How to play Towndom: pick a town, build your board, become mayor

What is Towndom, and how does the game work?

Towndom is a stock market game where the stocks are towns. France has about 35,000 communes (the smallest unit of local government, from Paris to the tiniest village), and each one gets a price that moves with real life: a transport strike, a heatwave, a match, a festival.

You start with €2,000 in play money. You buy shares in the towns you like, watch their prices react, and try to finish the week with a better percentage gain than the other players in your league. The currency is entirely fictional: there is nothing to stake, win or withdraw for real.

Think of it as a board game wearing a stock market costume. You are not picking companies, you are picking places, and the news that moves them is the kind you already recognize from your own town.

How do you buy your first town?

Open the Towns tab and search. You can type a town’s name, its department, its postal code, or its ticker, the short code each town gets, like PAR for Paris or LYON for Lyon. Tap a result to open the town page: price, chart, today’s change and the shares you hold.

Check the status shown on every town page before you buy. Playable means normal trading, Limited stake means a lower cap on what you can put in, and Watch only means you can follow the town but not trade it yet, because the available data is still too thin. The cap per town is €2,000 for a playable town and €1,000 for a limited-stake one.

Choose an amount and confirm. You always trade against the market, never against another player, so you never wait for a buyer. The price you see is guaranteed for 10 seconds, and a small fee applies on each trade.

What are floors, and how does the board work?

Every town you invest in becomes a piece on your board, and the piece grows with your investment, like a tower in a board game. Floor 1 starts at €100 invested, floor 2 at €300, floor 3 at €600 and floor 4 at €1,000. The board shows the real map of France, department by department: your pieces in gold, rivals’ pieces in violet. Tap a department to zoom in on its towns.

Floors depend on the amount you invested, not on the current market value, so a tower does not lose a floor just because a price dips for a day. Each floor also pays rent in play money:

• Floor 1 pays €1 a day, floor 2 pays €2, floor 3 pays €3, floor 4 pays €4.
• In a town where you are mayor, the rent is doubled.
• Up to 20 towns count toward your rent.
• Rent is collected when you open the app, with up to 3 days of backlog.

How do you become a town’s mayor?

Whoever holds the most shares of a town is its mayor. Each town page shows who wears the sash, who is closest behind, and how many shares you still need to take it. If two players tie, the one who has held the title longest keeps it.

Being mayor gets you a sash and your nickname on the town page, plus doubled rent. You can be dethroned, and you can win the town back. Three mayorships earn the “Local elect” title. The mayor guide goes into the details.

What is there to do every day?

Once your first towns are in place, a few short routines give the game its rhythm. None of them can be bought: all of it is earned by playing.

• Daily chest: a bonus in play money that grows over 7 days (€20, €30, €40, €60, €80, €120, then €200 plus 100 XP) and starts over if you skip a day. An optional ad can double it.
• Missions and badges: small daily goals that give XP and let you level up.
• Flair predictions: a yes-or-no question opens a few minutes after an event, such as “Will Lyon drop more than 1% in the next 30 minutes?” You answer, the server settles it with the real in-game price, and you earn XP. No play money is ever at stake.
• Weekly league: 30 players ranked by percentage gain, across six divisions from Bronze to Legend.
• Chill mode: your own France, never reset and without rankings, if you would rather play at your own pace.

What do you need to start playing?

An iPhone running iOS 18 or later. Towndom is iPhone only for now, and there is no Android version yet. It is free to play: no card is required, and the game asks for no email or password, only a nickname. Optional purchases are cosmetic or a comfort, and none gives an advantage.

The interface is in French for now. Town names and tickers are French anyway, and the screens are simple enough that this guide should get you through. Belgium and Germany are planned next, each with its own board.

Download Towndom on the App Store when you are ready, and start with a town you actually know. It makes the first price moves far easier to understand.

Frequently asked questions

Is Towndom free to play?

Yes. You can play, progress and climb the leagues without paying anything and without entering a card. In-app purchases exist, but they are cosmetic or a comfort such as the no-ads pass, never a gameplay advantage.

Can I lose real money in Towndom?

No. The currency is fictional from start to finish. You start with €2,000 in play money, and nothing can be staked, won or withdrawn for real.

Do I need to speak French to play?

The app is in French for now. There is no English interface yet. Town names and tickers are French anyway and the main screens are visual, but expect French labels until other languages are added.

Is there an Android version?

Not yet. Towndom is iPhone only for now, and it requires iOS 18 or later.