Presentation of the game

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Welcome to our journey through time and space in Île-de-France!

Here, you'll follow the adventures of two creditors in pursuit of Honoré de Balzac. Balzac is a 19th-century French author known for his realistic novels (among the most famous: Le Père Goriot, Illusions perdues, adapted for the screen in 2021). He is notably the author of the Comédie Humaine cycle, in which every hero of his novels is part of a single family, the Rougon-Macquart. This enabled him to study the question of heredity and determinism in a family tree spanning several generations. If you'd like to find out more about Balzac, take a look at the portrait of him we've written on our Instagram page!

Despite his fame today, it's important to remember that in his day, Balzac was fond of borrowing money... and not giving it back! He moved house a lot, and was always on the run from his creditors. Based on this anecdote, we imagined a chase for the Parisian author through the region. Our two creditors, Paul and Sarah, are contemporaries of Balzac's time.

Each location is accompanied by an anecdote, a question and links to the region's most striking points of interest. Don't hesitate to explore the resources we've put at your disposal, which allow you to get off the beaten track and discover Île-de-France beyond the capital's borders.

As we're both from the Paris region, we wanted to showcase the region's rich diversity, history, culture, mobility and heritage. We hope you enjoy this little epic! Don't hesitate to send us your feedback, criticisms and suggestions on the site's Facebook page. There, you'll find additional information about the site and anecdotes we weren't able to include in our story. 

Have a good adventure, and may you catch the runaway! 

Paul & Sarah :)

Credits: Actualix , Alpes Controles & The Paris review

Drawing credits: Robin Marques