Ticket to Ride Destination Ticket Rules: Drawing, Keeping & Negative Points

Destination Ticket scoring: a worked example

Suppose your USA game ends with three tickets worth 12, 9 and 7 points. Your trains connect the cities on the 12-point and 7-point tickets, but the 9-point journey remains incomplete. Your ticket adjustment is +12 − 9 + 7 = +10 points. This is added to the points you already earned for claiming routes. An unfinished ticket is not simply worth zero: its printed value is deducted.

Check each ticket independently. If a section of your network connects the city pairs printed on two different tickets, both can score; you never have to choose which ticket uses those trains.

How many tickets must you keep at setup?

In the original USA base game, each player draws three Destination Tickets and keeps at least two. You may keep all three if you believe you can connect those journeys. After setup, drawing tickets is a whole turn: take up to three from the ticket deck and keep at least one. You cannot spend that same turn claiming a train route.

Example: your three initial tickets point toward three distant regions. Keeping the minimum two may be safer than committing to a third remote trip. Once retained, a ticket cannot be discarded on a future turn, even if another player blocks your preferred path.

Edition warning: Ticket to Ride Europe, Nordic Countries, Rails & Sails and other maps have their own setup rules and ticket decks. Do not copy the USA starting minimum to every edition.

Does a connection need to be the shortest route?

No. For the original USA game, a ticket is complete when your own claimed train routes create one continuous path between its two named cities. The network may zigzag or travel through other cities. The path does not need to follow the geographically shortest line.

Example: if you cannot claim a direct connection because a rival took a crucial route, you may still complete a ticket with a longer loop through other towns—as long as every link in that continuous path belongs to you. Another player’s trains do not count as your connection.

During final scoring, trace one unbroken path in your colour from the first ticket city to the second. You cannot count a gap merely because your networks lie close together on the board.

When is taking new tickets worth the risk?

Taking more tickets costs a full turn and obliges you to keep one, so the decision depends on how much of the map your network already covers. A broad, interconnected network can complete newly drawn tickets immediately or with one short route. A narrow network may leave you with an unwanted penalty when few turns remain.

1. Early game: new tickets may guide long-term building, but can divide your attention between incompatible destinations.
2. Midgame: consider a draw if many of your existing routes connect major cities or if several likely objectives overlap.
3. Late game: the draw may be valuable if you are already connected across the map; otherwise one mandatory keep can erase earlier gains.

These are strategic considerations, not additional rule exceptions. Route points, the longest continuous path bonus and the shared endgame trigger still matter.

Common Destination Ticket mistakes

Can I keep none of the three tickets I draw? Not in the normal USA ticket-draw action; keep at least one, even if none looks useful.

Do I reveal completed tickets immediately? No. Keep them hidden until final scoring, whether complete or incomplete.

Can I later throw away a ticket from setup? No. Retained tickets stay with you until scoring.

What if fewer than three tickets remain in the deck? Draw only those available, following the official rulebook.

Can two tickets reuse one route? Yes. Claimed route segments can satisfy multiple journeys.

Can I score a partly completed ticket? No. It scores the full printed value only when the city pair is connected; otherwise you subtract that full value.

Source: Days of Wonder USA base game rules and rulebook. All examples are illustrative and use fictitious ticket values.