# Ticket to Ride: Switzerland ## General Info - **Year Published**: 2007 - **BGG Rating**: 7.5 - **BGG Rank**: — - **Players**: 2-3 (Best with: 3) - **Duration**: 30-60 min - **Weight**: 1.95 / 5 - **Designers**: Alan R. Moon - **Artists**: Cyrille Daujean, Julien Delval - **Publishers**: Days of Wonder - **Categories**: Expansion for Base-game, Trains - **Mechanics**: Hand Management, Network and Route Building, Open Drafting, Set Collection ## Verdict Want to add an alpine touch to your train journeys? This expansion is for you! A compact map focused on 2-3 players, perfect for Ticket to Ride fans looking for a different challenge.Compact and strategic mapIdeal for fewer playersNew tunnel rulesInternational connectionsRequires base gameFewer playersLimited compatibilityRECOMMENDED ## Description If you've already journeyed through the railways of Europe or the United States in Ticket to Ride and felt like something was missing, get ready for an alpine touch! Ticket to Ride: Switzerland is that expansion that adds a special flavor to your base game (whether it's the original or the Europe version). You'll need the train pieces and cards from those games to embark on this Swiss journey. The package includes a brand-new board, featuring 46 destination cards that take you to explore not only the mountains and valleys of Switzerland but also to connect with neighboring countries like Italy, France, Germany, and Austria. This expansion is designed for those who enjoy a more streamlined game, ideal for 2 or 3 players, making matches more agile and strategic. A cool new feature is the tunnels: locomotive cards now have an exclusive use to help overcome these challenging stretches, just like in the European version. Destination cards can have an endpoint in Switzerland or a neighboring country, and their value depends on the longest route you manage to complete. And there are also cards connecting adjacent countries, adding an extra layer of challenge. This gem first appeared as an exclusive map for the series' computer game but is now available for your table! It's worth noting that, despite not being officially compatible with Ticket to Ride: Märklin due to card distribution, it works very well with the Nordic version, should you wish to expand your travels even further. It's a great choice for those who already enjoy the series and want to switch up the scenery with a more compact and challenging map. ## How to Play Objective of the Game In Ticket to Ride: Switzerland, players are trying to build train routes across the Swiss map. The goal is to connect cities to other cities or to neighboring countries, completing Destination Tickets and earning points. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins. Preparation (Setup) The Swiss map is designed for 2 or 3 players. Each player takes a set of 40 Train Cars and a matching Scoring Marker. Scoring Markers are placed on the Start space of the track around the board. Shuffle the Train cards and deal 4 cards to each player. Place the Train card deck by the board and turn 5 cards faceup, laying them out in a row. Place the Longest Continuous Path Bonus card faceup next to the board. Shuffle the Destination Tickets, deal 5 to each player, and place the remainder in a facedown deck. Each player must keep at least 2 of their Destination Tickets, but may keep all 5 if they choose. Any returned cards are removed from the game. The player who is the most experienced traveler goes first. Play proceeds clockwise. Flow of the Game On a player's turn, they must perform one only of the following actions: Draw Train Cards Claim a Route Draw Destination Tickets Actions and How to Play Draw Train Cards Draw 2 Train cards. You may take any of the faceup cards or draw from the deck. Locomotive cards can be selected just like standard cards. If you draw a faceup card, you immediately turn a replacement card faceup from the deck. You then draw a second card from the faceup cards or the deck. The colors of Train cards match the routes between cities on the board. A player may have any number of Train cards in their hand at any time. When the deck is exhausted, the discards are thoroughly reshuffled to form a new deck. Locomotives are multi-colored and act as wild cards that can be part of any set when claiming a route. Unlike other versions of Ticket to Ride, Locomotive cards can be selected like standard train car cards. Locomotive cards can only be played on tunnel routes. They can complement or replace the cards used to claim a tunnel route, but can never be used to help claim a regular route. If at any time, 3 of the faceup cards are Locomotives, all 5 cards are immediately discarded and 5 new ones drawn to replace them. Claim a Route Claim a route by playing a set of Train cards matching the color and quantity of the route spaces and then placing one train on each space of the route. Discard the cards and record the appropriate score for that route’s length by moving the Scoring Marker. A player may claim any route on the board, but only one route per turn. A route must be claimed in its entirety during a single turn. Gray Routes: Gray colored routes can be claimed using a set of cards of any one color. Double Routes: Some cities are connected by Double Routes (two tracks parallel along the entire route). One player cannot claim both routes. In a 3 player game, players can use both tracks of the double routes. In a 2 player game, only one of the Double Routes can be used. Tunnels: When attempting to claim a Tunnel route, a player first lays down the number of cards required by the route’s length. Then turn the top 3 cards from the Train deck. For each card revealed that matches the color used to claim the route (including Locomotives), an additional card of the same color (or a Locomotive) must be played to successfully claim the tunnel route. If a player does not have enough additional matching cards, or does not wish to play them, he takes all his cards back and his turn ends. The 3 cards revealed for the tunnel are discarded. Any Locomotive card drawn automatically matches the color of the cards played on the route, and forces the player to add a card of matching color, or a Locomotive. If a player attempts a tunnel by playing only Locomotive cards, he will only have to play additional Locomotives if they show up among the 3 cards drawn for the tunnel. Draw Destination Tickets Draw 3 Destination Tickets from the top of the Tickets deck. You must keep at least one. Returned cards are removed from the game. Destination Tickets are kept secret until the end of the game and final scoring. A player may have any number of Tickets at any time. If there are less than 3 Tickets left, the player draws only what is available. Once kept, Tickets must be kept until the end of the game and cannot be discarded during a later Ticket draw. A Ticket is successfully completed if the player creates a continuous path of his trains between the 2 cities named on the Ticket. To complete a city-to-country Destination Ticket, you must connect from the city name to one of the countries listed. To complete a country-to-country Destination Ticket, you must connect the primary country to one of the other countries listed. The points earned are those of the highest scoring connection from among the possible destinations on the ticket. If none of the possible connections was made, the points lost are those corresponding to the lowest value on the ticket. Game End and Scoring When one player’s stock of Trains is down to 2 or less at the end of his turn, each player, including that player, gets one final turn. The game then ends and final scores are calculated. Reveal Destination Tickets. The value of successfully completed Tickets is added to a player’s score and the value of incomplete Tickets is subtracted from his score. Add 10 bonus points to the player who has the Longest Continuous Path of routes. A given Train can never be used twice in the same continuous path. If several players are tied they each receive the bonus. The player with the most points wins. If there is a tie, the player who completed the most Destination Tickets wins. If still tied, the player with the Longest Continuous Path bonus card wins. Tips for Winning When drawing Destination Tickets, remember you must keep at least one, and once kept, they cannot be discarded later. Choose wisely to maximize your potential points. Be mindful of Locomotive cards. They are wild for tunnel routes but cannot be used for regular routes, making them a strategic resource for specific connections. In a 2-player game, only one of the Double Routes can be used, which can impact your route planning and blocking opportunities. ## FAQ ### Do I need the base Ticket to Ride game to play with this expansion? Yes! You need to have either the original Ticket to Ride or Ticket to Ride: Europe to use the train pieces and cards. This expansion only adds the map and destination tickets. ### How many players can participate? This expansion is designed for a smaller player count, working best with 2 or 3 people. The map is more compact, and games become more agile. ### What is the play time for a game? Typically, games with this expansion last between 30 to 60 minutes, depending on player experience and how quickly objectives are met. ### What are the main new features of this expansion? The highlight is the map of Switzerland and neighboring countries, which is smaller and more focused. Additionally, locomotive cards are now used exclusively for tunnels, adding an extra layer of strategy. ### Does this expansion significantly change the rules of the original game? It adds a few new rules, such as the specific use of locomotives for tunnels and how some destination tickets score (considering the longest route). However, the core gameplay remains the same. ### Can I play this with all other Ticket to Ride expansions? This expansion works well with the base Ticket to Ride and Europe. It's not officially compatible with Ticket to Ride: Märklin, but it can be used with Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries.