Alpine Excursion (a review of Ticket to Ride: Switzerland)

The Alps! Everyone loves the Alps, especially train enthusiasts. And what better Alpine vista is there than Switzerland's? The chocolate! The cheese! The lederhosen! (Though those are more in Germany. No matter.)

Such good cheer, and so widespread--so why is it so hard to get around? And why is Zurich so mired in bad train traffic? And why are the cards you need so very, very hard to find?

Ticket to Ride: Switzerland captures none of the feelings of Alpine goodwill but all of the excitement of a dangerous mountain train journey.

(Note: Ticket to Ride: Switzerland has been rereleased as part of volume 2 of the Ticket to Ride map collection--India/Switzerland. However, I have the original release, which is the Switzerland map all by itself.)

News Bits: 4/8/2013

This week's NEWS:

Steve Jackson asks, "Would you like to be acquired?" [Link] Steve Jackson Games, probably best known for their wildly successful Munchkin franchise (but also for their also wildly successful Ogre Kickstarter campaign), is extending an invitation to established game publishers who might like a little more support and backbone. While I don't much care for Steve Jackson's games (Revolution! excepted), there's no denying their success and know-how. Seems like it could be a golden opportunity for partnership.

News Bits: 2/4/2013

Here is the news:

Game Salute to publish board game based on The Princess Bride [Link] This is slightly strange news (given The Princess Bride's age), but not exactly unwelcome. It sounds like Game Salute is collecting mini-game ideas that could be shoehorned into the Princess Bride universe, so budding game designers, this might be your chance. (I think the scene idea is pretty cool, though I wonder how it will work, if there will be a choose-your-own-adventure-style flowchart of what happens [since the press release says you could play through the whole storyline if you want]. For example, what if Fezzik kills the man in black with a rock? Well, obviously, then, there's no rescue for Buttercup--or at least not by the same means. And if this isn't a possibility, why play a board game in the first place?) I will note that The Princess Bride, with the exception of its dated music, is a timeless classic. You may not dispute this in the comments. (Okay, okay, you can.)

News Bits: 7/30/2012

Ticket to Ride: Europe Now Available for iPhone
I'm an Android man myself, but Days of Wonder announced last week that Ticket to Ride: Europe—my favorite of the Ticket to Ride maps I've played—is available for iPhone. If it's as good as their implementation of the USA map, it's almost reason in itself to get an iPhone. Or to lobby for an Android counterpart...

7 Wonders: Cities Rules Posted
7 Wonders took the board gaming world by storm (a strategy game for seven players in under an hour?!), and the new expansion, Cities, is coming soon. Originally slated for release in July, the expansion will be released in the United States in August. Until then, you can drool over the rules. This one really intrigues me and looks like it adds more than Leaders (though I enjoy Leaders quite a bit).

Now You've got a Ticket to Ride!

In lieu of an FDQ today, we've got something a little different going on.  You may notice we've been reviewing Ticket to Ride games this week.  And you may notice something else... a new "GAMES" tab up at the top of the page.

We're happy to announce that we finally completed our own personal TTR custom map design!  We originally started this design for for the Days of Wonder design-your-own-map contest, but clearly, we didn't win that.  Still, we felt like we had a solid idea and our playtests were great fun, so we decided to produce some high-quality Print-and-Play files to share our little expansion with the world.  Hit the jump for more details and a little behind-the-scenes!

European Vacation (a review of Ticket to Ride: Europe)

As I usually play with green, I am the tall man with a top
hat, cane, and monocle. So, basically Mr. Peanut. Just
like in real life...

[Editors note: The following is a Nemesis Review, featuring opinions from our in-house eurogamer, @Farmerlenny, and his deadly enemy the thematic space-loving @Futurewolfie.  Make sure to read both opinions to get a better overall picture of the game!]

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a board game in possession of a large fan base must be in want of a spin-off. Or an expansion. Or something else that allows the company that produced said popular game to capitalize on its good fortune. Such is the case with Ticket to Ride, a game that @Futurewolfie and I uncharacteristically agreed upon and raved about here. But spin-offs and expansions can be of variable quality. For every Prosperity, there's a Catapult. So where does Ticket to Ride: Europe (a standalone game) fall on the spectrum? Find out below!