Ticket to Ride: San Francisco features the familiar gameplay from the Ticket to Ride game series — collect cards, claim routes, draw tickets — but on a map of 1960s San Francisco that allows you to complete a game in no more than 15 minutes.
Each player starts with a supply of 20 cable cars, two transportation cards in hand, and one or two destination tickets that show locations in San Francisco. On a turn, you either draw two transportation cards from the deck or the display of five face-up cards (or you take one face-up ferry, which counts as all six colors in the game); or you claim a route on the board by discarding cards that match the color of the route being claimed (with any set of cards allowing you to claim a gray route, although some require ferries); or you draw two destination tickets and keep at least one of them.
When you build a line that connects to a souvenir location, such as Lombard Street, the Embarcadero, or the Golden Gate Bridge, you take a souvenir token from that location.
Players take turns until someone has no more than two cable cars in their supply, then each player takes one final turn, including the player who triggered the end of the game. Players then sum their points, scoring points for (1) the routes that they've claimed during the game, (2) the destination tickets that they've completed (by connecting the two locations on a ticket by a continuous line of their cable cars), and (3) the souvenirs that they've collected, with a full set of seven souvenirs being worth 12 points. You lose points for any uncompleted destination tickets, then whoever has the high score wins!
How to play Ticket to Ride: San Francisco
- Developing a network of cable cars to help get people from a to b.
- San Francisco in the 1960s
- Ticket to Ride
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- network building — Developing a network of cable cars to help get people from a to b.
- Set Collection — There's a system of souvenir locations from Lombard street to Golden Gate bridge and the more of these souvenirs you collect the more points you get at the end of the game.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- The original creature comforts just delivered to kickstarter backers who seem to be very happy with the unique worker and dice placement where you assign workers first and then roll dice to see how those workers can activate and this new game is by the same designer roberta taylor
- I love jamborees yard sales tom bowlers and village fates series
- You'll choose and write a figure on a free exploration zone which sounds nice but this will force your opponents to draw another one on theirs as you score points encountering aliens upgrading your ship discovering treasures and exploring black holes while becoming the most famous space explorer in the galaxy
- Escape from New York the board game there is very little known about this game apart from the beginning revs of a hype machine warming up
- You become a hero and together with your group take on villains who are up to mischief in the kingdom with the look of the dice you can secure rewards or find valuable treasures
- this eevee edition does the exact same thing but again every card is eevee
- Stellarion is a deck management game where you have to use the resources in eight decks correctly to have what you need when you need it
- So if more asymmetrical battling is what you're after then this set is out now.
- when you have an opportunity to do a sexy Ian Malcolm as a mini you say yes then you figure out the details
References (from this video)
- Introduces souvenirs that add end-game scoring nuance
- Visually appealing and quick to play
- Souvenir tokens may feel less impactful in two-player games
- Some players may prefer the more direct route-focused scoring of other editions
- tourist/souvenir-driven scoring
- San Francisco, USA
- playful, with subtle end-game bonuses via souvenirs
- Ticket to Ride
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card Drafting — draft train cards to claim routes
- End Game Bonuses — end-game bonuses for souvenirs and routes
- End-game scoring — end-game bonuses for souvenirs and routes
- Network/Route Building — place trains to connect destinations
- Route Building — place trains to connect destinations
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Berlin came out on top.
- London has been my number one since we got it.
- Paris is probably my number five.
- Amsterdam would play better at bigger numbers.
- The outside track is why I picked Berlin at my number two.
- New York is my number three.
References (from this video)
- Quick playtime compared to other Ticket to Ride games.
- Familiar gameplay for those who know other Ticket to Ride versions.
- Set collection mechanic with souvenirs adds a new layer.
- Tourists racing around the city seeing sights and picking up souvenirs.
- San Francisco
- Ticket to Ride
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card Drafting — Taking transportation cards from a face-up display or a blind draw from the deck.
- Hand Management — Managing colored transportation cards to claim routes.
- Route Building — Claiming routes between locations by playing colored cards that match the route's length and color.
- Set Collection — Amassing souvenir tokens while connecting routes for end-game scoring.
- Set Collection (Destination Tickets) — Drawing and completing destination tickets by connecting specific city areas for end-game points.
- Set Collection (Souvenirs) — Collecting unique souvenir tokens found at the ends of claimed routes for end-game points.
- Variable player powers — Player colors (blue, white, pink, purple cable cars) are only used to identify players and have no other game effect.
- Wild cards — Ferry cards act as wild cards and can be used as any color.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Hey - don’t bogart that ferry card, man!
- If there’s a tie, all tied players share in the victory, which sounds like a perfectly hippie thing to do.
References (from this video)
- rapid, approachable variant of the familiar Ticket to Ride framework
- presents a compact, family-friendly experience with satisfying decisions
- compact footprint makes it suitable for smaller tables or quick plays
- not as deep as the larger base game or bigger map variants
- may be too light for dedicated strategy gamers seeking heavier engine-building
- rail infrastructure, city development, and short, iconic routes
- San Francisco in an early 20th-century urban rail context
- compact, map-driven, user-friendly
- Ticket to Ride
- Ticket to Ride: New York
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- route-building — connect cities with continuous lines of your color while balancing route cards and completed objectives
- Set Collection — collect color-coded train cards to claim route segments across the map
- short playtime / modular map — smaller footprint compared to classic Ticket to Ride, enabling quicker sessions and family appeal
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I'm already getting my wish of Terraforming Mars going into it.
- Stranger Things Upside Down is coming straight to retail in 2023.
- The global board game market size is growing and mainstream, and we're part of that wave.
- Happy Salmon is being given away as part of the festivities, which is a fun party game to kick off the holidays.
References (from this video)
- compact, portable
- solid Ticket to Ride flavor in a small box
- lacks some of the depth of larger TTRO titles
- rail routing across a city
- San Francisco transit network
- lightweight route-building
- Ticket to Ride: Europe
- Railways of the World
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Network/Route Building — collect cards and claim routes across a small map
- route-building — collect cards and claim routes across a small map
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- we are raiding our last 16 games yes from 2022
- we slept on that one too
- it's a gateway game
- I love the little wagons
- I love the Terracotta soldiers
References (from this video)
- city-themed train game set in San Francisco
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- we are having a giveaway yes yes from inside up games yes yes summit
- Summit is so thematic
- it's a gateway game
- we're going to meet people at the Cardboard Caucus
References (from this video)
- short, fast version of Ticket to Ride for quick table sessions
- the map is thematic and visually engaging for SF fans
- available as a good entry point for players new to Ticket to Ride
- not a radical departure from base Ticket to Ride
- people who dislike shorter/less expansive experiences may skip it
- trains and travel on a compact, fast map
- San Francisco map with recognizable landmarks and cable cars
- nostalgic, accessible
- Ticket to Ride (base game)
- Ticket to Ride: New York
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- fast play format — the variant is designed to be quick (box claims 10-15 minutes) and accessible
- route-building on a small map — players claim short routes with colored train cards to connect cities on a San Francisco map
- souveneir scoring mechanic — collect souvenir tokens by connecting to designated locations for end-game points
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's fast, it's light, and it's crunchy in a tiny package
- this is very clever in a simple design
- money is infinite money is infinite
- hirelings are a beautiful thing for two players
- the Keeper in Iron is very difficult
References (from this video)
- easy to learn; quick rounds
- great gateway game to introduce non-gamers
- replay value can be limited for seasoned players
- rail route building
- urban transit in a stylized San Francisco
- quick, gateway-friendly
- Ticket to Ride (series)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- route connection — players claim routes to connect cities
- set-up speed and accessibility — short play time and simple rules
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's Christmas time
- these five under thirty dollars
- it's a gateway game
- it's a co-op not co-op
- the Matrix baby yeah
- we love this show; it's going to be our biggest episode
References (from this video)
- compact, portable format
- gateway-friendly rules within the Ticket to Ride family
- simplified compared to larger Ticket to Ride releases
- city-building, route completion
- San Francisco urban transit network
- light strategy, family gateway
- Ticket to Ride: New York
- Ticket to Ride: London
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Network/Route Building — Players complete routes to connect key locations on a city map.
- route-building — Players complete routes to connect key locations on a city map.
- Set Collection — Collect colored cards to claim routes on the board.
- set-collection — Collect colored cards to claim routes on the board.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Our goal is to make this world a better place one board gamer at a time.
- We love you bye now.
- A down is a down.
- Ticket to Ride San Francisco is a compact, accessible entry to the series.
- We are going to talk about life and board games.