Days of Wonder plans to release a set of two new maps for its perennial best-seller Ticket to Ride at this years Spiel game convention, held in Essen Germany every October.  The fifth “Map Collection” for the game, Ticket to Ride:  United Kingdom will include maps of both the United Kingdom and the state of Pennsylvania.

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Ticket to Ride:  United Kingdom will include a double-sided game board.  One side will show a map of the United Kingdom, including Great Britain and Ireland, set in the 19th Century, at the dawn of the railroad revolution.  To play on this map, a completely new set of train cards are also included.  A unique feature of this scenario is the introduction of Technology cards that allow players to improve the quality and sophistication of their trains during the game, allowing faster runs and longer routes.  Players must use Locomotive cards to purchase the Technology cards, forcing them to decide between technological development or expanding their route network on the map.  This scenario supports 2 to 4 players.

The other side of the game board shows a map of Pennsylvania.  Playing this scenario uses a deck of Stock Shares, representing actual historical railroads that operated in the region shown on the map.  When a player completes a route on the map, they have the opportunity to “invest” in a company through the use of the Stock Shares, with control of each company awarding bonus points at the end of the game.  This scenario supports 2 to 5 players.

Ticket to Ride:  United Kingdom includes the game board, 116 new Train cards, 57 Ticket cards for the UK map, 50 Ticket cards for the Pennsylvania map, 47 Technology cards, and 60 Stock Shares cards.  As an expansion, a copy of either Ticket to Ride or Ticket to Ride:  Europe is required to use the Map Collection.  MSRP is $39.95.

The new expansion will premier at Spiel in Essen, with global release into distribution starting in November.

Ticket to Ride has been a huge success for Days of Wonder since its initial release in 2004.  It was ranked #2 in ICv2’s list of best-sellers for this spring (see “Top 10 Board Games--Spring 2015”).