Mayor
The story of Mayor
Mayor is a card game designed in 2017: the rules are by Hector Balusart, the design by Edgar Bak Studio, and the box carries the mention © Keystone Ltd. The game then became an app for iPhone, iPad and Android, true to the printed cards and rules.
Updated 25 October 2026
A trick-taking game turned election
The starting idea: keep the mechanics of tarot, which everyone in France knows, and turn them into a municipal campaign. Cards are ballots, the Town Hall names the candidate, and the box itself is the ballot box: the rule book has you slip the electoral reserve into it, face down. The printed game plays with 3 to 5 people, ages 6 to 66, in about 20 minutes.
A poster look
The design brief draws on the Polish poster school (Wasilewski, Hilscher, Świerzy, Drewiński): few colours, simple shapes, cards that read both ways up. Each numbered card shows a stage of a building going up, from 1 to 10; the 19 Buildings draw a whole city. The back of the box presents the game in six languages.
From the box to the app
The app keeps the 78 cards and both rule sets of the rule book, the basic and the advanced game. It plays offline against three computer opponents, or online with friends; a guided first game teaches the rules, and every game grows your town, from village to megalopolis. It comes in French, English, Spanish and Chinese.
Credits
- Game rules
- Hector Balusart
- Design
- Edgar Bak Studio
- Printed game
- © Keystone Ltd.
- App
- © 2026 Studio Edgar Bak