How Let’s Go! To Japan turned a cancelled COVID vacation into a hit board game

Cat Ladyand Santa Monicadesigner Josh Wood had booked tickets to Japan with a flight scheduled for April 2020, but he had to cancel those plans when the COVID-19 lockdown hit. He took all the notes he had made when planning an itinerary and turned them into the board game Let’s Go! To Japan, which was released in 2024.

“I always joke that everyone had their COVID project,” Wood told Polygon in a video call. “Some people made sourdough bread, and I just made this game. That was sort of my way to help me cope with what was going on around us.”

The escapist fun of a vacation-planning card game proved popular enough that Wood has developed a standalone sequel, Let’s Go! To France, which begins crowdfunding on Kickstarter May 19. This time, Wood actually went to France ahead of time to get inspiration.

Alderac Entertainment Group

“I ate a ton of croissants,” he said. “I went to every art museum. I was there for over a week, and I cover a lot of ground in a day. I usually walk about 12 miles a day whenever I'm on vacation. I go and see so many things because I'm not the kind of person to relax on a trip. I feel like I paid the money to go see the things.”

In Let’s Go! To Japan,players collect cards representing their plans for a trip to Tokyo and Kyoto, earning points for building sets based on types of activities like dining or shopping. Players also balance their budget and stress levels by minimizing the friction of traveling between cities and making sure cards representing strenuous or expensive activities will provide them with enough points to be worth their downsides. Most of the cards are acquired through drafting, but players can also opt to take a random card through an action that represents going for a walk.

“I always recommend people try to explore the city, walk a little bit without anything in mind and especially to try to walk from a certain destination to another destination instead of taking a taxi or a subway or something if it's feasible, because you might just run into something,” Wood said.

Let’s Go! To France uses the same general rules as Let’s Go! To Japan, but is mostly focused on Paris, with separate maps representing day trips to Normandy or Provence.

Alderac Entertainment Group

“Whenever you go to a major city or a country, there are a lot of things to do,” Wood said. “Now that I'm on the verge of releasing Let's Go! To France, I'm coming across things that I wish I would've put in."

Wood finally got to go to Japan in spring 2023, soon after the Kickstarter for Let’s Go! To Japan ended, which he said was a surreal experience after doing so much research. The trip he planned has, in turn, inspired some players to take their own trips.

“They bring the game and take photos of the card next to the actual site and people are like, ‘Wow, this is so accurate,’” Wood said. “I really like traveling, and I really love that I can somehow facilitate a better travel experience for people.”

The rulebook for Let’s Go! To France leans into this phenomenon with travel tips like helpful words and phrases, a map of Paris’ top parks and gardens, and information about French cheeses.

“I wanted to make the rulebook have a little bit of a travel guide quality to it,” Wood said. “I really believe in trying to immerse people as much as possible.”

Alderac Entertainment Group

The development process for Let’s Go! To Japan was too far along for Woodto add anything from his trip to the game’s initial run, but he’s developed a 50-card expansion focused on taking a trip to Osaka that will be available as part of the Let’s Go! To France Kickstarter campaign. The deluxe edition of Let’s Go! To Japan is getting a reprint alongside a Bon Voyage! deluxe edition of Let’s Go! To France that includes ramekins – the dishes used in the classic French dessert crème brûlée – to hold tokens. The Kickstarter also offers a travel journal-style book for tracking board game playthroughs.

Wood is already thinking of where he might want to help board game fans travel to next.

“After doing France, which is I think a very safe choice, I might want to make a less safe choice or do something very different, go to a place that isn't just a city,” he said. “There are a lot of options and possibilities, and I would like to explore them rather than just get into the mindset where I feel like I'm going to end up making carbon copies.”