I am a competitive person. My wife, LaTanya, is incredibly competitive. It does not matter what game we are playing--both of us play to win. There is no such thing as letting anyone off the hook in our house. No game brings this out more than Ticket to Ride: Marklin. A retooled version of the venerable Ticket to Ride, it features tension, decisions, and entertainment in spades.
Each player is given the task of connecting various cities of various distances apart, each assignment given through different ticket cards. This connection is done by collecting colored cards that correspond with spaces (routes) on the board. Each turn, you are allowed to either (1) draw more colored cards, (2) place trains connecting two cities, (3) draw new destination tickets, or (4) move passengers along your routes, collecting tokens that count as points.
The tension comes from two places: either you take one of the above options, at the expense of the other, or one of the other players takes a route that you intended to occupy, which oftentimes forces you into rerouting your trains, ostensibly throwing a wrench into your entire plan. The anger comes from one of the tension-inducing options working completely against you. The accomplishment of victory, however, is very sweet indeed. In many games, you compete with yourself as much as your opponents.
During sessions of Ticket to Ride, I have been called various names, I have thrown cards and trains, I have refused to tally up my final scores out of sheer frustration, I have cheered as new players cruised to victory, have stood in anxiousness as my intended routes were nearly snatched up before I got to them, have slumped to the ground as my best laid plans came down in smithereens around me, and raised my hands in a hard fought victory from a bloodless but gory battle. It is easy to learn for many ages, the artwork is fantastic (second I believe only to Mr. Jack in my collection), and strikes a perfect balance of strategy, luck, and tension. One can learn to play in 10 minutes, and it is criminally easy to become addicted to its narcotic mixture of joy and anguish.
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3 comments:
Sounds
Sound like a riot. Man I wish Shanaya and I could come play. Sheryl and I played Bohnanza the other day and I'm starting to understand the strategy but before I did, I got smoked 31 to 18. Not by Sandy of course, althought she beat me as well, but by my friend Tom when we played with him and his wife Becky (actual names!) (They are not so innocent apperently)
die jaybird! (in the board game sense only)
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