Hi! We’re all glad Ticket to Ride finally made it to BGA!
As a player with over thousands of games played on IOS app I’d like to give my humble tips in order to help people win or close to winning in almost every game.
For a 2 player game:
Tip #1 - Collect colours from pile.
A huge factor of 2P game is hiding what routes you have from opponent, so if you pick up colours from what’s shown, they opponent will know where you’re going.
Example: You have LA/Miami and Denver/El Paso
So in order for you to get the “optimal” track, you’re gonna want 6 black, 6 green, 6 red.
Do NOT take blacks/greens or reds from the shown colours as the opponent will understand that this is your route and he’ll try to reach the 6 black before you.
What happens if you’re not getting any blacks?
Tip #2 - Collect colours till you have 44-46 in your hand before making first move
Most times when you have 44 colours, you’ll have 6 blacks and 6 green, which will give you the chance to do them Back2back and have optimal track.
Otherwise if you just place 6 black and you don’t have the 6 green before collecting all 44 colour in your hand, then very possible your opponent sees your weakness and will place 6 green before you.
What happens if I don’t get 6 black even after 44 colours in my hand?
Tip #3 - Plan for Emergency Route
If you’re noticing you’re not getting any blacks at 35-40 in your hand, you must plan for the inevitable and think of a emergency plan, so in the above scenario of LA/Miami & Denver/El Paso you’re gonna want to 5 white, 4 green, 6 orange, 6 pink and start going down to Nashville and eventually Miami, and maybe even pick up a new route because you’re covering a lot of new space which can give you lots of different options.
What if that route is too risky and opponent is likely to win?
Tip #4 - Blocking
Most average players and even high level players can’t hide their route completely throughout the entire game.
So the plan is you’ll have to block in a strategic way so that she/he won’t finish his/her route either.
Example: Opponent has Seattle/NY & Portland/Nashville
Your opponent will have to either go 6 blue or 6 yellow to progress, so many top players will start with 6 oranges, and try to fool you, but eventually after 6 oranges they’ll do 6 pink or 6 yellow and you will see a pattern. That’s when you step in and place 2 green/white by New York, or 4 yellows to Nashville etc.
Yes you won’t complete LA/Miami but you’ll make him/her deduct 37 Points which will likely win you the game
Tip #5 - Don’t take small routes 1/2/3 unless you MUST
Optimal play is to connect all your tracks by going for 4/5/6 which gives you much more points each
4 = 7
5 = 10
6 = 15
Example: You have Duluth/El Paso & Winninpeg Houston
Optimal route is to take 6 orange and 6 neutral, then connect by 4 black, then 4 green, then 4 red, then 5 yellow & 6 green
But who has 10 greens?
You can always use the 4 pink/5 red or 4 pink/2 neutrals to connect back to Denver, so you save the greens for El Paso/Houston
DO NOT go in middle all the way down 2-1-2-2-1 from Duluth to Houston, it’s a common beginner error, you end up losing too many Valuable moves.
Tip #6 - Aim to get “Longest route”
Longest route gives you +10 points, but technically it’s +20 since opponent doesn’t get the +10
60-80% of professional games determine whoever gets longest route, that’s how important it is.
To get the longest, you’d need to think ahead and to know which colours to place first. In general 6 orange and 6 neutral should be your starting point in almost every scenario, since they have 6/5/4 connected to them, it’s good to stick up north to maximize points per move.
I hope this helps, please let me know if anything needs to be corrected or you have any other tips for a 2 Player game.
As a player with over thousands of games played on IOS app I’d like to give my humble tips in order to help people win or close to winning in almost every game.
For a 2 player game:
Tip #1 - Collect colours from pile.
A huge factor of 2P game is hiding what routes you have from opponent, so if you pick up colours from what’s shown, they opponent will know where you’re going.
Example: You have LA/Miami and Denver/El Paso
So in order for you to get the “optimal” track, you’re gonna want 6 black, 6 green, 6 red.
Do NOT take blacks/greens or reds from the shown colours as the opponent will understand that this is your route and he’ll try to reach the 6 black before you.
What happens if you’re not getting any blacks?
Tip #2 - Collect colours till you have 44-46 in your hand before making first move
Most times when you have 44 colours, you’ll have 6 blacks and 6 green, which will give you the chance to do them Back2back and have optimal track.
Otherwise if you just place 6 black and you don’t have the 6 green before collecting all 44 colour in your hand, then very possible your opponent sees your weakness and will place 6 green before you.
What happens if I don’t get 6 black even after 44 colours in my hand?
Tip #3 - Plan for Emergency Route
If you’re noticing you’re not getting any blacks at 35-40 in your hand, you must plan for the inevitable and think of a emergency plan, so in the above scenario of LA/Miami & Denver/El Paso you’re gonna want to 5 white, 4 green, 6 orange, 6 pink and start going down to Nashville and eventually Miami, and maybe even pick up a new route because you’re covering a lot of new space which can give you lots of different options.
What if that route is too risky and opponent is likely to win?
Tip #4 - Blocking
Most average players and even high level players can’t hide their route completely throughout the entire game.
So the plan is you’ll have to block in a strategic way so that she/he won’t finish his/her route either.
Example: Opponent has Seattle/NY & Portland/Nashville
Your opponent will have to either go 6 blue or 6 yellow to progress, so many top players will start with 6 oranges, and try to fool you, but eventually after 6 oranges they’ll do 6 pink or 6 yellow and you will see a pattern. That’s when you step in and place 2 green/white by New York, or 4 yellows to Nashville etc.
Yes you won’t complete LA/Miami but you’ll make him/her deduct 37 Points which will likely win you the game
Tip #5 - Don’t take small routes 1/2/3 unless you MUST
Optimal play is to connect all your tracks by going for 4/5/6 which gives you much more points each
4 = 7
5 = 10
6 = 15
Example: You have Duluth/El Paso & Winninpeg Houston
Optimal route is to take 6 orange and 6 neutral, then connect by 4 black, then 4 green, then 4 red, then 5 yellow & 6 green
But who has 10 greens?
You can always use the 4 pink/5 red or 4 pink/2 neutrals to connect back to Denver, so you save the greens for El Paso/Houston
DO NOT go in middle all the way down 2-1-2-2-1 from Duluth to Houston, it’s a common beginner error, you end up losing too many Valuable moves.
Tip #6 - Aim to get “Longest route”
Longest route gives you +10 points, but technically it’s +20 since opponent doesn’t get the +10
60-80% of professional games determine whoever gets longest route, that’s how important it is.
To get the longest, you’d need to think ahead and to know which colours to place first. In general 6 orange and 6 neutral should be your starting point in almost every scenario, since they have 6/5/4 connected to them, it’s good to stick up north to maximize points per move.
I hope this helps, please let me know if anything needs to be corrected or you have any other tips for a 2 Player game.
