The Ludarium Academy · Full course · Free

Coast to Coast

An unofficial Ticket to Ride course

Learn Ticket to Ride, teach it in ten minutes, and know when to draw, when to claim, and when a ticket is worth the risk.

Free, one short lesson at a time. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy

Ticket to Ride setup: the board in the middle with every scoring marker on 0, the face-down train deck with 5 train cards face up beside it, the ticket deck and the longest path bonus card next to the board, and each player's 45 trains, 4 train cards, and 4 tickets.Free printable teach sheetSetup, a turn, scoring, and three tips on one page.

Five levels, 19 lessons

Start with lesson one

  1. Level 0 · Learn to play

    Passenger

    After this level: Set up, teach, and score a full game by hand, longest path included, without opening the rulebook.

    1. 01How to Play Ticket to Ride: Rules, Setup, and Scoring
    2. 02How to Teach Ticket to Ride
    3. 03How to Score a Game of Ticket to Ride by Hand

  2. Level 1 · Beginner

    Brakeman

    After this level: Keep tickets that build one railroad, draw cards with a plan, and claim the tight spots on the USA map before anyone else.

    1. 04Your First Three Games of Ticket to Ride
    2. 05Ticket to Ride Openings: Tickets and First Turns
    3. 06Ticket to Ride Train Cards: Face Up, Blind, or Locomotive?
    4. 07Reading the Ticket to Ride USA Map: Hubs and Choke Points
    5. 08Ticket to Ride Player Counts, Variants, and Maps

  3. Level 2 · Intermediate

    Engineer

    After this level: Read what every rival is building, judge a ticket by the trains it needs, draw new tickets at the right moment, and count the endgame.

    1. 09The Ticket to Ride Midgame: Hand, Tempo, and Table
    2. 10What a Ticket to Ride Ticket Is Really Worth
    3. 11When to Draw More Tickets in Ticket to Ride
    4. 12Ticket to Ride Endgame and Scoring Math

  4. Level 3 · Advanced

    Dispatcher

    After this level: Put odds on your draws, win the two-player race, block only when it pays, and know when big routes beat a ticket plan.

    1. 13Ticket to Ride Odds: Will the Cards You Need Come?
    2. 14Two-Player Ticket to Ride Strategy: Winning the Race
    3. 15Reading Opponents and Blocking in Ticket to Ride
    4. 16The Long Route Plan in Ticket to Ride

  5. Level 4 · Tournament ready

    Stationmaster

    After this level: Play the USA 1910 Mega Game under tournament rules, and plan a path to the WBC event or a Gen Con qualifier.

    1. 17Competitive Ticket to Ride: Tournaments and Local Play
    2. 18Ticket to Ride Mega Game Strategy for Tournaments
    3. 19A Practice Plan for Tournament Ticket to Ride

Every lesson is free to read here, any time. Sign up and they also arrive by email, one at a time, so the course keeps you learning between game nights.

Who it is for

  • New players who want the rules clear before the first train goes down.
  • Hosts who teach Ticket to Ride to family, friends, or a new group.
  • Players who keep finishing with tickets in the red and want to know why.
  • Anyone curious about other maps, online play, and tournaments.
Players
2 to 5
Play time
30 to 60 minutes
Ages
Ages 8 and up
Rules as of
Ticket to Ride rules, 2025 edition (Days of Wonder), the refreshed USA map

Questions

How many destination tickets do you keep in Ticket to Ride?

In the current edition you are dealt 4 tickets at the start and must keep at least 2. Older printings deal 3 and you keep at least 2. When you draw tickets during the game, you draw 3 and keep at least 1.

Can you take two locomotives in one turn in Ticket to Ride?

Only if both come blind from the top of the deck. A face-up locomotive must be the first card you take, and then you take no second card. A locomotive drawn blind counts as one card, so you still draw your second.

What happens when a player gets down to two trains?

When a player ends their turn with 0, 1, or 2 trains left, every player, including that player, gets one final turn. Then the game ends and you score tickets and the longest path.

Can both double routes be used in a two-player game?

No. With 2 or 3 players, only one route of each double pair can be claimed, and the other closes. With 4 or 5 players both can be used, but never by the same player.

Do you lose points for tickets you do not finish?

Yes. At the end, every ticket you kept adds its value if you connected both cities with your own trains, and subtracts its value if you did not.

Teach sheet · PDF · Rules as described in the Ticket to Ride rules, 2025 edition (Days of Wonder), the refreshed USA map; official rules.

Unofficial. Not affiliated with Days of Wonder or Asmodee. Ticket to Ride is a trademark of Days of Wonder.