Ticket to Mars

Ticket to Mars
Jeremiah Wittevrongel
Mashup of Icehouse with Ticket to Ride
:Players	Players:	2 - 5
:Time	Length:	Long
:Complexity	Complexity:	Medium Light
Trios per color:		5
Number of colors:		9
Pyramid trios:
Monochr. stashes:		9
Five-color sets:
- - - - - - Other equipment - - - - - -
The game Ticket to Ride (or Ticket to Ride: Europe)
Setup time:
Playing time:		30 Min - 60 Min
Strategy depth:		unknown
Random chance:		Medium
Game mechanics:		Connections, Contracts, Hand management, Network building
Theme:		Icehouse Mashup
BGG Link:
Status: Initial design (v1.0), Year released: 2005

Ticket to Mars is a mashup of Icehouse and Ticket to Ride. Essentially, it's a variant of Ticket to Ride that uses Icehouse pieces in place of the wagon and locomotive cards.

Status

Under development

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This game is currently under development, in the Initial Design stage. Feedback is strongly encouraged! Feel free to give comments on game design or structure on the talk page.

Setup

You will need 9 stashes of Icehouse pieces, each of a different color. Realistically, you will need every stash [of the traditional 10 colors] except for Cyan, though cyan can easily be substituted for Blue.

Place all of the Small pieces in an opaque bag of some sort. Set the mediums and larges aside for the time being.

Set up Ticket to Ride as per normal, except don't deal any wagon / locomotive cards to the players. After each player has discarded whatever Tickets they do not intend to keep, each player draws 4 pyramids from the bag instead of drawing 4 wagon / locomotive cards. Then, place 5 pyramids next to the bag (in place of the 5 face-up wagon cards).

Play

Play Ticket to Ride (or Ticket to Ride: Europe) per the normal rules with the following exceptions:

1. Wherever the rules reference wagon cards, substitute pyramids. Instead of drawing cards from the face-down deck, draw pyramids from the bag.
2. Colored pyramids act as wagon cards of the same color in Ticket to Ride. In other words, black pyramids act as black wagon cards, and so on.
3. Clear pyramids act as locomotives. In other words, they are wild.
4. Unlike the regular game, the pyramids owned by a particular player must be kept in full view. The only hidden information in Ticket to Mars is the tickets you are holding.
5. When the bag runs out of Small pieces, place all the Medium pieces in the bag. Likewise, when the mediums run out, place all the Large pieces in the bag.
6. When the larges run out, place all of the discarded smalls in the bag. Cycle through to mediums then larges as before. At no time should there be pieces of more than one size in the bag.

Now here's the interesting twist:

Small pyramids are worth 1 wagon card each, Mediums 2, and Larges 3. You still draw two pyramids per turn irrespective of their size, or one "face up" clear (locomotive) pyramid per turn.

Yes, that means that large clear pieces count for 3 locomotives (!). Suddenly, that large clear is looking awfully attractive if it's one of the 5 "face up" pieces you can draw, even if drawing it takes your entire turn.

Game End, Scoring, Winning

Same as for Ticket to Ride.

Credits and Copyright

Dreamed up in the demented mind of Jeremiah Wittevrongel.