Overview
TransAmerica is played over several rounds. In each round, you are dealt five city cards (one in each region of an American map, denoted by color) and your goal is to connect your five cities. Each player has a starting token, which they take turns placing at any junction on the map. Then the round begins.
On your turn, you can lay two pieces of track along the grid lines (or only one piece if a double line is shown). Initially, you can build only from your token, but the tracks in this game are shared: once you connect to another's network, you can build at any point along the greater connection. If you're lucky, other players will do your work for you, laying track to get you closer to your own goals. Play continues clockwise until one player has connected all five of their cities. Once that happens, the other players count how far (in aggregate) they are from connecting theirs; they advance their 'scoring train' that many squares. The the board is cleared, city cards are shuffled and re-dealt, and the next round begins. The game ends once one player's train falls into the ocean . . . then the player farthest from that is the winner.
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| game in progress; image from here |
Review
This is a simplified version of Ticket to Ride. There isn't a lot of strategic choice here (though there is a little bit); you will do well if other players happen to be building towards the general direction of your destination cities. Then you can ride their coattails to efficiently complete your own connections. But if not, you're out of luck.
This isn't a bad game; it is good for a light social game night. But don't look here for deep strategy.
Rating: B
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