It is a time of elegance, wit, and exacting decorum, and you, a handsome young lady of respectable family and pleasing address, have just completed the perusal of a most delightfully engaging novel. You begin to consider, were you a heroine upon such pages, whether your character would be marked by wit and charm, vigour and capability, honour and wealth. Amidst the genteel diversions and drawing-room delights so prettily described, your heart begins to fix not on the trifles, but on the heroine’s romance, and you find yourself, perhaps unwisely, wishing for a story not unlike her own.

Endearment is a strategy board game where you take on the role of one of Jane Austen's beloved heroines as you traverse Regency England, improve your traits, and engage in social rivalries in pursuit of a timeless romance. The game is played over a series of Chapters.

At the start of each Chapter, Settings and Characters are added to the game board, and a Plot card is drawn. Then players take turns visiting Town to gain Persuasion from the Tea House, buy Dresses from the Modiste, and invite or search for Characters in the Character deck and discard. Once all players have performed their Town actions, players take turns visiting Settings and interacting with Characters in a series of rounds until all Settings have been visited and the Chapter ends.

As with any Jane Austen novel, the game ends with a wedding (or sometimes more than one wedding)! Once one or more players are married, the current Chapter is completed, the game ends, and bonus points are scored. The player with the most Endearment wins!

—description from the rulebook