Ticket to Ride: The Dice Expansion provides a new way to play any* of the
Ticket to Ride board games.
* I actually don't suggest playing it with Nordic Countries and Switzerland, for reasons I'll get into later.
The Components
Ticket to Ride: The Dice Expansion comes in a small box that includes a dice cup, dice, and tokens.
Dice Cup: A plastic dice cup. It's got a red felt interior and a train printed on the outside, making it generally attractive. The cup is really something you want to use when rolling dice, because of the possibility for disaster if you don't, as illustrated in the nearby picture.
Dice: A set of eight wooden dice. Five are regular dice when show tracks, engines, and stations. They're simple but the station and locomotive are printed with shiny foil, which looks nice. The three remaining dice are for tunnels, and show shiny golden tunnels on two sides.
Tokens: A set of linen-textured cardstock tokens showing either one or two tracks.
Overall, the components are good quality and some extra effort has been taken to make them attractive; I give them a "4" out of "5" for Style.
The Gameplay
When using this Dice Expansion, there are no train cards. Instead, you claim all tracks with dice rolls.
Rolling the Dice: Each turn a player starts out by rolling the five normal dice, then rerolling as many of them as he wants. Afterward, he can use the results as he sees fit.
The Dice. Each die shows on its six faces: single track, single track, double track, double track, engine, station.
Using the Dice: After all the dice have been rolled, the player can then select one set to use--either the single tracks, the double tracks, or the stations. Engines can be used as wilds as if they were of any type. The player can then take an action based on how many of the die face he rolled.
Single Track. This allows the player to claim a single route (meaning there's only one route running between the cities) of a length limited by the number of dice he rolled.
Double Track. This allows the player to claim a double route (meaning that there's two or more routes running between the cities) of a length limited by the number of dice he rolled.
Station. This lets the player draw a number of destination tickets equal to the number of stations he rolled, of which he must keep at least one. Or, in Ticket to Ride: Europe it lets him build a first station for one die, a second station for two, or a third station for three.
Special Rules: There are a number of special rules for the variants of Ticket to Ride.
Resolving Ferries. Building on a ferry line requires an appropriate number of engines, as shown on the board, rather than single or double tracks for those spaces.
Resolving Tunnels. If the player tries to build on a tunnel, he must then roll the three black tunnel dice. Each die which shows a track (a 1 in 3 chance) effectively adds one to the length of the route, requiring an extra die to be spent to pay for it (or an extra token, as we'll see).
Resolving Passengers. When playing Ticket to Ride: Marklin, you use a turn (as normal) to move passengers, and can use any engines you rolled that turn to allow movement over opponents' rails.
Using Extra Dice: If the player had extra, unused dice, he may trade those in for tokens of any type, up to two total for the round, and up to a grand total of three. (A player also can't take any tokens if he had three at the start of the round.)
These tokens either show one or two track. They may be used when trying to build a track of the appropriate type, and count as extra dice.
For example, if a player was trying to build a length-6 single route, he might do so by rolling four single routes and/or engines, then turning in two single track tokens that he'd collected on previous turns.
Other than these changes, The Dice Expansion works the same as normal Ticket to Ride.
Relationships to Other Games
Ticket to Ride: The Dice Expansion is a supplement for the Ticket to Ride game. It can theoretically be used with any of the variants to date: Ticket to Ride, Ticket to Ride Europe, Ticket to Ride Marklin, Ticket to Ride Switzerland, and Ticket to Ride Nordic Countries.
In my playtest game I tried it with the original game using the USA 1910 expansion, and it went fine. I suspect gameplay will be similar for all the larger releases, but I have some reservations using it with Switzerland and Nordic Countries as I'll describe momentarily.
The Game Design
I should start out by saying that The Dice Expansion isn't quite my cup of tea. I enjoy the strategy of collecting cards in Ticket to Ride and the constant tension of whether you draw the cards you want (before someone else does) or take you routes you need (before someone else does). I think this makes the game exciting and enjoyable.
Ticket to Ride: The Dice Expansion changes this notably. It's not for the worse, it simply creates a different sort of gameplay. When you're playing the Dice Expansion, the game feels a lot lighter and less tense. There are far fewer hard decisions in the game: you can simply roll the dice, and take the routes you need most. I think the results will be very appealing to casual players and to those playing with children.
Within those constraints, the Dice Expansion works well. It's quick and enjoyable, and there still is a decent amount of tension, because players are more likely to grab any link at any time.
I did offer a caveat about the two smaller expansions: Switzerland and Nordic Countries. I don't think either is ideal for use with this expansion. Nordic Countries has the larger problem, because there's a 9-route length on that map that's literally impossible to claim using the dice. However, both games have a smaller issue. They depend more on you getting the exact right color (due to their limitations on engine use) and thus the board becomes perhaps too easy to use when played with the dice.
(And I'll comment that I haven't seen either of these limitations in play, though I actively avoided playing Nordic Countries due to the probable problems.)
However, these two smaller expansions are unlikely to undermine your overall usefulness for the expansion. If you want a lighter game, then the Dice Expansion is something you should pick up.
I've given it a "3" out of "5" for Substance: average.
Conclusion
Ticket to Ride: The Dice Expansion isn't for everyone, but if you're looking for lighter and more casual play, particularly for games with children, then it's a fun and clever supplement to Ticket to Ride.
Review Summary