As others have noted, this game is a perfect way to spend quality time with spouse and/or kids.  If nothing else, it can familiarize kids with geography, which is something kids do not seem to get enough of these days.  The game does not have the strategic depth of say Civilization or Chess, and for that some serious gamers turn their noses at this game a bit.  But that is not the niche this game serves.  This game is designed to draw groups of people together for the sake of having fun.  And for that purpose this game meets this goal and then some.  I can easily see our family playing this game once a week.  The rules are simple,  but don't be fooled:  just because this game does not have the strategic depth of some other games out there, there is still thinking and strategy involved.  There will be many opportunities in this game to foil your opponents and you are constantly asking yourself on a turn "Should I try to achieve MY goal, or should I block theirs?"  In my opinion, families who play Monopoly could repalce Monopoly with this game and would be glad they did.  This game sort of scratches the same itch that Monopoly attempts to scratch, only this game does it FAR better.  Monopoly does not have enough mechanics and variety to justify the time spent; Ticket to Ride does.