About Mayor of Evercent Springs, from BoardGameGeek:
In this 4-player game, the object of the game is to be appointed Mayor of Evercent Springs. This is done by becoming the first Candidate to unlock the door to Evercent Springs with your Silver Key. Each Candidate is provided with 7 Companions to assist and fight for them; players must use them to stop their opponents from reaching the door while at the same time protecting their own Candidate and Silver Keys.
At the start of the game, each Candidate has a Silver Key and one Companion from each town carries a Spare Key. If you lose both Keys, your hopes of becoming Mayor are over and you are out of the game.
During the game you will face many challenges, including opponents, pubs, holes, havens, bribes, and the Council.
The players start in their Hometowns; the door to Evercent Springs is located at the center of the board. On your turn, you move one piece. You can move your Candidate closer to the door; you can move away from an aggressive opponent's piece; you can go to the Pub; or, you can capture an opponent's piece and thereby eliminate it from the game. You can only capture an opponent's piece if it's within reach AND is lower ranked than your piece; the Council has ranked the Companions according to three categories, and the Council's Cards show which category is now being used to rank the Companions. The players can meet with the Councillors during the game and try to have them change the category; you get to turn over a new Council's Card and hope for the category you want. Or, you can bribe The Council, and get to choose category!
Bribing The Council is one of the Ways & Means in the game; if you have Gold Coins, you can purchase advantages. You can also purchase an Extra Step; a Hole Tile that will make a square on the board unusable; a Haven Tile to protect your Candidate; or even buy back eliminated Companions to the game. If you want to buy Ways & Means, that must be done prior to moving your piece.
With Gold Coins, you can also make Deals with your opponents…
To get your hands on more Gold Coins, you can get lucky with the Pub cards, or eliminate opponents' pieces. Or make good deals!
Should your Candidate be captured, and you still have the Spare Key, you're still in the game. The Companion carrying the Spare Key is sacrificed and removed from the board, and your Candidate is being put back on your Hometown's Street, but you can still reach the door to Evercent Springs and win the game.
If you lose your second key as well, then it's game over for you.
Only Candidates can unlock the door to Evercent Springs, and thereby win the game.
Strategy, tactics, luck and bribes are some of the tools to win this game; keeping your Candidate with their Silver key safe and at the same time be bold enough to first reach the door to be appointed Mayor of Evercent Springs.
-description from the publisher
