From the game box "The of the game in Spycatcher is to get YOUR book published! To do this you must have 'permission' from the 'government', the 'courts' serialization with the newspaper and finally the publishers willingness to print. To achieve this, you must travel around the board visiting the appropriate circles and collecting one of each of the permission cards found within. The first player to do this and return to the center of the board is the winner."