Ticket to Ride Pocket: iOS Review

Written by Colby Sorensen Tuesday, 03 January 2012 14:00

Ticket to Ride is a fantastically popular board game that has been translated to the iOS marketplace by Days of Wonder. Board games are quickly becoming one of the best genres on the iPhone and iPad and Ticket to Ride Pocket is no exception. For $1.99, a fraction of the cost of the tabletop version, you get basically the same simple, addictive gameplay on the go.

Ticket to Ride Pocket has you trying to build railways between different destinations across the United States while also cutting off your opponents’ railways. You start by selecting at least one of three tickets which have two cities that you must connect and have a point value connected to them. The tickets are a sort of bid in that if you connect them you get the assigned points, but if you don’t that point value is subtracted from your final point value. This provides a number of different strategic options that you must adjust on the fly. Plainly put, it makes the game fun. The number of trains you have on the board, the number and value of your tickets, and a 10-point bonus for the longest rail-line determine your total final score.

The core game is supplemented by a great tutorial mode that introduces players who haven’t played before in a very straightforward way and can be replayed if necessary. I personally preferred to play solo and there are a range of different AI difficulties that suit players of all skill, but if you want to play with a friend you can do so either with another device over wifi or Bluetooth, or just old school pass and play. Each game invariably takes about 10-15 minutes which is a decent chunk of time, but I do wish I could download an additional add-on pack to make the game larger and longer. Ticket to Ride Pocket is a worthy companion to the board game and seems to hit that sweet spot of “takes minutes to learn, but years to master.”