Caesars empire is a fantastic game that has fun route building as well. Has about three rules but much more thoughtful placements of your routes as you gain resources and points from where you place and everything you place has the potential to score more throughout the game as people extend the routes leading from Rome. Another excellent option!
It’s all about what appeals and what genres are attracting you. It isn’t what’s better but how you enjoy the mechanics of the gameplay with a sense of enjoyment and satisfaction.
Get on board New York and London is a new one to me i bought for a friend for his birthday. To me it really satisfied the route building aspect of ticket to ride with way more exciting decisions for where you place your route. You have one secret route your trying to do and then after that there are several different types of people you can pick up and drop off at locations that will score you points depending on how each person you pick up scores. You never get stuck either like in ticket to ride. If you have to use the same path as someone else you instead cause traffic which is negative points. Negative points are worth it sometimes to achieve the over all goal and get big points with dropping off passengers. An excellent game ☺️
I recently tried to teach some friends Hansa Tuetonica by framing it as "Ticket to Ride but without all the waiting around for the right color of cards to come up." 3 of them were pretty intimidated by the rules, but pushed through and really enjoyed it. One of them totally checked out after a few turns and wound up just playing Ticket to Ride on their phone. Can't win 'em all, I guess
The terms 'BETTER' here, i think, is about the mechanic aspect that makes the 'BETTER' game more gamey. The beauty of ticket to ride is the simplicity. I can ask any kind of person to join, even a new gamers, and still can enjoy it together, no matter how many kind of game I ever played before. Great list.
@@theperfectboardgame yes... I think your channel is a great reference for me as a father who wants to bring Board Game hobby into my family. Thanks for your great videos until now 😃
I would suggest these for those looking for just a bit more from a route builder: Spy Connection, Thurn and Taxis and Pioneers. Ticket to Ride is still a great game and I don't ever see it leaving my collection. Enjoying your content. Like the evolution of the meeple thing. Put it on a coffee mug and I'm in. Maybe have them available in the 4 common meeple colors. I have Royals on the table as we speak -learning it. I hear it's like Ticket to Ride meets Game of Thrones. We'll see.
Thank you so much. Whenever I feature games that I don’t personally own, I do my best to present them as accurately as possible. Often I use digital implementations… but Ethnos doesn’t have one. What you see in this video is an animation I worked very hard on. The fact that it made you think it was a D.I. is a major complement!
@@theperfectboardgame Wow, yeah it was incredibly well done. Now I'm sad that there isn't a digital version out there that I didn't know about. Haven't looked on TTS for it but assume it's there, but wouldn't have scripting.
If I play a game where other players can't interfere with me, I feel like I'm playing solitaire. Why turn a multiplayer game into parallel singleplayer games?
@@theperfectboardgame Makes sense. I still like to have interaction in a multiplayer game. Cooperative games are one option. What about team games? Are there many options for that? Spades is 2 vs. 2. Some secret word games like Codenames are team vs. team. Werewolf type games are a team against secret traitors. I don't know too many other types of games that are team vs. team.
Most of these games are aesthetically boring to look at which makes them a chore to play Gonna have to disagree with ur list here. Ticket to ride is excellent. Games don’t need to be overly complicated especially games on family night nor should they be absolutely boring to look at or too busy looking with too many rules and regulations. Ever open up a game with family and go to read/ explain the instructions on a semi to moderate complicated game for set up gameplay and rules …..I never goes well . I’m not knocking ur list beyond the fact that they are in no way a better substitute for Ticket to Ride for families.
To be honest, TTR was also one of the first games I played, too. It’s an inevitable gateway. But I’m so deep into the hobby at this point that it’s fun to compare lesser known games with ones everyone knows.
@@theperfectboardgame yes I agree. I really enjoy your different lens on the hobby as I feel there is a lot of "group think" Thanks again. Your content is fabulous
I've wanted to try Ethnos, and this video just pushed it higher up the wishlist (although I've heard there might be a reboot on the horizon). Trekking the National Parks & Trekking the World both feel a lot like Ticket to Ride as well.
I was typing a comment to mention Copenhagen as one that no one ever mentions then got to your first game! You've earned a new sub good sir, great content.
Ticket to Rider is "happy" family oriented game, so I am puzzled why you're recommending much "darker" game to a light family table. No, I do not think it's a good suggestion. Hmm...
I assume you are referring to Ethnos? This is a worthwhile consideration. Ethnos doesn't feel as dark as the music makes it sound, but TTR is, hands-down, a "happy" game, as you put it. The other four recommendations are also quite "happy".
There’s something about TTR that I haven’t noticed in other games to the same extent: the anxiety it causes! There are times I just can’t play, when I’m already feeling too edgy. But I can also enjoy the build-up of worry and then the relief (of either succeeding or giving up) when the routes are claimed and the outcomes are decided for each route card I hold. It’s also a game that teaches my kids to rethink their plans and come to term with “failures” that couldn’t be helped. A couple kids need to learn to move past these disappointments in life and games. I haven’t really found that same tension in other games, so perhaps you have some ideas. Certainly there are games with moments of racing to complete an achievement before a competitor, but the problems are usually overcome by a change of strategy; not quite as disappointing as knowing you will never complete the routes you worked on the whole game.
Wow. What a great point and question… I have to wrack my brain to think of an example and of course, I want to choose a game that is as simple as TTR. Cooperative games are the first to come to mind: in games like Pandemic you spend the whole game trying to save the world and sometimes you just can’t. For competitive games, Karuba is a good example. It is a race to move your explorers to the treasure but often the game will end before a player has finished their route. Everything in the 7 Wonders series is a good example as players are always desiring to build a wonder but might not before the game finishes.
@@theperfectboardgame Thanks for the suggestions! I've promised to buy no more games until autumn, so that will give me some time to research and consider these.
Great recommendation. I’m not sure if I made this video before or after I played Alhambra (despite it being “a classic”I only tried it recently) but it’s a great comparison.
Thanks! Honestly, just trying to use popular games to help people find other games they might like. There are a few reasons why Monopoly remains popular, too.
I disagree with the analogy. And a fair point about disparaging TTR. I saw the video saying hey here are some games that you could easily get into if you liked TTR.
WOAH! It looks exactly like Slovakia! Except it is surrounded by water on all sides. The designer is from Italy so presumably he would know he was designing a map in the shape of a nearby country, but I don’t know why…
We love Ticket to Ride but always good to have options, especially since game night group has grown in size. So, I’m often looking for a gateway game to introduce that supports more than 4 players. Carcassone base game works great to introduce people to the gaming hobby. You can start very simple by not playing fields in the first game or two. Of course there are many expansions that can be added. Recently got 7 Wonders Architects, since it’s a streamlined version of 7 Wonders and supports up to 7 players. I can’t really compare the mechanics to Ticket to Ride, other than you are building instead of claiming routes.
Though I haven’t played it, I am sure any 18xx game would be more thematic and a richer experience than TTR, but I tried to restrict this list to simpler games.
1830, 1889 and 18Chesepeake are rather simple and much better than some of the games listed here. A complex 18xx would be 1862 or 1844/54, but still simpler than a Lacera game. Pacific & Texas would have been a good one, and is even simpler than the easier 18xx games.
That number 4 game...we absolutely hated. We played it, found it so MEH, tried some house rules, still MEH. We wanted to love it because it's beautiful but it's like watching paint dry
I’m sorry to hear that! What I play depends on who I am playing with. Among my hobbyist friends, I would not recommend this game for exactly the same reason, but my family loves non-competitive games.
Caesars empire is a fantastic game that has fun route building as well. Has about three rules but much more thoughtful placements of your routes as you gain resources and points from where you place and everything you place has the potential to score more throughout the game as people extend the routes leading from Rome. Another excellent option!
It’s all about what appeals and what genres are attracting you. It isn’t what’s better but how you enjoy the mechanics of the gameplay with a sense of enjoyment and satisfaction.
Get on board New York and London is a new one to me i bought for a friend for his birthday.
To me it really satisfied the route building aspect of ticket to ride with way more exciting decisions for where you place your route. You have one secret route your trying to do and then after that there are several different types of people you can pick up and drop off at locations that will score you points depending on how each person you pick up scores. You never get stuck either like in ticket to ride. If you have to use the same path as someone else you instead cause traffic which is negative points. Negative points are worth it sometimes to achieve the over all goal and get big points with dropping off passengers. An excellent game ☺️
I recently tried to teach some friends Hansa Tuetonica by framing it as "Ticket to Ride but without all the waiting around for the right color of cards to come up." 3 of them were pretty intimidated by the rules, but pushed through and really enjoyed it. One of them totally checked out after a few turns and wound up just playing Ticket to Ride on their phone. Can't win 'em all, I guess
No, but what an effort!
If you played it at 4 or 5, you guaranteed someone would hate it with their terrible turn order screwing.
The terms 'BETTER' here, i think, is about the mechanic aspect that makes the 'BETTER' game more gamey.
The beauty of ticket to ride is the simplicity. I can ask any kind of person to join, even a new gamers, and still can enjoy it together, no matter how many kind of game I ever played before.
Great list.
I appreciate your level of specificity. Yes. The simplicity of TTR is what makes it attractive, isn’t it?
@@theperfectboardgame yes... I think your channel is a great reference for me as a father who wants to bring Board Game hobby into my family. Thanks for your great videos until now 😃
I feel monopoly is a banana lol
monopoly is a sugar cube
I would suggest these for those looking for just a bit more from a route builder: Spy Connection, Thurn and Taxis and Pioneers. Ticket to Ride is still a great game and I don't ever see it leaving my collection. Enjoying your content. Like the evolution of the meeple thing. Put it on a coffee mug and I'm in. Maybe have them available in the 4 common meeple colors. I have Royals on the table as we speak -learning it. I hear it's like Ticket to Ride meets Game of Thrones. We'll see.
Thurn and Taxis I like about as much or more than Pioneers but both are great games!
Its nice to know more about boardgames which I haven't played it yet. Please, make it more like this with another popular games out there. 😁👍
Thank you for the affirmation. I think I’m due for a “5 Games Better Than Pandemic” soon…
Haha the thumb nail pic 🕺
Also great video, thank you!
If you think that’s funny, you should have been there to watch me pose for it. Honestly, I feel like such a clown.
Great way to describe Ethnos! Where can you play a digital version of it, like shown in your video?
Thank you so much. Whenever I feature games that I don’t personally own, I do my best to present them as accurately as possible. Often I use digital implementations… but Ethnos doesn’t have one. What you see in this video is an animation I worked very hard on. The fact that it made you think it was a D.I. is a major complement!
@@theperfectboardgame Wow, yeah it was incredibly well done. Now I'm sad that there isn't a digital version out there that I didn't know about. Haven't looked on TTS for it but assume it's there, but wouldn't have scripting.
If I play a game where other players can't interfere with me, I feel like I'm playing solitaire. Why turn a multiplayer game into parallel singleplayer games?
Good question. Some people like aggressive or combative games. I find that regardless of the group, one person inevitably feels unfairly “picked on”.
@@theperfectboardgame Makes sense. I still like to have interaction in a multiplayer game. Cooperative games are one option. What about team games? Are there many options for that? Spades is 2 vs. 2. Some secret word games like Codenames are team vs. team. Werewolf type games are a team against secret traitors. I don't know too many other types of games that are team vs. team.
Most of these games are aesthetically boring to look at which makes them a chore to play
Gonna have to disagree with ur list here. Ticket to ride is excellent. Games don’t need to be overly complicated especially games on family night nor should they be absolutely boring to look at or too busy looking with too many rules and regulations.
Ever open up a game with family and go to read/ explain the instructions on a semi to moderate complicated game for set up gameplay and rules …..I never goes well .
I’m not knocking ur list beyond the fact that they are in no way a better substitute for Ticket to Ride for families.
Very interesting. TTR Europe was the one that hooked us into the hobby, but I really enjoyed your perspectives. Thank you 🙂
To be honest, TTR was also one of the first games I played, too. It’s an inevitable gateway. But I’m so deep into the hobby at this point that it’s fun to compare lesser known games with ones everyone knows.
@@theperfectboardgame yes I agree. I really enjoy your different lens on the hobby as I feel there is a lot of "group think" Thanks again. Your content is fabulous
I've wanted to try Ethnos, and this video just pushed it higher up the wishlist (although I've heard there might be a reboot on the horizon). Trekking the National Parks & Trekking the World both feel a lot like Ticket to Ride as well.
Yes. Trekking was on the list of I had made a top ten. It’s definitely in the same family of “set collection to act”-style mechanic.
Trekking the world was a fun game i enjoyed playing with my non gamer family.
I just heard Ethnos is going to be reimplemented in a new game, Archeos Society.
I was typing a comment to mention Copenhagen as one that no one ever mentions then got to your first game! You've earned a new sub good sir, great content.
Ha! Note that’s what I love to hear. Thank you!!
Do you create those animations of those games on your own?
Yes, I do! Thanks for noticing!
@@theperfectboardgame do you use commercial software or have you developed your own app to render the games?
@@paulhamrick3943 Neither. I have become adept at MacOS Keynote, which is included with a Mac.
Ticket to Rider is "happy" family oriented game, so I am puzzled why you're recommending much "darker" game to a light family table. No, I do not think it's a good suggestion. Hmm...
I assume you are referring to Ethnos? This is a worthwhile consideration. Ethnos doesn't feel as dark as the music makes it sound, but TTR is, hands-down, a "happy" game, as you put it. The other four recommendations are also quite "happy".
They have Archeos Society now which has more appealing artwork although it doesn’t have the central area control board really.
I didnt find butterflys that dark tbh. Maybe thats just me
It's from his Point of vieuw
There’s something about TTR that I haven’t noticed in other games to the same extent: the anxiety it causes! There are times I just can’t play, when I’m already feeling too edgy. But I can also enjoy the build-up of worry and then the relief (of either succeeding or giving up) when the routes are claimed and the outcomes are decided for each route card I hold. It’s also a game that teaches my kids to rethink their plans and come to term with “failures” that couldn’t be helped. A couple kids need to learn to move past these disappointments in life and games. I haven’t really found that same tension in other games, so perhaps you have some ideas. Certainly there are games with moments of racing to complete an achievement before a competitor, but the problems are usually overcome by a change of strategy; not quite as disappointing as knowing you will never complete the routes you worked on the whole game.
Wow. What a great point and question… I have to wrack my brain to think of an example and of course, I want to choose a game that is as simple as TTR. Cooperative games are the first to come to mind: in games like Pandemic you spend the whole game trying to save the world and sometimes you just can’t. For competitive games, Karuba is a good example. It is a race to move your explorers to the treasure but often the game will end before a player has finished their route. Everything in the 7 Wonders series is a good example as players are always desiring to build a wonder but might not before the game finishes.
@@theperfectboardgame Thanks for the suggestions! I've promised to buy no more games until autumn, so that will give me some time to research and consider these.
My preferred game alternative to TTR is Alhambra.
Great recommendation. I’m not sure if I made this video before or after I played Alhambra (despite it being “a classic”I only tried it recently) but it’s a great comparison.
Big swing trying to turn TTR in to the new Monopoly. Video was a miss for me. Good production values though 👍
Thanks! Honestly, just trying to use popular games to help people find other games they might like. There are a few reasons why Monopoly remains popular, too.
I disagree with the analogy. And a fair point about disparaging TTR. I saw the video saying hey here are some games that you could easily get into if you liked TTR.
just played Ttr after 10+ years…wow it must be one of the best games ever, its so fun to play and we were all at the edge of our seats
Have you tried Royals? It uses a ticket to ride type of mechanic
I did not know Ethnos, but why the map totally looks like the map of my country - Slovakia? :)
WOAH! It looks exactly like Slovakia! Except it is surrounded by water on all sides. The designer is from Italy so presumably he would know he was designing a map in the shape of a nearby country, but I don’t know why…
We love Ticket to Ride but always good to have options, especially since game night group has grown in size. So, I’m often looking for a gateway game to introduce that supports more than 4 players. Carcassone base game works great to introduce people to the gaming hobby. You can start very simple by not playing fields in the first game or two. Of course there are many expansions that can be added. Recently got 7 Wonders Architects, since it’s a streamlined version of 7 Wonders and supports up to 7 players. I can’t really compare the mechanics to Ticket to Ride, other than you are building instead of claiming routes.
Copenhagen really does feel like Ticket to Ride meets Tetris! There’s some promo expansions you can get that spice it up.
I'd recommend Cascadia as another alternative to ticket to ride.
That’s an excellent recommendation!
Thank you for the recomendations.
My pleasure!
Good vid. Great choices.
Ethnos is just shamelessly a map of Slovakia
Shamelessly.
I would have included an 18XX game in this list. I play 1830 and 1862 with my family all the time, and it’s leaps and bounds better than TTR.
Though I haven’t played it, I am sure any 18xx game would be more thematic and a richer experience than TTR, but I tried to restrict this list to simpler games.
1830, 1889 and 18Chesepeake are rather simple and much better than some of the games listed here. A complex 18xx would be 1862 or 1844/54, but still simpler than a Lacera game. Pacific & Texas would have been a good one, and is even simpler than the easier 18xx games.
That number 4 game...we absolutely hated. We played it, found it so MEH, tried some house rules, still MEH. We wanted to love it because it's beautiful but it's like watching paint dry
I’m sorry to hear that! What I play depends on who I am playing with. Among my hobbyist friends, I would not recommend this game for exactly the same reason, but my family loves non-competitive games.
Trekking the World is a great Ticket to Ride alternative.
It sure is. Very family-friendly game, too.
I’d recommend Dr. Reiner Knizia’s take on this type of game - Through the Desert.
Thurn and Taxis is also a good game like ttr
Ethnos is a great game. too bad it has a total crap theme.
Thank you but no.
Dude, on crack .
Things that are better than Ticket to Ride:
1. Doing taxes.
2. Homework.
3. Watching paint dry.
4. Sunburn.
5. Mondays.
😉