my first journey ticket to ride

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• Ticket to Ride
• First Journey

Basic Game Rules

Tips and tactics, buy ticket to ride, other games, ticket to ride: first journey game rules.

• 1 Game Board
• 80 Plastic Trains
• 72 Train Cards
• 32 Ticket Cards
• 4 Coast-to-Coast Bonus Ticket Cards
• 1 Golden Ticket

Object of the Game

The goal of the game is to be the first player to complete 6 Tickets.

Place the game board in the center of the table. Give each player 20 trains of a single color.

Shuffle the train cards and give each player 4 random cards. Place the remaining cards facedown to form the Train deck.

Shuffle the ticket cards and give each player 2 random Ticket Cards. Place the remaining cards facedown to form the Ticket deck.

Keep all of your cards hidden from the other players! Place the Coast to-Coast bonus ticket cards next to the board.

The youngest player goes first. Play then proceeds clockwise around the table, with each player taking one turn at a time until the game ends.

On your turn, you can do ONE of two things:

Draw Train Cards: Draw two Train Cards from the top of the deck. Or

Claim a Route: Play Train Cards from your hand to claim a route and place your plastic trains on that route.

Train Cards

There are Train Cards in six different colors: Yellow, Green, White, Black, Blue, and Red.

They allow you to claim routes on the board. Locomotives are multi-colored and can be used as a wild card when claiming a route.

Claiming Routes

To claim a route, you must play Train Cards from your hand that match the color and num- ber of spaces of the route. Then you place one of your plastic trains in each of the route's spaces. All cards used to claim the route are discarded faceup next to the Train deck.

Example: if you want to claim a yellow route that is two spaces long, you need to play two yellow Train Cards.

You can claim any route on the board that hasn't been claimed yet, even if it is not connected to any of your other claimed routes. You can claim only one route per turn.

The color of a route does not have to match the color of your plastic trains in order for you to claim that route. Remember that Locomotives are wild and can be used in place of any color Train Card.

Double Routes: Some cities are connected by two parallel routes. You cannot claim both routes in a double route; leave some room for the others!

Completing a Ticket

When you have built a continuous line of trains between the two cities printed on your Ticket, congratulations - you've completed one Ticket!

Tell the other players and flip it faceup in front of you. Then draw one Ticket Card from the top of the deck.

Discard Tickets: If you know that you will not be able to complete your Tickets (because the other players have blocked your path, for instance), you can skip a turn to discard BOTH of your Tickets, instead of drawing Train Cards or claiming a route.

Draw two new Tickets from the top of the deck to replace them.

Coast-to-coast Bonus

When you have a continuous line of trains from one of the west- coast cities (Seattle, San Francisco, or Los Angeles) to one of the east-coast cities (New York, Washington, or Miami), you have earned the Coast-to-Coast Bonus!

You must say "Coast to Coast!" and take one Bonus Ticket Card, placing it in front of you.

The Bonus Ticket Card counts as one completed Ticket.

End of the Game

The game immediately ends when a player completes his sixth Ticket. That player is the winner and takes the Golden Ticket as a reward!

The game also ends if a player places his last train on the board.

In this case, the player who has the most completed Tickets wins. If there is a tie, all tied players win together.

Other Ticket to Ride Games

• Alvin & Dexter
• The Card Game
• Nordic Countries
• United Kingdom

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Ticket To Ride - Europe

Ticket to Ride: First Journey

• Toys & Games
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• Board Games

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Ticket to Ride First Journey Board Game - Fun and Easy for Young Explorers! Train Strategy Game, Family Game for Kids & Adults, Ages 6+, 2-4 Players, 15-30 Min Playtime, Made by Days of Wonder

First Journey

First Journey Europe

Ghost Train

Purchase options and add-ons

• ALL-AGES ADVENTURE: Ticket to Ride: First Journey is a family-friendly board game suitable for players of all ages, introducing them to the world of cross-country travel.
• BRAND-NEW MAP: Explore America by train on a brand-new map, simplified rules, and shorter routes, perfect for newcomers to the game.
• COLLECT TRAIN CARDS: Just like in Ticket to Ride, collect train cards, claim routes, and connect cities coast-to-coast to complete your journey.
• GOLDEN TICKET CHALLENGE: Race to complete six tickets and claim the coveted Golden Ticket as your prize, ending the game in victory.
• INTRODUCE NEW PLAYERS: First Journey is the ideal way to introduce friends and family to the joy of board gaming and cross-country adventures.

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Product information

Warranty & support, product description.

Players of all ages can now venture across America by train in Alan R. Moon's ticket to ride: first journey. With a brand new map and simplified rules, first journey is the perfect way to introduce new players to the game of cross-country travel. Just like in ticket to ride, players collect train cards, claim routes, and try to connect cities coast-to-coast. In first journey, though, routes are shorter, train cards are drawn straight from the deck, and the game ends when one player Completes six tickets, claiming the Golden ticket as their prize. Climb aboard, travelers, your incredible first journey awaits.

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From the manufacturer.

What's in the box

• 1 Game Board; 80 Plastic Trains; 72 Train Cards; 32 Ticket Cards; 4 Bonus Ticket Cards & 1 “Golden Ticket” Card; 1 Rulesheet

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Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Customers say

Customers like the speed, quality and content of the board game. They mention that it's quick, easy to learn and play, and that it teaches strategy. Customers also appreciate the readability. Opinions are mixed on ease of use.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Customers find the game fun for families, young kids, and adults. They say it teaches strategy and is a good way to get young children involved. Some say it's not too easy like some junior versions.

"Easy to understand for a 6-year-old and fun for the adults . Rare to find a game that all can understand and enjoy...." Read more

"...It is thick, has sturdy folds, large ( easy for people to crowd around )..." Read more

"This version of ticket to ride is a huge hit in our home! It's great for little ones who are emerging readers too, since the destinations are marked..." Read more

"...Lastly, the theme is awesome for halloween fans ...." Read more

Customers find the board game easy to learn and play. They say it has simple decisions for beginners and is easy for younger children to understand. They also say the directions are clear and helpful.

" Easy to understand for a 6-year-old and fun for the adults. Rare to find a game that all can understand and enjoy...." Read more

"...The game play is simple yet competitive , where you need to strategize and possibly try to block your opponents ability to create a route to complete..." Read more

"...Cards are bright and colorful. Boars is easy to read and navigate ...." Read more

"...It's got a great balance that helps support learning for younger ones , but it can still be just as competitive for adults playing along as well...." Read more

Customers like the quality of the board game. They mention it's well made, sturdy, and colorful. Some say it'll be a great version of the original.

"...It is thick, has sturdy folds , large (easy for people to crowd around), and has some nice visuals which are important for children to use if they..." Read more

" This is a great game . It is a very good way to get young children involved in the older game. It was at a great price too...." Read more

" This game was awesome ! It feels so good to win for some reason too...." Read more

"...We /prefer/ the Europe Edition. The pieces are sturdier . The artwork feels more polished. Europe feels easier to reroute when blocks occur." Read more

Customers find the game play and pace quick and easy to learn and play. They also say the turns are much quicker than in the full Ticket to Ride. Customers also enjoy that it doesn't take forever to play and that they pick it up quickly.

"...It also makes a great quick version of Ticket to Ride around halloween or if you are looking for a shorter version if you don't have a larger chunk..." Read more

"...Super fun, even with the grown ups. It’s also a quick game , generally, which is a plus...." Read more

"...It’s not complicated, kiddo caught in quickly " Read more

"...Fun and fast game to hold his attention . The board is really good quality." Read more

Customers find the content of the board game interesting, educational, and fun. They also say it helps teach strategy and cities in the US and Canada. Customers also appreciate the different strategies to win, and mention it's a great learning game about geography and history. They mention that the game can be very strategic, especially if there are three or four players, and that it encourages abstract thinking.

"...it and be competitive against adults as well because the game has an intuitive rule set ...." Read more

"Great game for age 10+ Teaches strategy ." Read more

"...It’s educational but also very fun and engaging." Read more

"... Gives a simple lesson of the geography and cities in the US." Read more

Customers like the geography of the board game. They say the pictures and colors help simplify everything. They also appreciate the distinct art on each destination, which helps kids who may not read yet. Overall, customers say the game box and pieces are colorful and high quality.

"...has sturdy folds, large (easy for people to crowd around), and has some nice visuals which are important for children to use if they cannot read yet..." Read more

"...ones who are emerging readers too, since the destinations are marked with words AND pictures ...." Read more

"...There are even great pictures & colors to help along those that are still learning to read...." Read more

"... Locations are cleverly marked and this is a great source to teach locations of some European countries and some geographical info!!!..." Read more

Customers like the appearance of the board game. They say it looks perfect, has a nice sheen, and is appealing. They also say the pieces are sturdier and the artwork feels more polished. The cards are bright and colorful, and the overall game is well designed.

"...The card are thick, appealing, and high quality with a nice sheen , and the organizer in the box fits everything perfectly...." Read more

"... Cards are bright and colorful .Boars is easy to read and navigate...." Read more

"...We /prefer/ the Europe Edition. The pieces are sturdier. The artwork feels more polished . Europe feels easier to reroute when blocks occur." Read more

"...this game is a little tougher for young kids in that the game is not visually linear with a beginning and endpoint...." Read more

Customers are mixed about the ease of use. Some mention it's a great introduction to Ticket to Ride, and a simplified version of the game. The trips are easy, but others say it'll frustrate them. The directions are poor, and the game is hard to play.

" Great simplified version of Ticket to Ride ...." Read more

"...The artwork feels more polished. Europe feels easier to reroute when blocks occur." Read more

"... Very frustrating ! Even 30 trains each would be better than 20." Read more

"...With this game he could play it with no help.The trips are easy and you don’t get points for completing them...." Read more

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Ticket to Ride: My First Journey – An Overview (Rules, Tips, Game Contents)

Game Summary

My First Journey is a scaled back version of the popular Ticket to Ride game. Ticket to ride was created by Alan Moon, and is designed in the mold of German-style board games (or Euro-style). While these games can have human interaction, that interaction is often more indirect than American style games. They are not typically considered “party games” like Trivial Pursuit or Cards Against Humanity. Instead, they require more in-depth thinking (note: this is why I like My First Journey, because it still requires critical thinking and planning but is straightforward enough to be enjoyed by my 7-year-old).

In My First Journey , you are racing to be the first player to complete six train routes in America. Each route connects well-known American cities. Players can also claim credit for a route if they build tracks that stretch all the way across the United States (called “coast to coast”).

Players turns are simplified in that you can only do one of three actions: 1) draw two cards, 2) place trains on the board (claiming a route), or 3) discard your two route cards in order to get new routes. More detailed rule explanations below.

The game is marketed as being for 6+, and the BoardGameGeek community seems to agree with that assessment. My current 7-year old loves playing the game, and initially learned it a few months prior to her seventh birthday.

Number of Players : 2-4 (while I enjoy the time spent with my daughter playing with the just the two of us, I find it more enjoyable when the wife or my niece joins in for at least three of us).

Time to Play : I’ve seen this listed as up to 30 minutes, but my experience is that most games are completed within 15-20 minutes; particularly once everyone knows exactly how to play.

Game Publisher : Days of Wonder (I suggest checking out their other games on Amazon! )

Game Contents

The game includes the following:

• 1 game board
• 80 plastic trains (plus a few extras of each color)
• 72 train cards
• 32 ticket cards
• 4 coast-to-coast bonus ticket cards
• 1 golden ticket

Key Concepts

Plastic Trains : You play these on the game board; each player has 20.

Train Cards : In order to claim a route, you must have the appropriate number of these that match the route (e.g., 3 blues or 2 greens)

Ticket Cards : These represent the tickets you are trying to complete (e.g., New York to Winnepeg)

Coast-to-Coast Cards : These are bonus tickets a player can earn by having routes that connect the east coast to the west coast

Golden Ticket : A fun add-on that the winning player earns; has not impact on the game

Claiming a Route : Occurs when a player plays train cards that match a route on the game board (e.g., New York to Washington requires a yellow train card or a blue train card)

Completing a Ticket : This happens when a player builds a continuous line of trains between two cities represented on one of their two Ticket Cards

Double Routes : Some cities have two routes connecting them; these are called double routes (and no player may claim both routes; stop being selfish!)

Starting the game requires:

• Placing the game board so all players can reach
• Giving each player 20 trains of their chosen color
• Dealing 4 train cards to each player; remaining train cards should be placed somewhere easy for each player to draw from
• Dealing 2 ticket cards to each player; if convenient, make it easy for each player to reach but not as important as the train cards

Ticket to Ride: My First Journey Rules

The youngest player goes first (which means I always go last in my household!). Play progresses clockwise.

On a turn, players have three options:

• Draw two train cards
• Claim a route
• Discard both ticket cards in order to draw two new ones (used primarily if your path is blocked late in the gam)

Claiming a route

As mentioned before, claiming a route involves playing train cards that match a route on the game board. To use the same example: claiming a route between Washington and New York would require a player to play either a yellow train card or a blue train card (not both!). Once a player does this, they place one of their plastic trains on the appropriate place (in this case, the yellow or blue rectangle).

You discard the played train cards faceup beside the train deck. These can be re-shuffled in the deck runs out during the game.

You can claim any route you want as long as you have the appropriate number and color train cards.

You may only claim one route per turn.

Locomotives (wild cards) can represent any color.

Completing a Ticket

Once you build a continuous line of trains between the cities on one of your two ticket cards, you have completed a ticket. Once done, you:

• announce to the other players you have completed a ticket
• flip the ticket card faceup in front of you
• draw a new ticket card
• do a happy dance (optional)

Winning the game

The game immediately ends when a player claims their sixth ticket (either 6 ticket cards, or 5 ticket cards + 1 coast-to-coast card).

The game can also end if a player places their last train on the board. The winner in that case is whoever has the most tickets (which could result in a tie).

Common Questions

What happens when you run out of trains?

The game ends when any player runs out of their 20 trains. The player, or players, who have the most completed tickets so far wins the game. For this reason, it can be a late-game strategy to run yourself out of trains if you know you are ahead in the total number of completed tickets.

How do I claim a coast-to-coast card?

Once you have a continuous line of trains connecting the east coast (Miami, Washington DC, New York) to the west coast (Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles), you just need to announce to the other players that you have completed the coast-to-coast ticket. Make sure you add a coast-to-coast ticket card to your other completed tickets to count towards your 6-ticket goal.

Can a player receive more than one coast-to-coast card?

No. Each player can only earn one coast-to-coast card in a game.

What happens if I draw a ticket card and already have a continuous line of trains connecting the two cities?

Congratulations! You can immediately announce you have completed the ticket and draw a new card. This happened to my daughter in our last game. Needless to say, she was quite happy and won the game on the spot!

Game Strategy/Tips

1. You do not have to claim a just because you have the cards to match it. Sometimes a route does help you complete a ticket. And sometimes it would require you to use a wild card that you may be better off saving. I’ve had success holding my wild cards, but have also been penalized by never drawing the color(s) train cards I needed.

2. I don’t find it advantageous to pursue routes that are directly connected to me completing a ticket. The only instance where this is not true is if I am trying to exhaust all of my trains in order to claim the alternate victory (having the most tickets when someone runs out of trains).

Where to Buy Ticket to Ride: My First Journey

I purchased our copy from Amazon , but you can also purchase from Target or Walmart .

Ludologists 2022

Ticket to Ride First Journey Board Game Review and Rules

By: Author Eric Mortensen

Posted on January 13, 2020

Categories Board Games , Children's , Reviews , Set Collection

Regular readers of Geeky Hobbies will probably already know that the original Ticket to Ride is my favorite board game of all time. That is saying a lot as I have played around 800 different board games. The original game is so elegant as it finds the perfect mix between being accessible while still having enough strategy to keep people interested. The game is close to perfect where I am always up for a game. Due to its success it has lead to quite a few different spinoffs over the years which mostly involve different maps and slightly tweaked rules like Ticket to Ride Europe and Ticket to Ride Marklin . Today I am looking at Ticket to Ride First Journey which is basically the simplified version of the game that is meant for younger children. I had some mixed feelings headed into the game as I was skeptical whether Ticket to Ride really needed to be simplified as the original game was quite simple in its own right. Ticket to Ride First Journey is a great game for families with younger children, but it doesn’t reach the levels of the original game due to the reliance on luck.

How to Play Ticket to Ride First Journey

• Place the gameboard in the middle of the table.
• Each player chooses a color and takes 20 trains of the corresponding color.
• Shuffle the train cards and deal four cards to each player. The rest of the train cards will be placed facedown to form the train deck.
• Shuffle the ticket cards and deal two cards to each player. Players should keep these cards hidden from the other players. Place the rest of the ticket cards face down on the table to form the ticket deck.
• Place the four coast-to-coast bonus ticket cards next to the gameboard.
• The youngest player will start the game.

Playing the Game

On a player’s turn they will be able to take one of three actions:

• Draw two train cards from the train deck.
• Claim a route.
• Draw new ticket cards.

After a player has taken one of these actions play will pass to the next player clockwise.

Claiming A Route

If a player wants to claim a route they will have to play cards from their hand that match the color of the route. They have to play one card for each space of the route. Locomotive cards (multi-color cards) can be played as any color. The cards that are played are added to the discard pile. After claiming the route the player will place their color trains on the spaces to mark that they control that route.

The blue player wants to claim the route between Chicago and Atlanta. The route consists of two green spaces. To claim the route the player will have to play two green train cards, one green and one wild train card, or two wild train cards.

A couple rules must be followed while claiming routes:

• You can claim any unclaimed route even if it doesn’t connect to any of your other routes.
• You may only claim one route each turn.
• If there is a double route between two cities a player can only claim one of the two routes.

Completing A Ticket

Throughout the game players are trying to connect the cities on their ticket cards. When a player completes a continuous line between the two cities listed on one of their ticket cards they will tell the other players and flip over the card. They will then draw a new ticket card to replace the card that they completed.

The blue player has a ticket to connect Chicago to Miami. As they have connected the two cities they have completed the ticket.

If a player completes a continuous route from one of the east coast cities (New York, Washington, Miami) to one of the west coast cities (Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles) the player has completed a coast-to-coast route. They will claim one of the coast-to-coast bonus cards which will count as a completed ticket at the end of the game. Each player can only claim one of these cards.

The blue player has successfully created a path of routes that connect Miami to San Francisco. Since they have completed a coast to coast set of routes they will take a coast to coast card.

Draw New Ticket Cards

If a player doesn’t think they will be able to complete the tickets in their hand, they may use their turn to draw new ticket cards. The player will discard the two ticket cards from their hand and draw two new cards.

This player didn’t like their current tickets/couldn’t complete them. They decided to discard their old tickets to draw two new tickets. One of the new tickets has the player connecting Calgary to Chicago. The other ticket requires the player to connect Calgary and Los Angeles.

End of Game

Ticket to Ride First Journey can end in one of two ways.

If a player completes their sixth ticket card they will automatically win the game. They will take the golden ticket to celebrate their victory.

This player completed six tickets so they have won the game.

If a player places their last train onto the gameboard the game will end immediately. Each player counts up how many ticket cards that they have completed. The player who has completed the most tickets wins the game. If there is a tie for the most ticket cards completed all of the tied players will win the game.

My Thoughts on Ticket to Ride First Journey

As most people are probably already familiar with Ticket to Ride I am not going to waste a lot of time going over my thoughts of the original game. Ticket to Ride is arguably my favorite board game of all time because it does a fantastic job balancing between accessibility and strategy. The game may be a little more difficult than your typical mainstream game, but you can generally teach the game to new players within ten or so minutes. The game is so accessible because the actions that you can perform are quite straightforward and are easy to understand. This makes the game work quite well with younger children as they should be able to understand what they are supposed to do. While the actions might be pretty simple they give players plenty of options. The game relies on some luck, but it mostly depends on what cards you take and how you use them to complete tickets and score points. The player with the best strategy will likely win the game.

In recent years there has been a drive towards creating kids versions of classic designer board games. Some of these make sense as they take more complicated games and boil them down to the main mechanics to be easily digested by younger children. I was curious about what Ticket to Ride First Journey would do though as the original game was pretty simple in its own right. Honestly most children around the age of eight or so shouldn’t really have any troubles with the original game. I was wondering how the main gameplay would be altered in order to appeal to even younger children. The game accomplishes simplifying the original game in a couple different ways:

• The game eliminates the traditional scoring entirely. Instead players are competing to complete six different tickets.
• In the original game you couldn’t get rid of tickets you chose to keep even if you couldn’t finish them. This was because uncompleted tickets would count as negative points. In Ticket to Ride First Journey you can use a turn to discard your uncompleted ticket cards and replace them with new cards.
• The gameboard is simplified. There are less stations and you need less cards to acquire each route.
• There is no longer a set of face up train cards that you can pick from. Instead players draw cards from the top of the pile.
• Ticket to Ride First Journey includes a coast-to-coast bonus card if you are able to connect a city from the east coast to the west coast. This is basically a more simplified version of the longest route mechanic from the original game.
• The game features less trains than the original game which means it takes less time to complete.

Those are basically the only differences between Ticket to Ride First Journey and the original game. In the goal to make the original game easier to play I think it does a good job. The original game was easy to play and yet First Journey is even easier. The game has a recommended age of 6+ and I think that is probably pretty accurate as most six year olds should be able to play the game without any issues. I could even see some kids that are slightly younger being able to play the game. Basically the game only requires children to recognize colors, have basic counting skills, and be able to spot the cities on their tickets and create a path between them. For parents that are sick of playing games like Candyland I think Ticket to Ride First Journey would be a great alternative. The game is not as engaging as the original, but it is a considerably better option than most games made for younger children. If you are looking for a good game to play with younger children I think Ticket to Ride First Journey would be a great choice.

Ticket to Ride First Journey also seems to play quite a bit quicker than the original game. I would say that most games of Ticket to Ride First Journey should take around 20-30 minutes while the original game usually takes around 45 minutes to an hour. This is a good thing as it will keep younger children’s attention where they won’t become bored halfway through the game. This could also make it a good filler game for people that don’t have the time for a full game of Ticket to Ride. I would think most people would just prefer to play the original game, but people who are looking for a shorter game may be interested in Ticket to Ride First Journey.

Ticket to Ride First Journey is a good/great game, but its biggest fault is that is is clearly inferior to the original game. You can have fun with the game as it is a good game. Unless you have young children though there is no real reason to play it over one of the other versions of the game. Even if you have children the potential audience is kind of limited as the original game is simple enough that you can play it with most children around age eight or so. Therefore the sweetspot for Ticket to Ride First Journey is basically around ages five to eight. Children younger than that will probably not understand the game while kids older than that will probably prefer the original game as it is simple enough and clearly better.

The main reason why the original is better than Ticket to Ride First Journey is due to the reliance on luck. The original game relied on some luck but the First Journey relies on considerably more. Most of the luck comes from the cards that you end up drawing. I honestly don’t know why the game decided to get rid of the face up train cards as this adds a lot more luck to the game than you would expect. In the original game you would have some choice over what train cards that you could take on your turn. If one of the cards you needed was face up you could just take it and complete the set you needed to claim a route. If you didn’t like any of the cards you otherwise could take face down cards. This choice is eliminated from Ticket to Ride First Journey though as you can only draw from the face down pile. You better hope you get lucky and draw the color cards you need or you will have a hard time claiming the routes you need. The game somewhat offsets this by adding more wild cards to the game. This doesn’t offset the amount of luck that was added due to the elimination of face up cards though. If you aren’t lucky when you draw train cards you are going to have a hard time winning the game.

Luck also comes from the ticket cards. Like the original game your fate is going to really depend on what ticket cards you end up drawing. Unlike the original game though there are no other ways of scoring points outside of completing tickets. So players who don’t get good tickets can’t find another way to win the game. The good news is that unlike the original game you don’t get penalized from failing to complete tickets, and you can easily discard them for new ticket cards. Pretty much all of the tickets in the game only require 1-3 routes to complete them. This usually equates to four to six train cards. Basically the key to winning in Ticket to Ride First Journey is to get ticket cards with cities that are near one another. A player that can get ticket cards that can utilize routes that the player has already acquired will have a much better chance of winning the game. You could end up drawing cards at the end of the game that you have already completed as you have already connected the two cities. As the game only relies on completing tickets there is no way to offset the luck from the ticket cards by claiming longer routes or having the longest overall route. The player who gets the most ticket cards that work together will probably win the game.

As Ticket to Ride First Journey is the children’s version of the original game I assumed that it would be less cutthroat than the original game. In some ways it seems less cutthroat and in other ways it seems more cutthroat. Ticket to Ride First Journey uses a lot of routes that only require one or two train cards in order to complete. This makes the game easier to play, but it also makes things more competitive if multiple players need the same route. Routes can easily be claimed before you even get an opportunity to claim them for yourself as it is easy to have one or two cards of the same color. This is somewhat offset by the game having considerably more double routes than the original game. The game also becomes a little less cutthroat due to there being no punishment for failing to complete a ticket. Outside of having to waste your next turn drawing new ticket cards there is no punishment for failing to complete one. While I have never been a huge fan of cutthroat games, one of the best things about Ticket to Ride is the tense feeling as you wait to see if another player is going to mess up your plans before you are able to claim a route. There are a few tense situations in the game, but First Journey never reaches the same levels of the original game.

I ultimately think the biggest problem with Ticket to Ride First Journey is that by simplifying the game for younger children it loses quite a bit of what made it great in the first place. The game is still fun but it will never compare to the original game. The original game works because it does a perfect job balancing simplicity and strategy. The game is easy to play and yet it gives you plenty of choices where it feels like you can truly impact your fate in the game. By simplifying the game in First Journey it is even easier to play which is a plus for younger children. The problem is this simplicity eliminates a lot of the strategy from the original game. There are still decisions to make, but they are usually really obvious where you don’t really need to form a strategy. The strategy is otherwise replaced by the reliance on luck. You still have some impact but it feels like your fate relies more on whether you are lucky than whether you made good decisions. This leads to the game not being quite as satisfying.

Like most Days of Wonder games I think the component quality for Ticket to Ride First Journey is quite good. The components are probably not quite as good as the original game but they should appeal to younger children. The artwork is quite good on the gameboard and cards. The artwork is colorful where it should appeal to younger children while still doing a good job serving its purpose. The quality of the board and cards is quite good as well and they should last if taken care of. The trains are also quite nice and are a little larger than the original trains. The trains are still made of plastic but they show quite a bit of detail. Basically there isn’t much more that you could have expected from the game’s components.

Should You Buy Ticket to Ride First Journey?

Ticket to Ride First Journey is an interesting game. Like the original game it is quite good and it is fun to play. It does a good job simplifying the original game to make is accessible for younger children. The game simplifies the original game where kids as young as five or six should be able to play the game without any troubles. The game also plays pretty quickly. The problem is that outside of playing with young children the game doesn’t really have an audience. The game is fun but there really is no reason to play it over the clearly superior original game. The original game isn’t even that complicated as kids as young as eight or so shouldn’t have too much trouble with the game. The problem with Ticket to Ride First Journey is by simplifying the game it relies on considerably more luck while eliminating a lot of the strategy. Drawing the right train cards relies entirely on luck as you can no longer choose from the face up cards. Ticket cards also become more important as you can only win by completing them. The luckiest player will likely win the game as there is no other way to score points.

This puts me in a unique situation as far as recommendations are concerned. Ticket to Ride First Journey is a good/great game that I would normally recommend, but I can only recommend it to very specific groups. If you don’t have younger children to play the game with there really is no reason to own the game as you are better off playing the original as it is significantly better. If you have younger children though and you don’t want to wait until they are old enough to play the original, Ticket to Ride First Journey is a fine option as it is considerably better than most games made for younger children.

Tuesday 10th of August 2021

Hi, Can a player complete a ticket, take a new ticket from the pile, and if they already have the routes completed for the new ticket, complete it, take a new ticket from the pile, and if they have the routes completed for it, complete it, etc ... all in one turn? Or, if you complete the tickets that are in your hand and draw new ones, must you wait until the next turn to complete those, even if you have the routes already completed? Thanks!

Eric Mortensen

Wednesday 11th of August 2021

I have to give credit to Board Game Geek for the answer I am about to give as there was a discussion about this exact question. The designer of the game, Alan Moon, responded to the question as well so that is probably as close as you can get to the official answer.

Based on Alan Moon's response in your scenario you will be able to keep completing tickets and drawing new ones if you already have the routes to complete them. Thus you could complete multiple tickets on the same turn.

• Board Games

Ticket to Ride: First Journey (Rules)

Come along as we take a cross-country road trip! Players in Ticket to Ride: First Journey travel from city to city by mapping their train cars on this colorful game board in hopes of reaching their destination first.

Players draw ticket cards and build trains on the map to represent their travels. The player who can complete their journey successfully wins! 

Learn how to play Ticket to Ride: First Journey by reading the rules below for step-by-step gameplay instructions.

What is Ticket to Ride: First Journey?

Ticket to Ride: First Journey is a board game created as a child-friendly version of its original game, Ticket to Ride. 

Beautifully designed, this colorful board serves as a map with train tracks leading from one destination to another. 

Number of Players:  2-4

Ages: Recommended for 6 years and up

Difficulty: Easy

Length of Play: 15-30 minutes

Category : Children’s games, trains

Similar to: Ticket to Ride , Rivers, Roads, and Trails , Catan Jr. , Ticket to Ride Europe

Main Objective: Players strategically place their train cars on the tracks to complete a series of tickets or destinations. The player who completes their travels first wins! 

Why We Love It: There is nothing better than being able to share your favorite board games with your children. The original Ticket to Ride game is more challenging; therefore, this junior edition allows younger children to participate in the family gameplay. 

A Brief History of Ticket to Ride: First Journey

In 2004, Days of Wonder released a well-known board game, Ticket to Ride . Over the following years, newer editions were released, including Ticket to Ride: First Journey, developed in 2017. 

Alan R. Moon created both the original and First Journey versions of this board game. While they follow similar gameplay, the First Journey edition is simplified and designed to appeal to a younger age range of 6-15. 

What You’ll Need to Play Ticket to Ride: First Journey

Everything you need to play Ticket to Ride: First Journey is included in the box.

The original box contains: 

• 1 game board
• 80 plastic trains
• 72 train cards
• 32 ticket cards
• 4 “bonus” ticket cards
• 1 golden ticket card
• 1 rule sheet

Area of Play

Setting up this game is very straightforward. After opening the gameboard, shuffle the cards into stacks based on card type: train cards , ticket cards , and the Coast-to-Coast bonus cards . Keep the golden ticket nearby as well- the winner of the game will claim this ticket at the end.

Each player draws 2 ticket cards and 4 train cards for their starting hand. Players also gather the plastic trains in the color of their selection; red, green, blue, or yellow. Use your trains to represent your travels on the map throughout the game.

Ticket to Ride: First Journey Rules

• On your first turn, you can draw two cards from the train card deck or play some of your trains onto the map using the cards in your hand. If you choose to draw two cards, your turn ends, and you cannot complete any other actions until your next turn.

For example, if you are traveling from Los Angeles to Dallas, you need to place train cars on the tracks from Los Angeles to Albuquerque first, then on your next turn, you can then travel from Albuquerque to Dallas as long as you have the required cards. 

• The tracks are color-specific, so to play your train cars on a blue route, for example, you must have blue cards in your hand. Use wild cards to account for any color on the board. 
• The board does offer different colored tracks to many of the locations, which is a nice feature. The same player cannot occupy both routes on the same path, and if a road is occupied by another player’s train, it can no longer be used by another player.
• You do not have to travel the most direct route to get to a location. You can also use your previously played train cars to help you reach another destination. 
• Players can only place one train car per card, but you must complete an entire route on the same turn. Discard the cards once used. 

For example, there are two track spaces between Denver and Kansas City, so if you are traveling this route, you will need 2 white cards or 2 green cards and play both of your trains simultaneously on the same turn. 

• After completing a ticket, immediately draw a new ticket card to begin travel to your next destination. Flip met tickets over in front of you on the table. Once you have six completed tickets, you win the game.
• If you cannot complete a ticket, you can use one of your turns to trade both ticket cards for replacement cards. 

Coast-to-Coast Ticket

If a player travels from one of the cities along the east or west coast across the map to the other side, they can pick up a Coast-to-Coast ticket. This ticket accounts for one of your completed travels. Each player may only get one Coast-to-Coast ticket during the game. 

 How to Keep Score in Ticket to Ride: First Journey

Once you complete all 6 tickets or finish 5 tickets and 1 coast-to-coast ticket, you are declared the winner. 

You can also win the game if you run out of train cars. If two or more players run out of train cars, the player with the most tickets completed wins. If two players are tied, they will both win. 

The winner of the game picks up the golden ticket as a representation of their achievement. 

How to Play Ticket to Ride: First Journey – Video Tutorial

Frequently asked questions , where do you start on ticket to ride: first journey.

This game board does not have a designated start or finish space. Players start by playing trains on routes based on the destination listed on their tickets. 

What happens if you run out of trains in Ticket to Ride: First Journey? 

If a player runs out of trains, the game ends. At this point, the player with the most tickets wins the game. 

Which Ticket to Ride game should I buy first?

Ticket to Ride: First Journey is an excellent choice for beginners, especially playing with children. The original Ticket to Ride game is also widely popular, so you can start with that if you are looking for something more challenging. 

How many versions of Ticket to Ride are there? 

There are several editions of the Ticket to Ride board game, and the original game comes in the United States and Europe editions. However, expansions are also available for Ticket to Ride: Japan, Nordic Countries, Africa, Germany, Netherland, France, Asia, and Amsterdam. 

Ticket to Ride: Rails and Sails includes travel by boat, and the New York City edition features taxi cabs as the mode of transportation. 

Other Similar Games to Ticket to Ride: First Journey (Our Guides)

If you enjoy Ticket to Ride: First journey, be sure to check out these other fun group games: 

• Ticket to Ride rules
• Clue Junior rules
• Trekking the National Parks (guide coming soon)
• My First Carcassonne (guide coming soon)
• Guess Who Game instructions
• How to play Memory Game
• Catan Junior rules

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Ticket to Ride: First Journey

Players: 2 - 4

Playing Time: 15 - 30 Minutes

• Children's Games
• Hand Management
• Network and Route Building
• Set Collection

Complexity: 1.5/5

Year Released: 2016

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Ticket to Ride: First Journey

Players of all ages can now venture across America by train in Alan R. Moon’s Ticket to Ride: First Journey. With a brand new map and simplified rules, First Journey is the perfect way to introduce new players to the game of cross-country travel. Just like in Ticket to Ride, players collect train cards, claim routes, and try to connect cities coast-to-coast. In First Journey, though, routes are shorter, train cards are drawn straight from the deck, and the game ends when one player completes six tickets, claiming the Golden Ticket as their prize. Climb aboard, travelers, your incredible First Journey awaits!

• Type: Children's Game
• Category: Board Game
• Designer(s): Alan R. Moon
• Published: 2016
• Game Length: About 30 Minutes
• Players: 2-4 Players

Board Game Review: Ticket to Ride First Journey

February 25, 2017 Iain Board Games , Reviews 0

Ticket to Ride holds something of a cult status in our household, solely down to my 4 year old and his love for all things train related. But with both of our existing versions (Europe and Rails & Sails) we tend to simplify the rules heavily to suit his ability, meaning the only time we played those games to their full is with an older group of players. It always seemed a shame that a game which could be enjoyed by kids of almost all ages never had a version specifically for the younger gamers out there; this is until First Journey arrived, and provided us with a game that we could play with its full intended set of rules without needing to simplify it for the little ones. There’s something else interesting about this too: it works equally well with an exclusively adult audience too, something I absolutely didn’t expect.

Heading back to America for the map, the changes are immediately obvious. Stations are fewer in number, and have large text with bold images next to each one. That’s great for kids not able to fully read the city names, and means you can form a route between “the big bridge and the dinosaur” instead of having to read San Francisco and Denver for example. The number of cards needed between each station has dropped too, meaning there’s more routes you can easily make without needing to hoard cards for half the game, something very handy when trying to keep kids engaged throughout. We certainly found that regular achievements throughout the game was a sure fire way of keeping everyone interested from start to finish.

Things are also trimmed down a little by only having three route cards at once, with each completed route simply being worth a single point and the winner being whoever can fill 6 routes first. There’s little need to prioritise or decide which routes are most important, you just take them however you choose. For the first few games we simplified things even further by just having one route card at a time, but then as we played more we upped it to two and then up to the full quota as everyone got to grips with the strategy of deciding which route to complete. It’s nice to be able to just abandon routes without fear of being penalised later down the line, and is another example of just how well this game has been adapted for a new audience. There’s still the decision of whether to nab a quick route or take some more cards on your turn which might lead to more direct journeys, but that’s the very core of the Ticket to Ride gameplay, and to take that out would probably  over simplify things.

The playing pieces are bigger too, with chunky train carriages being far easier for smaller hands to grab hold of and position effectively, and combined with the more spaced out board certainly means there’s very little help needed in terms of handling the components and moving things about. But as I mentioned earlier this isn’t going to solely appeal to just kids; one criticism I had of Rails and Sails was that the games took ages, and weren’t suitable for casual gamers. First Journey takes that criticism and smacks it out the park, to the point that it also makes a brilliant quick game for a few adults or older kids to enjoy without having to worry about time. You can easily play a game of this in 20-30 minutes, and therefore serves nicely as a quick end of evening game or an introduction to the main games for those who are interested in finding out without an epic learning session.

So the summary is an easy one – if you’ve got younger gamers, or non-gamers, or just people who want a quick game of something fun, slightly strategic but easy enough for a 4 year old to understand, then Ticket to Ride First Journey is perfect. A fantastic new direction for a hugely popular series of games.

Ticket to Ride: First Journey Available Now, RRP £25.99 Find your local stockist here

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Rail adventure for the whole family!

Embark on a unique rail adventure: connect cities in the USA, Europe and beyond! Achieve your objectives and keep an eye on your opponents’ railways! All aboard!

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An intergenerational board game

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Review: Ticket to Ride: First Journey (Europe)

Do you know the fastest way from Amsterdam to Ankara? What about from Madrid to Vienna?

The answer given in Ticket to Ride First Journey is, of course, by train. But can you get there faster than your friends?

How It Works

Ticket to Ride: First Journey is a set collection/network building game for two to four players. Players are trying to connect cities on the board with their trains to claim destination tickets. The first player to complete six destination tickets wins.

To begin, each player gets all the trains of a color. The board is placed in the center of the table, and the decks of train cards and destination tickets are shuffled. Each player receives four train cards and two tickets and play begins.

On a turn, players may take one action. They may either draw two train cards from the top of the train deck or play a number of train cards matching the color and length of a track segment on the board, placing their trains on that segment. If players can trace a line connecting the two cities on their destination tickets using only their trains, they can reveal the ticket to claim it and draw a new one. If a player connects a city on the eastern edge of the board to a city on the western edge of the board using only their trains, they may claim the “east to west” ticket. (Additionally, in place of a turn, a player may place their two tickets on the bottom of the destination deck to draw two new ones.)

When a player has two or fewer trains left in their stock, each player (including the player who just placed trains) takes one more turn. Alternatively, when one player has claimed their sixth ticket, the game ends immediately. The player who has completed the most tickets wins.

I’ve Got a Golden Ticket

Playing games with the kids is more often than I’d like to admit a concession. Either we’re playing something that is objectively unfun, or one of the children is being a sore winner/loser or not paying attention. In either case, it can be excruciating as you watch the minute hand–tick, tick–ever so slowly make its way around the clock, finally pronouncing either the end of the game or bedtime, a mercy in either case.

So I’m grateful for children’s games that don’t make me dislike my children or time spent with them. In this regard, Ticket to Ride: First Journey is a huge success.

When it was first announced that Ticket to Ride Junior would be released, the prevailing opinion on Board Game Geek was a smug, “Isn’t the regular board game Ticket to Ride Junior?” My response to that is, yes: maybe if your kids are playing Agricola in diapers, Ticket to Ride might be simple enough for your kids to play at a young age. For the rest of us, Ticket to Ride: First Journey is just the game we’ve been looking for–simple enough that kids can understand it, beautiful enough to hold their attention, and interesting enough that their parents aren’t slowly dying inside.

What makes Ticket to Ride: First Journey succeed is the way it streamlines the original game. Again, I know it can be hard for hobbyists to understand, but Ticket to Ride isn’t quite as simple as we take it for. I remember teaching it to a family member some years back, explaining and re-explaining the rules, and having her say after we’d finished playing, “I like that, but that’s about as complex a game as I can handle.” And it really  is  kind of complex when you first approach it: you have to plan ahead, think on your feet, gather the right resources, and spend those resources at the right time. You need to connect the cities on your tickets in such a way not just to complete  those  tickets but to put you in a position to draw more tickets that might benefit you (without making you go in the hole), all while possibly trying to create the longest contiguous rail segment.

First Journey keeps what makes Ticket to Ride so compelling–gathering cards, playing them at the right time, and connecting cities–while removing the extraneous stuff that can complicate the game for young and old players alike. First, players only have to contend with two tickets at a time. They don’t have to choose how many they’ll go for and risk taking negative points. There are two tickets, with these four destinations, and the whole goal is simple: be the first to complete a set number of tickets.

Then there’s the train card market. Instead of choosing which train cards to take from a market of five, when you draw train cards, you just take the top two cards from the deck. This may seem like less control–and it is–but it also removes a lot of the thinking time where the game can bog down and it simplifies the rules about refreshing the market or taking a face-up locomotive card, a boon especially for the young. It also puts young and old players on a similar footing: all are bound to the vagaries of luck.

Instead of trying to get the longest train segment, players can earn a “free” ticket if they connect the two edges of the board–something to go for in its own right, but more likely an incidental bonus players can claim by virtue of playing the game.

I will be the first to say that I like regular Ticket to Ride better, and when the kids are in bed, I won’t be bringing First Journey back to the table. Yet First Journey retains enough of the spark of Ticket to Ride that it doesn’t feel like much of a concession to play this, and it also has lots of clever usability differences from Ticket to Ride that give kids enough autonomy that parents aren’t just “managing” the game for the children.

One of the things I love the most about First Journey is that each city on the map is represented by a name and also an identifying landmark, and both name and landmark appear on each ticket for each destination. I’ve played First Journey primarily with my four- and six-year-old kids. My six-year-old is a good reader, and he doesn’t need the landmark pictures, but for him, the landmarks are a good way to help him learn about the different cities on the map. He may not know much about Paris or Rome, but he can see the Eiffel Tower and the Colosseum and ask questions about them. My four-year-old can read a little, but unfamiliar place names would be a challenge for her. Because of the landmarks, she can easily identify where she needs to go on her tickets. This is a simple change, but it’s a great one for kids.

First Journey’s map also has larger spaces to hold trains because the included trains are larger than in regular Ticket to Ride. Again, this shouldn’t seem like a big deal, but the larger trains are easier for my kids to manipulate and place on the board themselves. It isn’t necessary for me to step in and place pieces for them; they can handle this themselves, and I like that First Journey feels like a step toward future board game autonomy. Yes, some of the strategy points elude them, and I sometimes offer strategic advice, but this is the kind of game they can play now and grow into the more they play. I like that.

It seems hardly worth including in the game, yet alone worth mentioning, but Days of Wonders’ typical attention to detail is shown in the inclusion of a “golden ticket” for the winner. Yes, I know–this is completely unnecessary. Why include a badge for the winner? As soon as the game is over, you know who the winner is. Doesn’t that come with its own glory? In a rational, adult universe, yes, this is unnecessary, but it’s hard to overstate how excited my kids get when they see what they’re playing for–a golden ticket! They might be thinking of Willy Wonka or The Polar Express or any number of things that are promised by this small piece of faux-shiny cardboard. I’m not certain. What I do know is that the golden ticket serves as a tangible promise of future glory, a reminder of why we’re playing the game in the first place. This is great.

As for gameplay, if you’ve played Ticket to Ride, you know most of how it feels to play First Journey: you’re collecting cards to place trains to complete routes and hopefully claim the track you need before your competition. While the rules are simplified in this edition, First Journey feels a lot like adult Ticket to Ride. The strategy is a lot easier for younger minds to parse, and the components are tailored to children. The fact that the game retains as much Ticket to Ride feeling as it does is a triumph for parents who are tired of Uno.

That’s not to say that Ticket to Ride: First Journey will make gamers out of your kids, or that it will keep them from squabbling, or that magically, when a golden ticket is on the line, your kids will become good winners and good losers. Unfortunately, there’s no magic bullet for those lessons, and as far as I can tell, there’s no shortcut to the top of that mountain. It comes through consistent practice, play, and modeling good behavior. It’s just a lot easier to put in the time to reach those milestones when the underlying game is a good one. And Ticket to Ride: First Journey is a good one.

• Rating: 8.0
• User Ratings ( 0 Votes) 0 Your Rating: 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

Simple rules streamline the original game while keeping the spark of the original Wonderful usability upgrades for young players Nice insert, golden ticket, and vibrant illustrations show Days of Wonder's typical charm

Ticket to Ride is a better game if you have an older audience around

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I'll try anything once, but my favorite games are generally middleweight Euros.

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Discussion 1 comment.

Fantastic review ! We were just introduced to the Europe version a couple of days ago and really enjoy the game but our kids range in age from 3-13 so this could be the go for us. Great to know it’s still as much fun for adults

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Curriculum Materials Library Game Collection: Ticket to Ride: First Journey

• 5 Second Rule Jr.
• Charades for Kids
• Concept Kids: Animals
• Elephants never forget!
• Guess in 10 Jr: Food we eat!
• Monkey Around
• My First Castle Panic
• Richard Scarry's Busytown
• Sloth in a Hurry
• Ticket to Ride: First Journey
• Yeti in My Spaghetti
• Bananagrams
• Exploding Kittens
• The Fuzzies
• A Game of Cat & Mouth
• Ghost Story Dice
• Green Team Wins
• Happy Salmon
• Happy Story Dice
• Mathological Liar
• Organ Attack!
• Pirate Adventure Story Dice
• Quicktionary
• Space Travel Dice
• Throw Throw Avocado
• Throw Throw Burrito
• Ticket to Ride: London
• Timeline: Classics
• Timeline: Inventions
• Zombie Kittens
• Clue: Card Game
• 10 Days in Africa
• 10 Days in Europe
• 10 Days in the USA
• Abandon All Artichokes
• Back to the Future
• Crossed Words
• Dungeons & Dragons: Starter Kit
• Dungeons & Dragons: Essentials Kit
• Fairy Tale Fluxx
• GeoSafari Game of the States
• Godzilla: Tokyo Clash
• Happy Little Dinosaurs
• The Haunted Mansion
• Horrified: Universal Monsters
• Love Letter
• Lovelace & Babbage
• Machi Koro 2
• Mental Blocks
• MonsDRAWsity
• Mystery of the Abbey
• Name that State
• Photosynthesis
• Really Loud Librarians
• Riddle Master
• Scram! Critters vs. Campers
• Silver & Gold
• Say Anything
• SteamRollers
• Stories of the Three Coins
• Text Structure: What's the Scoop?
• Ticket to Ride
• Wicked & Wise
• Word Wipeout

Ticket to Ride: First Journey Find it in the CML Games Section. Click to see availability .

Ticket to Ride: First Journey  takes the gameplay of the  Ticket to Ride  series and scales it down for a younger audience.

In general, players collect train cards, claim routes on the map, and try to connect the cities shown on their tickets. In more detail, the game board shows a map of the United States with certain cities being connected by colored paths. Each player starts with four colored train cards in hand and two tickets; each ticket shows two cities, and you're trying to connect those two cities with a contiguous path of your trains in order to complete the ticket.

On a turn, you either draw two train cards from the deck or discard train cards to claim a route between two cities; for this latter option, you must discard cards matching the color and number of spaces on that route (e.g., two yellow cards for a yellow route that's two spaces long). If you connect the two cities shown on a ticket with a path of your trains, reveal the ticket, place it face up in front of you, then draw a new ticket. (If you can't connect cities on either ticket because the paths are blocked, you can take your entire turn to discard those tickets and draw two new ones.)

If you connect one of the West Coast cities to one of the East Coast cities with a path of your trains, you immediately claim a Coast-to-Coast ticket.

The first player to complete six tickets wins! Alternatively, if someone has placed all twenty of their trains on the game board, then whoever has completed the most tickets wins!

(Description from boardgamegeek.com)

How to Play

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• Last Updated: May 24, 2024 10:16 AM
• URL: https://guides.libs.uga.edu/games-at-cml

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