Ticket To Ride games are seen as the ultimate 'gateway game'. The aim in all of these board games is to claim railway routes across the country. The longer the route, the more points a player will receive. On a turn, a player will choose to draw a new card, claim a new route or receive additional Destination Tickets. The latter are cards which connect distant tickets, therefore providing you with more points. The player who builds the longest, continuous route will also claim more points.

In order to claim a route in Ticket To Ride, a player will need to play a set of cards equal to the number of spaces in that route. The routes are colour-coded, and you must use the train cards of the same colour. For example, a blue route must be claimed with a blue coloured train card. Once the route is claimed, you can place your trains on each section of the route. Some cities are connected by a double-route, but no one player can claim both routes to the same cities.