
- BGG rank
- BGG #2,237
- BGG rating
- 7.0
Ticket to Ride: First Journey (Europe)
- 2–4 players
- 15–30 min
- Complexity 1.5/5
- 2017

2022
Rules assistance for Ticket to Ride: Ghost Train
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 2 players

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Ticket to Ride: Ghost Train is a board game released in 2022 for 2–4 players, 15–30 minutes per game, and ages 6 and up. It was designed by Alan R. Moon and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Set Collection, and Network and Route Building.
Ticket to Ride: Ghost Train takes the gameplay of the Ticket to Ride series and scales it down for a younger audience. In general, players collect parade float cards, claim routes on the map, and try to connect locations such as the Mad Scientist's Lab, the Gingerbread House, and the Lonely Barn that are shown on their tickets. In more detail, the game board shows a map of a city with certain locations being connected by colored paths. Each player starts with four colored parade float cards in hand and two tickets; each ticket shows two locations, and you're trying to connect those two locations with a contiguous path of your trains in order to complete the ticket. On a turn, you either draw two parade float cards from the deck or discard parade float cards to claim a route between two locations by placing your ghost trains on it; for this latter option, you must discard cards matching the color and number of spaces on that route (e.g., two yellow cards for a yellow route that's two spaces long). If you connect the two locations shown on a ticket with a path of your trains, reveal the ticket, place it face up in front of you, then draw a new ticket. (If you can't connect locations on either ticket because the paths are blocked, you can take your entire turn to discard those tickets and draw two new ones.) If you create a route all the way from the Dark Forest region to the Seashore region, you collect the "trick or treat" bonus.
Ticket to Ride: Ghost Train supports 2–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Ticket to Ride: Ghost Train is 15–30 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Ticket to Ride: Ghost Train for ages 6 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Ticket to Ride: Ghost Train has a complexity rating of 1.6 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Ticket to Ride: Ghost Train belongs to these categories: Children's Game and Trains. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Set Collection, and Network and Route Building. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Ticket to Ride: Ghost Train are: Alan R. Moon. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Ticket to Ride: Ghost Train as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.