Board game:Ticket to Ride

Game inventor Alan R. Moon created a hit board game with his 2004 creation Ticket to Ride. The game won the prestigious German Spiel des Jahres, or game of the year. This award guarantees immediate successful sales of a winning game. But Ticket to Ride needed no such award, or any of the multitude of national prizes it subsequently won. Elegantly simple rules help define a game that allows for long-term enjoyable play. In Moon's words, "The rules are simple enough to write on a train ticket. Each turn you either draw more cards, claim a route, or get additional Destination Tickets. The tension comes from being forced to balance greed, adding more cards to your hand, and fear of losing a critical route to a competitor."