Paris: La Cité de la Lumière

About this board game

Paris: La Cité de la Lumière is a two-player board game with a 30-minute play time, set in late 19th-century Paris during the 1889 Exposition Universelle. As public electricity captures attention, players help create the nocturnal streets that earn Paris its nickname, “La Cité de la Lumière” — The City of Light.

The game unfolds in two phases. In the first, players either place cobblestone tiles or grow their reserve of buildings. Each tile is divided into four randomly arranged spaces: one in each player’s color, a streetlight space, or a mixed-color space where either player can build.

In the second phase, players build on spaces in their own color or on mixed spaces. The aim is to position buildings as close as possible to as many streetlights as possible. Buildings that benefit from more streetlights receive more admiration and score more points.

• Players: 2
• Play time: 30 minutes
• Core focus: Tile placement, building reserves, and streetlight positioning
• Setting: Paris during the 1889 World’s Fair

Every placement contributes to the developing city and the contest for its brightest streets. In Paris: La Cité de la Lumière, the player with the best-lit buildings wins the hearts of Parisian pedestrians — and the game.