It is the mid-19th century. The city of Barcelona is the most densely populated city in all of Europe. Shortly after the old city walls were finally demolished, Ildefons Cerdà, now considered the inventor of urban planning, presented the plan for the creation of the "Eixample", the expansion that Barcelona so desperately needed. Its construction started in 1860.
In Barcelona you take on the role of builders in 19th century Barcelona working on the city's new expansion. Your main goal is to construct buildings to accommodate the citizens who want to leave the old city, and in the process you will also build streets, create tram lines and build public facilities. You may even decide to explore "Modernism", a new architectural and artistic style that has become popular among the wealthy.
Barcelona is played over a variable number of rounds, broken up by three scoring phases before a final scoring phase. Each round, each player takes a turn consisting of two or more actions, a building phase, and then preparation for their next turn. At the end of the game, the player with the most points wins.