Netflix has locked down exclusive global rights to adapt Ticket to Ride into film, TV, and other formats. The first project in development is a feature film, with Alan R. Moon, the game's designer, set to executive produce.
The deal, announced by Asmodee and Days of Wonder, covers scripted and unscripted projects. The feature film is being written by Ben Mekler and Chris Amick, with Darren Kyman producing for Asmodee alongside Eric and Kim Tannenbaum, and Jonathan Levine and Gillian Bohrer for Megamix.
Ticket to Ride has sold over 20 million copies worldwide since Moon designed it in 2004. The set-collection and route-claiming railway game won the Spiel des Jahres that same year and has since spawned dozens of map expansions covering everywhere from Nordic countries to India. Its elegant simplicity has made it one of the best-selling gateway games of all time.
Netflix has form with board game adaptations. The streaming giant already holds the rights to Catan, while their Exploding Kittens animated series launched in 2024. A Monopoly film is also in the works. How Ticket to Ride translates to screen is an open question. The game's premise is loosely inspired by Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days, with players competing to complete train routes across the map, so there is at least a seed of narrative in there.
The deal reflects how seriously Hollywood is now taking the board game hobby. Twenty million copies is a hard audience to ignore.
Sources: Deadline | Days of Wonder | Board Game Wire
