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Do you have to have a destination card in Ticket to Ride?

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The goal of Ticket to Ride board game is to complete continuous pathways of routes connecting two cities, which are listed in each of Destination Tickets. 

Do you have to have a destination card in Ticket to Ride? Yes, the destination card is must-have card that helps determine what moves to make. 

A player must shuffle the destination ticket cards and deal three cards for each player in the game setup. Each player gets to choose which destination ticket cards to keep. 

Everyone is required to have at least two destination cards. However, the player can keep all three Destination Ticket cards provided at the beginning of the game.

When playing Ticket to Ride, players have to keep all three destination cards secret up to the end. A player can draw more destination tickets cards, but they will have to draw three new additional cards on top of that respective destination ticket deck. 

In this case, the player can keep at least one of the cards, but they may also decide to discard two or three cards. When the player picks one of the cards, the rest become the return cards that are placed at the bottom of the destination ticket deck. 

Every destination ticket card has names for two cities provided on a map, and the points value a player will earn when they connect the routes of the cities are also indicated on the cards. 

Suppose the player fails to connect the paths of the cities indicated in the cards. At the end of the game, other players must deduct the indicated amounts of points shown in that particular destination tickets cards from the player scoresheet. 

Despite the player keeping the destination ticket card secret, they can keep as many cards as possible. 

In order to play the Ticket to Ride game, utilizing the destination card is the key to success. In this article, we are answering frequently asked questions to analyze the usage of destination card and rules that make the gameplay much easier.

Do you have to draw Destination Cards in Ticket to Ride?

Yes, you have to draw destination cards in Ticket to Ride board game. In fact, it is the requirement and a player must draw at least two of the destination tickets cards when they start the game. 

The winner of the game depends on the number of points earned. The player with the highest points wins the game. 

These points are earned as a result of players connecting routes between two cities, which are only indicated on Destination Ticket cards. 

In Ticket to Ride, a player cannot start or continue the game without drawing a destination card. 

Players are required to hold at least two destination tickets cards during the game. So, there are no possibilities to play the Ticket to Ride game without a destination card. 

How many destination cards are in Ticket to Ride?

The general rule of Ticket to Ride is that each player may decide to keep as many destination cards. However, it is required that each player must have at least two destination cards. 

To start with, each player is dealt three destination cards that they can decide to keep. However, the player may keep two or all three cards. 

Any returned cards are kept at the bottom of the destination cards deck. 

The player cannot have zero destination tickets cards during the game because the points to score the game are earned from connecting cities using routes on the map of the Destination Ticket cards. 

The number of destination tickets cards a player has are kept secret until the end of the game. 

In addition, the player is allowed to draw more destination tickets cards provided the player is willing to draw additional three cards from the top of the respective destination tickets deck.

Can you discard destination cards in Tickets to Ride?

Yes, you can discard destination cards in Ticket to Ride. However, players are not allowed to eliminate all the cards since they must hold on to at least two Destination Ticket cards. 

Each player is provided with three destination ticket cards which they can decide to keep or discard them. Players are requires to only keep two destination cards to continue with the game. 

In such circumstances, the player can discard one destination card and keep the remaining two. Once the player has chosen to keep the destination ticket cards, the player cannot discard it no matter what. 

The only time a player can discard a destination ticket card is when the players are selecting the tickets at the beginning of the game. But in order to discard a card, they must keep at least two destination cards. 

When a player uses the draw three tickets card as their action for a turn, they can only discard a destination card they drew in their turn, not the one they decided to keep at the beginning of the game.

Ticket to ride destination cards rules

The destination cards in Ticket to ride play an important role and without them you cannot earn points to win. As simple as it sounds, taking turns to draw cards is not the only step to take. 

Here are rules regarding drawing and playing destination cards in Ticket to Ride:

  • At the beginning of every Ticket to Ride game, each player must draw three destination tickets cards.
  • A player must keep at least two destination cards during the game, which a player must not discard at any point. The cards are selected at the start of the game, though the player might decide to keep all three destination cards provided.
  • When a player decides which destination tickets cards to keep, the player cannot discard the selected cards in play.
  • When only one destination ticket card is left in the Deck, the player can discard it, but the player must keep the destination card until it is their turn.
  • Each player should keep the destination ticket cards and their completion mission secret. Do not share with other players during the game, and these secrets can only revealed at the end of the game.
  • The return cards are always placed at the bottom of the destination ticket deck, next to the board.
  • With a destination ticket card, any two cities are joined by routes indicated on a map and points earned as a result. The player’s objective is to connect the cities to earn the points as the way they are indicated on the ticket card.
Do you have to have a destination card in Ticket to Ride

Keeping Destination Card in Ticket to Ride: Conclusion

Ticket to Ride board game is all about drawing destination cards in order to connect two cities together on a map, and gain the highest points to win the game.

Therefore, each player must have at least two destination card in order to play this game and achieve points towards victory. 

Generally, players get three destination cards at the beginning of the game, and they are able to decide to keep or discard the tickets. Once the player selects the two destination card, they cannot discard these cards at any point in the game.

When the player fails to connect cities on the destination cards they chose, the points indicated on the card should be deducted from the total points earned by the player at the end of the game. 

There you have it! Destination ticket cards play important role in the Ticket to Ride board game. Understand the rules to use these cards wisely so that you can achieve the highest number of points to win the game. 

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