Ticket to Ride (TtR) is a great game for people who aren't really that experienced in the board gaming world.  Most of us Americans grew up with a bunch of famous named games (Monopoly, Risk, Life, etc) but often these games leave much to be desired because they are either: long, tedious, or too dependent on luck.  Lucky for us, over the last 15-20 years game manufacturers both here in the US and in Europe are pushing games to our market and the popularity and success is too much to ignore.  Days of Wonder has created a Euro-Style board game in TtR but have removed a lot of the more bulky rules that deter most people from wanting to play new board games.