Are you on the lookout for board games like Ticket to Ride? Then you’ve come to the right place. Below you’ll find our picks for games that have similar themes and play styles, but enough variety to spice things up!
Thurn and Taxis
- Players compete to be able to build successful post office routes around Bavaria and the surrounding regions.
- As players built their routes they are able to collect bonus points.
- Using the board to plan out the route is the best way for a player to visit larger cities and to create a route that makes sense.
- Each route has to connect at least 3 cities, and players aren’t able to work on more than one route at a time.
- Gameplay is simple and relies on drawing cards and playing them in order to build their route.
- The game’s end is triggered when a player no longer has any post offices to play, or they have a value 7 carriage.
- Because players have to add a city to their route on each turn or they lose the whole route, the game is very exciting and requires a lot of strategy.
10 Days in Africa
- Players have to chart their trip through Africa either on foot or by car or plane.
- Each player needs to chart their trip completely by the use of transportation and destination tiles.
- The first player who is able to make all of the necessary connections in order to create a 10-day itinerary for their trip is the winner.
- Each player has tiles and then draws a new one that can be used to replace a different tile.
- Since tiles have to be removed and can’t ever be replaced, this game requires a lot of strategy in order for players to be able to succeed.
- There are guidelines as to how a player can win, and requirements include how the tiles have to be placed next to each other in order to create a travel route.
Terraforming Mars
- Game is set in the 2400s when men begin to terraform Mars, and it features high-quality and incredibly beautiful components that add to the enjoyment of playing the game.
- Players are represented by corporations and have to try to raise the oxygen level, the temperature, and ocean coverage in order to make the planet habitable.
- Players can earn points when they make good contributions to the terraforming process and when they are helping to improve infrastructure.
- By buying cards or drawing them, players gain project cards that offer bonuses, increase production, and can help make changes during the game.
- Buying cards is very costly, so players need to make sure that they are prepared for the expense and that they have budgeted and planned ahead.
Carcassonne
- Players build the game board by drawing and placing tiles adjacent to ones that have already been played, in a way that will connect roads, cities, grasslands, and cloisters to each other.
- After playing a tile, the player will be able to place a meeple on it, and then try to score points as areas become finished.
- Players have to have an idea of not only how to best increase the land that they have and make the most points through strategic placing of their meeple, but also have a plan as to how they are going to block their opponents.
- By balancing blocking each other and trying to improve their own space, players move quickly through the game.
- The quality components are durable and brightly colored and are designed to last without damage.
Catan
- Players are settlers who are trying to tame the land on Catan.
- Each players has to work hard to acquire resources by trading, using cards, or rolling dice.
- Players may try to cut off supply routes to resources, forcing others to come up with an alternate plan.
- Through development and cunning, players can try to win.
- The board is set up differently each time the game is played, which gives the game incredible replay value.
- Offers around 60 minutes of gameplay for 3 to 4 players.
- Great for new players who don’t have a lot of experience with larger tabletop games, as the rules are easy to explain and to follow.
- Players must understand the role of different types of resources and how to best use them to their advantage.
Galaxy Trucker
- The spaceship construction and transport theme is different from many other similar games, and thanks to the quality construction and components, is great for players of all ages.
- Players have to try to build a spaceship that will be able to handle meteor storms, stand up to attacks from space pirates, and is large and fast enough to get to the location first with all supplies safely in place.
- There are 2 phases in the game: building and flying, and each player is trying to have the most credits when the game is over.
- Players earn credits in battle with pirates, when they deliver goods, by building a great ship, and by being the player furthest along the flight track.
- Since building is in real time, it can get very stressful and competitive as players vie for the best resources.
- Offers multiple expansions.
7 Wonders
- Each player is the leader of one of the great 7 cities of the ancient world.
- Players have to find their own resources, create commercial routes for sale and trade, and build a stronger army than their competitors.
- All players are also trying to create architecture that is better than what their competitors can build.
- There are 3 ages in the game, and during each one, the players will get 7 cards from the deck, choose one, and pass them one.
- Players can interact with each other in an attempt to collect resources, but also need their cards to pay for items they need.
- While this is a card development game, strategy is important as players try not only to improve their own chance at winning, but keep their opponents from getting the cards that they need.
- It’s only by paying attention to the cards that opponents need that players can stop them from getting their hands on the necessary resources.
Alhambra
- Players are master builders who are working hard in 1278 to build the Alhambra and its complex.
- Each player wants to be able to demonstrate the skill that they have in building, but this is often easier said than done.
- Since players have to make sure that they have the right type and amount of currency as well as the best builders in the area, there is a lot of pressure on each player to make the right decision.
- Different builders come from different areas and will demand payment in their own currency, which makes it difficult to hire a lot of builders from other locations.
- Players have to plan out their turns, as they can take money from the market, buy a building, or work on constructing or reconstructing the buildings that they already have.
- By using a combination of strategy and efficiency, players can score points for having long sections of walls built.
Kingsburg
- With the realm under attack, players have to not only defend against attackers but also manage the province that they control.
- Players need to be able to obtain soldiers, gold, stones, and wood by influencing advisors and royalty to give them away.
- Since all players are working against each other in a competition for the best resources, this game can become very heated and exciting.
- There are a total of 20 turns in the game, and the entire gameplay occurs over a span of just 5 years.
- Players have 3 turns to collect troops, resources, and buildings, and on their 4th turn they have to fight the invaders.
- As this isn’t a cooperative game, players have to work hard to survive, especially because other players will be competing for the same resources.
1812: The Invasion of Canada
- Each player takes on the role of a major faction that participated in the war of 1812.
- British players are represented by the British Regulars, Native Americans, and Canadian Militia.
- American players are represented by the American Militia and the American Regular Army.
- Players try to cooperate with the others on their own side in order to come up with a truce, plan a campaign, and capture certain areas on the map.
- Since both sides are competing for the same space on the map, it is normal for it to get passed back and forth during the game.
- At the end of the game, the players with the most enemy objective areas in their control are the winners.
- While this game works well with only 2 players, up to 5 can play together.
Airlines Europe
- Strategy game that is perfect for 2 to 5 players and will take around 75 minutes for each game.
- Players act as owners of different airlines and are in competition with each other try to gain one of the few airline licenses.
- Due to the market growing so quickly and investors wanting to be involved so that they can make as much money as possible, players have to be able to work quickly to obtain a license.
- The rules are very basic, but thanks to the open gameplay, which allows each player to build their own flight paths, interaction between players is key.
- Players have some card stocks visible to others, while they keep some hidden, which adds to the drama and excitement of the game.