
- BGG rank
- BGG #5,574
- BGG rating
- 7.2
Fief
- 3–6 players
- 120 min
- Complexity 3.7/5
- 2011

1987
Rules assistance for Guillotine
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Guillotine is a board game released in 1987 for 2–4 players, 90 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Philippe Hernandez and its main mechanics are Simulation, Team-Based Game, and Voting.
This is game about the French Revolution. Every player leads one of the 4 Groups of the "Konvent", the Parliament of this time. The game works in rounds. In every round the players send their 6 Group-Members to different places on the gameboard where they either earn recognition or can vote about what happens to other members. For example there is a "Revolution-Tribunal". The members there (max. 4) vote on other members who are accused. A negative vote can bring the accused Group-Member a visit to the guillotine! There are other places with different functions and every player can negotiate an agreement with others. But...no one has to do, what he promised during those negotiations. Treachery everywhere (at the right time of course!) is a main thing in this game. The winner is the player who holds the most living group-members after a maximum of 10 rounds.
Guillotine supports 2–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Guillotine is 90 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Guillotine for ages 10 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Guillotine belongs to these categories: Bluffing, Political, and Negotiation. Its main mechanics are Simulation, Team-Based Game, and Voting. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Guillotine are: Philippe Hernandez. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Guillotine as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.