Mardi Gras Games To Play On…Mardi Gras!
Today is Mardi Gras, a day that has a lot of memories for me. Growing up, my dad was a fan of getting out of town for Mardi Gras, so my early memories are camping near a lake and riding bikes until it was time to roast marshmallows around the fire. As I got older, and became more interested in my Cajun and French heritages, I experienced both the country Courir de Mardi Gras of my hometown as well as the raucous, exuberant parades of my wife’s hometown of New Orleans.
If you are sitting at home, and are unable to experience the Triton or Endymion or Zulu parades for yourself, why not try a Mardi Gras-themed board game? Mardi Gras seems like such a natural fit for a board game, doesn’t it? We are lucky enough as cardboard connoisseurs to have at our fingertips a few games that do play well with this theme.
First, I have to mention Geaux Parade, a parade themed card game designed by Michael “Hitch” Combe, who showed off the game in our GeauxPub section at Southern Board Game Fest in 2025. (GeauxPub is our home-brewed version of an UnPub or ProtoSpiel event, where designers and publishers can get feedback from gamers during the festival). I have not played Geaux Parade yet, but I’m hoping to get in a play at SoBo 2026.
The idea of the card game is that up to four players compete to build a Mardi Gras parade and score the most points. It’s a pretty straightforward connection to the theme, but I love the artwork that Gentilly Games commissioned from artist, Alan Gomes, especially the nod to Jesuit High’s Bluejay marching band and the colorful floats and dancers pictured on the cards.
You can see the contents for yourself from Acadiana’s own DicePunk Guru, who published an Unboxing video (with a review coming soon) here:
Next, let’s dish on a game that I have actually played, Mardi Gras Madness. This card game is designed by Mark Burlet, Arthur Franz IV, and Ben Jennings, and is published by Uplink Underground, a New Orleans area publisher who also put out the underrated Breakaway Football.
This time, instead of putting together floats, the real goal is akin to what any visitor to New Orleans or Lafayette has during the weekend of Mardi Gras — throw me somethin’, Mistah! Grabbing the best beads and toys (I.e. the best sets of throws) nets you the most points. As I recall, there’s a lot of player interaction, as players play cards to jostle their way to the front of the sidewalk or manipulate the order of floats, which feels pretty thematically true.
Mardi Gras is all about the experience, the colors, and especially, the music. So, I am going to bring up Big Easy Busking, a 2020 game from our friends at Weird Giraffe Games designed by Joshua Mills. It’s not exactly a Mardi Gras themed game, but tell that to the artist, who imbued the game with such lively spirit and color that it feels like you are chasing after the best Jazz musicians during the Mardi Gras season. I think it belongs in this list just based on artwork alone.
By the way, Big Easy Busking is very thinky, very punchy, and gives a full board game experience in roughly an hour, so it’s definitely one of those classic “One Hour Wonders” that we like to champion. Just don’t play the game with anyone with a serious case of AP, because you will be tortured. Head over to Bud’s Broiler or T’Boy’s and get you some food instead.
Although I found a few other card games with Mardi Gras themes in the BGG database, I do not have any knowledge or connection to them. But there is one that I would like to spotlight. It’s a game that I have yet to play, called Carnival of Sins, which made our top twenty games we had the envie to play from Essen Spiel 2025.
The art from Vicente Cifuentes is so striking that it caught my eye immediately. I do not know anyone — yet — with a copy, but as soon as I can play it, I will try to review it. It’s based on the carnival season in New Orleans, plus it’s got “dice and deception”, and that has me completely intrigued.
Did I miss any of your favorite Mardi Gras themed games? Have you had a memorable experience in Louisiana during the season? If not, no worries — wherever you are, whatever you are doing today, just laissez les bon temps rouler!
— BJ from Board Game Gumbo