It’s Mardi Gras season, and what better way to keep the good times rolling than with a dice game set in the heart of New Orleans? As the newest installment in the Loaded Roll & Write series from Matt Riddle, Adam Hill, and Ben Pinchback, French Quarter allows players to get the chance to explore much of what the Crescent City has to offer without ever leaving their game table. Players will take on the role of tourists, taking in the sights and experiencing as much as they can. Will you be partying down Bourbon Street, binging on beignets and fresh seafood on Decatur, or exploring the esoteric shops on St. Ann? While all are great, memorable options, only a well-planned path will lead to victory in this point salad of a game.

At the beginning of their night on the town, players receive a meeple, a progress tracking sheet to document their adventure, and a map of the city. The action cards are sorted by type and shuffled into their respective decks. Once placed in order, the first card of each deck is revealed. Depending on player count, a dice pool is generated, rolled, and placed on the cards as designated by matching the colors of the dice to those of the cards. If using the Mayor variant and/or the Tourism expansion, the setup changes only slightly due to the addition of more components. Like most trips, players begin their journey through the city starting at the hotel, which is where they will place their meeple. Once equipped with a pencil and the Fleur de Lis player marker, the first player is ready to make their move!

Unlike the theme may suggest, French Quarter from 25th Century Games does not actually focus on Mardi Gras. While there may not be extravagant parade floats, throws, or king cakes to concern yourself with, much like the Big Easy, this game has lots to offer its players outside of Mardi Gras. With just eight short “hours” (rounds), players will find themselves hopping on streetcars, grabbing a taxi, enjoying a carriage ride, or opting to take a walk while trying to see it all. With attractions varying from the mystical to tasty restaurants, shopping hotspots, and more, it’s up to the player as to how they want to spend their time while racking up points. After choosing their mode of transport (action card) by collecting the colored die, players will first fully resolve the icons on the card before moving to their next destination. They will also resolve any icons from their new location. If able, a player will mark this location with the number from their chosen die by writing it in the building’s box on the map. To be mappable, the number must be either one higher, one lower, or the same as all buildings around it. There’s a lot going on at the same time including street performers, a wedding parade (called a Second Line), and more that will all need to be considered when planning your path. After eight rounds, the game ends and players will begin to tally up their journey’s score. The player with the highest total wins.

If you’ve not been to New Orleans, or even if you have, French Quarter simulates the experience quite well! The game inspired us to plan another trip soon. Having been ourselves, we felt quite at home moving about the streets and visiting familiar (though alternatively named) buildings. French Quarter is one of the better roll and writes we have ever played and will be replacing most of the others in our collection. The theme is near and dear to us and the gameplay, while easy to understand, can be a bit crunchy to create combos and earn higher scores by endgame. It should be noted that the first print run of scoresheets has already been retouched for better clarity (you can find them here). We will be honest in saying that the original scoresheets were a major turnoff for a while. Upon opening our Kickstarter rewards, we took one look at the scoresheets and immediately knew we could not play this in a low-light environment such as our apartment. While we still feel the icons are a bit small, the new digital versions are easily resizable and printable for those with vision issues. All things considered, French Quarter embraces the captivating charms of New Orleans while featuring the city’s colorful streets, rich culture, and vibrant energy that make both the game and the places truly unforgettable. We highly recommend picking up a copy if you want a fun, quick, and friendly competition with your fellow tourists to bring to your next game session.

All photos used in this review were taken and edited by Krista.