1871: France has lost the war with Prussia, which ended the rule of Napoleon III. Upon this loss the Parisians took the boulevards and organized a revolutionary counsel, the Commune. To rule and control the city each arrondissement had its own elected counsel. "Government of the people by the people" as Marx diagnosed its administration. But this experiment was short lived, as in May 1871 the regular French army made an end to the Commune.

In Arrondissement each player has to place his influence in the arrondissements. At the end of each round, two arrondissements are valued. To gain points you must have a strong influence in the valued arrondissements. The winner is the player with the most points at the end of the game.

The game is played in nine rounds in which all arrondissements shall be valued. A round begins with a voting phase. By majority of votes the players decide which two arrondissements will be valued at the end of that round. (In the last round there is no voting phase, because the remaining four arrondissements will be valued.) After voting all players play an influence card, and they have the choice of playing an action card. The last phase in a round is the valuation of the arrondissements and the order of play for the next round.

Arrondissement is a game in which planning, waiting and knowing when and where to take control are the keys to victory.

Description written by W. Eric Martin and used with permission of BoardgameNews.com