I got Paris: La Cité de la Lumière for Christmas a few years ago. We played it once, put it on the shelf, and apparently decided that was enough. Then I stumbled across a video featuring the game. Suddenly, I remembered that little box sitting on the shelf and thought, Wait. We own that.
So I dusted it off and brought it to our date night. Social media is constantly pushing the next shiny new release, but sometimes it does something even better. It reminds you about the games you already own that deserve another chance. Sometimes the best game on your shelf is the one you've forgotten about.
HOW IT PLAYS
Paris is a two player spatial puzzle played across a cobblestone street grid. At the beginning, each player chooses a color and takes the matching chimney tokens. From there, the game is split into two phases.
Phase One: Players take turns either placing cobblestone street tiles onto the board or claiming polyomino building tiles from the shared display.
Phase Two: Players place their claimed buildings onto spaces matching their color, trying to maximize their scoring potential while also triggering special postcard actions.
And this is where things get interesting. Buildings score based on their size and the number of adjacent street lamps. Connected groups of buildings can also earn bonus points, so placement is about much more than simply finding somewhere that fits.
The Parisian with the most points wins. Simple enough, right? Until your opponent starts taking up all the good real estate.
PROS
- Spatial puzzle
- Easy to teach
- Simple, but brainy
- Language independent
- The box is the board
- I like the art
- The postcard actions add variability and give you a reason to pay attention to the next and subsequent steps
CONSIDERATIONS
- Unsure about the replayability if playing it with the same +1
- Building placement can be unforgiving once you've committed to your street layout, finding the perfect place for your buildings isn't always easy
- Your opponent can ruin your plans fast. The tight placement rules mean prime real estate disappears quickly. A space that looks harmless when your opponent takes it can suddenly be the exact space you needed two turns later
THE VERDICT
Paris: La Cité de la Lumière looks like a romantic evening stroll through 19th century Paris, but underneath all that pretty artwork is a surprisingly cutthroat spatial puzzle. The first phase feels almost peaceful. You're just laying out streets, picking up buildings, and planning your little Parisian neighborhood. Then phase two starts.
Suddenly you're counting street lamps, measuring building spaces, protecting your clusters, and wondering why your opponent just happened to place street lamps directly along your next move. And then you realize she also blocked the perfect spot for your biggest building.
This was a game I had completely forgotten about, and I'm really glad Instagram reminded me to give it another chance. It is quick, easy to teach, somewhat portable, language independent, and has just enough bite to make two players immediately start questioning each other's intentions. Sometimes a game doesn't need a new expansion, a deluxe edition, or a Kickstarter campaign. It just needs to get off the shelf.
On 2025, we started rating all our 2-player games. We called that article: The Search for the Perfect Two-Player Game. Here's how Paris rates on our criteria:
RECS
If you like tile placement games, try Patchwork. It’s a classic that has satisfying moments. The biggest difference is that you are focused on your personal board, while Paris is all about the competition for a shared space.
Something similar, yet more abstract Nova Luna. It scratches a similar itch with its approachable rules and deceptively tricky decisions.
Want to work together? Try The Fox in the Forest Duet. Instead of tile placement, you are working together to win tricks and collects gems.
About the Author
Coty is a board game blogger, reviewer, and accidental LEGO art collector. When she’s not
testing rulebooks or trying to beat her wife at two-player games, she’s playing ice hockey. Follow her adventures on Instagram or read more at KaCo Plays.
