green. It runs green for two rounds, then red for one, so timing your big claim matters. The host can switch it off.
- Junctions. Instead of a move, build a Junction at a city to borrow one rival line there for your routes. You have three; they cost 1, then 2, then 3 cards, and each unused Junction pays 4 points at the end. It is the answer to "someone blocked my only route".
- A turn timer (60 seconds by default, the host can set 30 to 120) keeps a five player game moving, and the host can fill an empty seat with a computer player.
Where it falls short of the official app: one map, no asynchronous play over days, and no ranked matchmaking with strangers. If you want ten maps and a leaderboard, the Marmalade app is worth its price.
Other longer games for the same group
If your group likes a 45 to 60 minute strategy game, Isle of Tides is our island settling game with trading at the docks, and Prism is a gem collecting engine builder for 2 to 4. For a whole evening plan around them, see our family game night ideas.
Questions people ask
What game is most like Ticket to Ride?
TransAmerica is the closest in feel: link cities by rail with short, simple turns. Thurn and Taxis is the closest for players who want more planning.
What is the easiest game like Ticket to Ride?
TransAmerica or one of the Ticket to Ride Cities boxes. Both keep the idea of connecting cities with much shorter games and fewer rules.
Can you play Ticket to Ride online for free?
Partly. On Board Game Arena it is a Premium game: one player at the table needs a Premium membership to start it, and the others can join free. The official Marmalade app costs $14.99 on Steam as of October 2026.
Can you play Ticket to Ride online with friends?
Yes. The Marmalade app has private online games and asynchronous games, and Board Game Arena lets you invite friends to a table. Free route building games like Night Express work with a room code.
How many players can play Ticket to Ride?
Two to five, per Days of Wonder. In two and three player games, only one track of each double route can be used.
How long does Ticket to Ride take?
30 to 60 minutes, per Days of Wonder. Online games are often quicker because the app handles scoring and shuffling.
Is Ticket to Ride good for two players?
It works, and many couples play it often, but the map feels open with two. Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries, made for two or three players, tightens it up.
For more games to play across screens, see our guide to free board games online with friends.
Ticket to Ride, Ticket to Ride: Europe, Ticket to Ride: First Journey, Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries, Days of Wonder, Marmalade Game Studio, Marmalade Bubble, Board Game Arena, Steam, TransAmerica, Railroad Ink, Thurn and Taxis, Power Grid, Catan and Splendor are trademarks of their owners. Rondovo is not affiliated with them.