Let’s Go to France — A Brain-Burning Trip Worth Taking | Kickstarter Preview

Kickstarter Preview by Lincoln Hoppe: The Game Bard

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INTRO

You may have been to Japan. But have you been to France?

Let’s Go to France is the follow-up to AEG’s hit Let’s Go to Japan — a card-drafting puzzle where building the perfect week around Paris comes down to not only what activities you pick, but exactly where you put them.

If you’ve played Let’s Go to Japan, there are meaningful new mechanics waiting for you here. A regional travel board. A meeple moving across the French countryside. Four different map configurations. This isn’t just a reskin. There’s real new puzzle inside.

I’ve been playing the prototype. Here’s what I found.

WHAT IS LET’S GO TO FRANCE?

Let’s Go to France is a 1–4 player card-drafting game from AEG, designed by Josh Wood. You and your fellow travelers are each planning your own dream vacation to France. Each player builds a six-day itinerary — lundi through samedi (yes, it’s even got French names) — by drafting activity cards over 14 rounds and placing them strategically across your week.

At the end of the game, you actually go on your trip. Cards activate in order, Monday through Saturday. Your planning pays off. Your itinerary scores based on everything you built.

That arc — from planning to experiencing — is at the heart of what makes this game so satisfying.

HOW A ROUND WORKS

Each round, you draw a hand of activity cards and choose 1 or 2 depending on the round. You place those cards into the columns of your weekly itinerary — slotting them into the days of your trip. Then you pass the rest of your hand to the next player.

Every card you don’t want becomes someone else’s opportunity. That tension is baked into every single turn.

One card in each column becomes the highlight of the day — a special bonus that activates when you finally take your trip at the end of the game. And here’s the thing: where you place a card matters just as much as which card you pick.

FAVORABLE CONDITION TOKENS

Each day on your player board has a random favorable condition token tied to a specific activity type. When the card you place into that day matches the token, you slide it up and unlock a one-time bonus.

These tokens come in six flavors: art, history, architecture, nature, shopping — and everybody’s favorite — food.

(Okay. My favorite is food.)

Match your conditions strategically and those bonuses stack up in a big way over 14 rounds of planning.

THE PUZZLE IS THE THING

Here’s where it gets really interesting. That highlight of the day bonus only scores based on the icons and cards activated by that point in your trip. So a card that scores huge on Saturday might score absolutely nothing on Monday.

You’re not just picking good cards. You’re asking: where does this card go? When does it need to fire?

That’s the brain burner. And it’s genuinely satisfying every single round.

THE REGIONAL TRAVEL MAP

This is my new favorite mechanic. Some cards give you travel icons that let you move your meeple across a regional map of France. You collect bonuses and trigger gold tiles along the way. You’re actually moving across the countryside — which feels so perfectly thematic for this kind of game.

And player meeples can even share the same space. There’s something wonderful about that.

There are two double-sided map boards in the box — four different regions to explore. Combined with randomized gold tiles, no two trips are going to be the same.

If Japan’s train system felt like navigating a city, France’s regional board feels like an actual journey across a country.

ENERGY TRACKER

Every card you play costs time — just like in real life. Pack too much into a single day and your energy tanks, scoring you negative points. Don’t pack in enough and you’re leaving points on the table.

It’s a balancing act in the most puzzling and fun sense of the word. And it makes every placement decision just a little more meaningful.

WHAT MAKES THIS GAME SING

Simultaneous turns. Everyone plays and passes at the same time, which keeps the table moving fast. Our games have clocked in at 35 to 45 minutes and still felt quick. That pacing is rare and genuinely delightful.

The draft-and-pass system creates constant low-grade tension. You’re not just building your trip. You’re thinking about theirs. Every card you don’t want is a card you’re handing to someone else.

And the story arc is the thing I keep coming back to. Fourteen rounds of planning. And then — in the final round — you actually go on your trip. Cards activate in order. Everything you built comes to life.

That moment of flipping from planning into execution is genuinely satisfying in a way that few games pull off. You planned it. You built it. Now you live with your consequences.

SOLO MODE

The solo mode deserves its own mention. You play against an automated travel agent whose card placements go in strict chronological order. That visibility turns the solo game into its own unique puzzle.

What do I hand them to limit their points? What do I keep to maximize mine?

It’s a different challenge than multiplayer. And it’s as satisfying as a chocolate croissant in the morning.

WHO IS THIS FOR?

Let’s Go to France is for puzzle solvers who like their puzzles wrapped in a warm cup of theme. It’s for people who love the feeling of a plan coming together.

If you love card drafting, efficiency puzzles, and figuring out how to trigger the maximum amount of points — this game was built for you. If you love choices and mental gymnastics about where to place your cards to trigger the biggest combos — that’s exactly what this is all about.

Fans of Let’s Go to Japan will find a familiar structure with genuinely new mechanics to explore. And if you’ve never played a Let’s Go game before, this is a wonderful place to start.

WHO IS THIS NOT FOR?

If you want direct conflict or a game that rewards aggression, this isn’t it. Interaction happens every turn through card passing — but it’s subtle. You can make life harder for your opponents by feeding them unhelpful cards, but there’s no direct take-that.

And the scoring phase — bundled with executing the trip — involves some meaningful math. For me, that moment is part of the fun. But worth knowing going in.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Last game I played, my wife packed in every museum, every landmark, every experience she could find — racking up card points like a tourist on a mission. I kept my days lighter, breezier, more relaxed on the time tracker.

Two completely different approaches to the same vacation. And at the end of the trip, we were within two points of each other.

I won. Just so you know.

That’s part of what makes Let’s Go to France special. It doesn’t ask you to play the same game as everyone else at the table. It asks you to plan your trip. And then live with your consequences.

The puzzle is tight. The theme lands. The card art is warm and painterly — yes, painterly, I’m committing to that — and after one game I spent ten minutes just reading the flavor text and learning a little something about France.

The moment you flip from planning into going on your trip — activation, payoff, scoring — is real. You planned it. You score it. It’s satisfying in a way only a well-designed game can pull off.

The Kickstarter is live. Link is below. This is a prototype copy, so the final game may differ. But what I’ve played has me genuinely excited.

Let’s go to France.

Kickstarter Preview Video Link

by Lincoln Hoppe

Original Music by Lincoln Hoppe: The Game Bard

This was part of a paid collaboration. A prototype review copy was provided. Final game may differ from what is shown.

Kickstarter Page: Let’s Go to France

Publisher: AEG (Alderac Entertainment Group)

Designed by: Josh Wood

Artist: Erica Ward

Board Game Geek Page: Let’s Go to France

My Board Game Geek Page: Lincoln Hoppe