Ticket to Ride, although for many fledgling gamers still the introduction to modern board games, can be counted among the classics and is often mentioned in the same breath as Catan and Carcassonne. Just like these other titles, Ticket to Ride has been reissued several times, and has been subjected to variations, junior versions and even puzzle books. In fact, a new edition of this award-winning game appears almost every year. Each edition has its own theme and a little twist on the tried-and-true gameplay mechanics. In colorful San Francisco, players take the distinctive cable cars past tourist attractions and try to collect souvenirs. Is your final destination victory or is it time to get out?
Ticket to Ride San Francisco is – just like New York, London and Amsterdam – a smaller edition of the base game. The basics are the same: by laying tracks and fulfilling route cards, players earn points. During a turn, players can perform a single action. Players can take transport cards (open on closed cards in different colors), build routes by completing the correct transport cards or take new route cards to potentially earn more points.
Route cards show which two points on the game board players must connect for points. Also by making connections, players get points depending on the length (number of streetcars used) of the specific connection.
San Francisco also introduces souvenirs. On the board, souvenir tokens have been placed on various places. If a player makes a connection to a spot where a token is present, he or she may take this token. Players receive points for souvenirs based on the amount of tokens in different colors they have collected.
Ticket to Ride San Francisco, like many other editions of Ticket to Ride, differs only slightly from the other editions. San Francisco implements a simple set collection mechanism which does not introduce too much unnecessary complication or fuss. Furthermore, the game is colorfully designed and the rainbow motif recurs in several ways (maybe someday Ticket to Pride anyone?). Because of its small footprint, San Francisco is a perfect way to introduce inexperienced players to Ticket to Ride or as a nice addition to your collection if you don’t already have another small edition of Ticket to Ride.
