The Boardgames Thread / Board games

Hey Yasi--Not sure I can give you very good advice--of the expansions, I've played Switzerland, Nordic Countries, Africa, Asia, and UK/Pennsylvania, so I don't know them all. I haven't played France, so can't help you there. Personally, while I don't mind some variant rules, I have to say of those I've played so far I prefer the ones that are reasonably close to the original rules. I think it's a commercial decision for them to vary the rules with every set they sell; I'd much prefer it if they just sold more maps for cheaper, but there you go. (You can draw--nothing stopping you from making your own maps. :) Oh, the good old days of Railway Rivals ...)

I'd base what to get firstly on how many players you can regularly get together. There are some expansions specifically for 2-3 players (Nordic Countries, Switzerland (although neither of those two are that much fun any more once you've figured out their fatal design flaw, which I won't give away--it's not hard to find, though :) ), and one of the Asia maps). The UK is also good for 2-3 (but it has complicated additional rules).

I haven't played India, but you could get India and Switzerland. That looks like an OK set. I'd get it if I didn't already have Switzerland. Switzerland is a good map until you see the problem, worth trying in any case.

On another note, the prices are really quite silly--I saw the World set recently but it was €80. I find €30 for the map sets much too steep, too--but TtR was expensive right from the beginning, so no surprises there. Maybe all games cost this much nowadays--a reflection of demand and the crowded market, I suppose.