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If you’re a fan of the Ticket to Ride (TTR) franchise, frequently play games with a group and have previously enjoyed legacy games (e.g. Pandemic Legacy or Charterstone), TTR Legends of the West is a game for you! Our gaming group were SO excited for this game to arrive (a Christmas present to each other) and four games in, it has not disappointed. It has all of the usual / familiar TTR gameplay but with the excitement which comes from transforming your board and revealing what is in the boxes at the end of each game.
If you’ve never played ticket to ride before, I would still strongly recommend it as a game, particularly if you have a group to play it with. Having played other legacy games just as a couple (e.g Charterstone), it is definitely more fun and you will get more out of it if you are playing with a larger group. The first game of the campaign is quite simple to play and therefore would be a really good introduction for anyone who has never played TTR before, but wants to dive in to enjoy a legacy game.
Components
The legacy box is big, but comes with all the components you need to play the game (no other expansions/standard games are needed, unlike usual TTR boards) which is a nice touch. There are new train pieces to choose from, and some exciting looking train cards too.
The game is for 2-5 players and you pick what company you will be for the rest of the (12) game campaign. In a change of tack to the standard TTR games, instead of earning points, you earn money - and the aim is to gain as much of it as possible each game, through tickets and laying routes on your company colour (which gains you a $2 bonus each time). There are also financial bonuses for using all of your trains - so keep an eye on what your opponents are up to, or you could lose out!
When you unpack the box (the sections you’re initially allowed to open), there’s a deck guide (very similar to Pandemic Legacy) which instructs you on when to turn over a card to reveal the next element of the story, often resulting in exciting packages to open. Pay close attention to this, as even at the end of the first campaign there is a box to open and more rules are unveiled. This is one of the (many) things I love about campaign games - the excitement of the story unfolding, and being able to discover what is in each of the packages each game. Without revealing any spoilers, I can confirm that each package we have opened has made us even more excited about playing the next round of the campaign, and each has slightly changed the game each time, which makes it even more enjoyable.
How To Play
It’s important to read through the rules, even if you’re really familiar with TTR as there are a couple of changes and additions to the usual rules. For example there are new ‘event’ cards (newspapers) which are dealt into the train card pile depending on how many players there are. They work very similarly to the Epidemic cards in Pandemic (however TTR Legacy events are usually more positive)! When you turn over a newspaper instead of a usual train card, you unveil an event. These offer a limited time ‘bonus’ or temporary change to the rules until the next newspaper is revealed. These add an element of chance and additional game play variety and as you play through the campaign, these become more important and influence your tactics and strategy for your next move once revealed.
Once you’ve pieced together the jigsaw pieces of the board (itself a fun activity) and chosen which company you want to represent for the game, you deal ticket cards, train cards, choose your routes and begin your wild west adventure!
For the first few games, you only have 20 trains to place. This means the games are relatively quick and each move you make needs to be thought about carefully. The focus is on getting the most money you can each round (to win the game). Completing your tickets, using all of your trains and building on your own colour routes becomes really important.
The first game is very simple, particularly if you have played TTR before, but I really enjoyed how it introduced you to the subtle differences in the game e.g. if you put down a route by certain cities (e.g. New York), you can then pick up a card, which is a useful bonus. As the board is only partially constructed, it can feel a bit like you’re all heading for the same place intially, but even with four of us playing, there was enough flexibility to claim the routes you wanted to without too much direct conflict. The simplicity of the initial game, and the excitement of opening the first box at the end of the game with really high quality components, drew us in even further and made us want to come back for more (perhaps also helped because I won that round)!
As the initial games can be quite fast-paced, you need to keep an eye on what your opponents are up to, or you may quickly find yourself missing out on bonuses and/or not achieving your tickets which will cost you money. However, we have found we have been able to play a couple of campaigns back to back, even when starting mid-late evening, without it feeling like it is too arduous.
Final Thoughts
The epic combination of the familiarity but subtle differences of TTR with the legacy/ Legends of the West campaign element makes it one of my favourite games (although nothing can beat Ark Nova). The story is brilliant and well thought through, the surprise reveals and development at the end of each game is fantastic, and they have really made sure that it is possible for the person who comes last at the end of each round to catch-up in the next game through a variety of different mechanisms.
Overall this is a fantastic game, which I can’t wait to keep playing, and if I don’t end up becoming the ‘Legends of the West’ at the end of the campaign, I will have enjoyed the journey getting there.
Editors note: This post was originally published on 22nd January 2023. Updated on March 13th 2024 to improve the information available
