I'm a gamer, always have been. Problem is for a large number of years that's really just consisted of the video variety. That's a huge mistake on my part, to not enjoy the video game's analog brethren... the board game. There’s actually a vibrant and intense board game world out there that’s been pushed to the sidelines by game players such as ourselves for too long. Recently I’ve been wading back into the board game waters and I've decided to bring the noteworthy stuff to my fellow gamers. Board games have come a long way, there’s a lot more than Monopoly knock-offs out there.

In this semi-regular column I’ll be doing my best to introduce some of the cooler games out there, both video game related and not. We’ll also be taking detours into comically terrible games from the past as well.

For my first game to discuss I figure I’d start with the game that brought me back to board games, Ticket To Ride. It took a weird path to get my attention too. First it was a celebrated board game (where I never heard of it), then became an Xbox Live Arcade game where it first came to my attention. After buying and loving it I bought the board game version. Ashes to ashes I suppose.

It’s referred to as a German-style board game, which I usually explain as a game that focuses less on conflict and more on competition. They also focus less on military type games (think Risk) and more on economic themes (supply and demand) and typically keep all the players in the game until it ends, eschewing the Monopoly style of play of people getting knocked out until one remains. The games are more accessible I think because they tend to avoid having to directly screw over a fellow player to get ahead (like in something like Monopoly).

In Ticket to Ride your job is to lay down railways to complete the routes printed on your drawn destination cards. You do this by collecting different colored train cards, and then trading those cards in for sections of track. So if there are 6 green spaces between San Francisco and Los Angeles, you can claim that section of track by turning in 6 green train cards. Destination cards vary in point values depending on distance needed to complete it (LA to Boston is worth more than Boston to NY) and are drawn from a separate deck. The game can suit 2-5 players and takes about 45 mins (but naturally that fluctuates).

Players can draw additional destination tickets over the course of the game, and play continues until someone plays just about all their available trains. Points are added up and a winner is declared (there are a few other ways to score points like having the longest train and so forth).

What I love about the game is that all players see the game to it’s conclusion, so you’re always in the running. There’s also a few ways to screw with your opponents, you could always block their path but there’s almost always a way around and you rarely want to waste your turn taking a chance. As I said earlier this fosters the idea of competition while taking out the need to be mean to fellow players to get ahead.

The game gets interesting when numerous people are trying to get to the same destinations. As possible railways get used up the players are forced to find some creative ways to reach their destinations (and sometimes all the ways get blocked). Since you can either draw cards of lay track on your turn it becomes a cat and mouse game of deciding when to place trains on the board.

The game has a wide appeal and will hook in both games and non-gamers. I've had the chance to play this game with a wide variety of people and they all picked it up quickly and had a great time. The rules are clear and easy to understand for the newbie, and after playing for a bit the strategy begins to reveal itself for the seasoned player. Seriously this game can be taught to just about anyone inside of 5 minutes. Easy to learn, difficult to master so the saying goes...

The components of the game are top notch, tons of the little plastic trains (and even a few extra in case you lose some) in 5 different colors for different players. The board is a fantastic rendition of the US. My only minor complaint is that the cards are a bit on the small side (compared to the standard poker card size). But I think they knew this because they released an expansion deck (called USA 1910) that introduces some new ways to play but also comes with standard size replacement cards for the regular game.

This is all around one of my favorite board games at the moment (and near the top of my XBLA list). There’s a fantastic amount of strategy and because your destination tickets are different every time you can’t really predict how each game will run its course. I’d definitely recommend you check out the actual game, or the free demo on XBLA or even play it on the Days On Wonder webisite if you don’t have friends that would be interested in playing.

If you have the chance the actual tangible board game is superior, there’s something comforting about holding the cards and components in your hands. The only downside is the management and running of the game, which is admittedly nice to have handled by a computer (the shuffling and dealing of cards for instance). But that convenience is outweighed by the pleasure of having the actual game, and sitting around a table with friends while you play.

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