Ticket to Ride: France & Old West Map Collection

Days of Wonder, designer Alan R. Moon and Ticket To Ride go hand-in-hand! Ticket to Ride Map Collection: Volume 6 – France & Old West is one of the newer expansions for Ticket To Ride. This expansion features a double-sided board offering two different ways to play.

On one side is ‘France’, which is a map of France and its neighbouring countries. This is a map for 2-5 players, and there’s something missing from this map. It seems rather grey. That’s because only a small fraction of the routes between cities have predetermined colours!

Each time you draw train cards, you also pick a train route tile (three, four or five trains in length). You then place this on the map between two cities. Now, to claim that route, you have to play those specific colours! Once claimed, two things happen. The tile returns to the supply for later placement. But also, some routes overlap. If a tile sits on top of other routes, they become blocked for the game’s duration. It’s a fascinating twist, flipping Ticket To Ride on its head!

On the reverse is the ‘Old West’, with a map of western USA. This side plays up to six players (a sixth colour of trains, white, comes in this box). Players also pick a starting city. Any routes that they play must have this city as one of the route’s two termination points. Later routes also have to connect to this growing network. (Meaning you can’t place a disconnected route on the other side of the map.) If your route enters a city with another player’s City Marker, they earn the points for that route, instead!

Old West also comes with Alvin the alien. If you build to Roswell you pick up Alvin, score 10VP, and then move him to a city you control. Later, if a player connects to said city, they score 10VP and move Alvin again. If Alvin ends the game in your city, you score him again.

Ticket to Ride Map Collection: Volume 6 – France & Old West is an expansion. To play this, you’ll also need to have Ticket to Ride or Ticket to Ride: Europe.

Player Count: 2-6 players
Time: 60-90 minutes
Age: 8+