Keyflower
2012
Immerse yourself in Keyflower, a strategic board game of bidding, resource management, and village building set across the four seasons in medieval Key land.
120
minutes
2 - 6
player(s)
12+
Medium Heavy
About the game
Keyflower is a game for two to six players played over four rounds. Each round represents a season: spring, summer, autumn, and finally winter. Each player starts the game with a "home" tile and an initial team of eight workers, each of which is colored red, yellow, or blue. Workers of matching colors are used by the players to bid for tiles to add to their villages. Matching workers may alternatively be used to generate resources, skills and additional workers, not only from the player’s own tiles, but also from the tiles in the other players’ villages and from the new tiles being auctioned. In spring, summer and autumn, more workers will arrive on board the Keyflower and her sister boats, with some of these workers possessing skills in the working of the key resources of iron, stone and wood. In each of these seasons, village tiles are set out at random for auction. In the winter no new workers arrive and the players select the village tiles for auction from those they received at the beginning of the game. Each winter village tile offers VPs for certain combinations of resources, skills and workers. The player whose village and workers generate the most VPs wins the game. Keyflower presents players with many different challenges and each game will be different due to the mix of village tiles that appear in that particular game. Throughout the game, players will need to be alert to the opportunities to best utilize their various resources, transport and upgrade capability, skills and workers. Keyflower, a joint design between Richard Breese and Sebastian Bleasdale, is the seventh game in the "Key" series from R&D Games set in the medieval "Key" land.
Setup and rules summary
Game components Unboxing the fun!
The game of Keyflower includes a variety of components, each of which plays a significant role in the gameplay. Here’s a breakdown of each piece:
1. Game Tiles
These are the primary components of the game. They represent various buildings and locations within the game.
- Home Tiles: These are the starting tiles for each player. They are the base of each player’s village.
- Winter Tiles: These are used in the final round of the game. They have special abilities that can significantly impact the outcome of the game.
- Spring, Summer, and Autumn Tiles: These are the main tiles that players bid on during each round. They provide resources, skills, and other benefits.
2. Keyples
These are the worker pieces in the game. They come in six different colors and are used for bidding on tiles, activating tile abilities, and working in the players’ villages.
3. Skill Tokens
These tokens represent the various skills that Keyples can acquire in the game. They are used to enhance the abilities of Keyples, making them more effective in certain tasks.
4. Resource Tokens
These represent the various resources that players can gather in the game. There are three types: gold, stone, and wood. They are used to build and upgrade tiles.
5. Player Screens
These are used to hide each player’s resources and bids from other players. They add an element of secrecy and strategy to the game.
6. Turn Order Tokens
These determine the order in which players take their turns. They can be bid on, just like tiles, allowing players to potentially take more actions in a round.
7. Boat Tokens
These represent the boats that bring new Keyples to the game each round. The number of Keyples each boat brings is determined by the number of players in the game.
8. Cloth Bags
These are used to randomly draw tiles and Keyples each round. They ensure that the game is different each time it’s played.
Each of these components interacts with the others in interesting and strategic ways, making Keyflower a dynamic and engaging game.
Game setup Lay it out, line it up, let’s go
Keyflower is a game for 2 to 6 players, with each player starting off as a group of settlers in the New World. The game is played over four seasons (rounds), starting with Spring and ending in Winter. The following steps will guide you on how to set up the game:
Step 1: Player Roles
Each player represents a group of settlers. Their objective is to build the most prosperous settlement by the end of Winter.
Step 2: Board Placement
There is no central game board in Keyflower. Instead, each player will have their own village (player board) in front of them. Place the player boards on the table with enough space around them for tiles to be added.
Step 3: Initial Resources
Each player starts the game with a set of colored ‘keyples’ (meeples in the shape of keys). The number of keyples depends on the number of players. For 2-3 players, each player starts with 8 keyples, for 4-5 players, each player starts with 7 keyples, and for 6 players, each player starts with 6 keyples.
Step 4: Random Elements
Separate the tiles by season: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Shuffle each season’s tiles separately. For each season (except Winter), draw a number of tiles equal to the number of players plus two. These tiles are placed face up in the middle of the table.
For the Winter season, give each player a number of tiles equal to the number of players. Each player selects one tile to keep and passes the rest to the player on their left. This process is repeated until all players have selected the required number of Winter tiles. These tiles are kept face down and not revealed until the Winter season.
Step 5: Game Start
Each player places one of their keyples on the ‘turn order’ track. The first player is determined randomly. The game is now ready to begin with the Spring season.
Game flow Round and round we go
Keyflower is a unique and engaging board game that blends worker placement, bidding, and tile placement mechanics in a game that spans four seasons, or rounds. Each player starts with a “home” tile and an initial team of workers. The goal is to build the most prosperous village by acquiring and arranging a variety of different tiles that represent buildings and structures, each of which provides various resources or abilities.
The game is divided into four rounds, each representing a season: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Each round is structured in the following way:
- Revealing Season Tiles: At the start of each round, a number of new Season tiles are revealed and placed in the middle of the table. These tiles represent buildings, boats, and resources that can be bid on and added to players’ villages.
- Worker Actions: Players take turns using their workers to either bid on the new Season tiles or activate the abilities of tiles already in their villages. Bidding is done secretly, with players placing their workers behind a screen to hide their bids until the end of the round.
- Resolution of Bids: At the end of the round, all bids are revealed. The player who bid the most workers on each Season tile wins that tile and adds it to their village. In case of a tie, the player who bid first wins the tile.
- End of Round: Players collect new workers from the incoming boat tiles, and prepare for the next round. The game ends after the winter round.
In addition to the main actions, there are several strategic elements to consider. For example, the color of workers used in bidding is significant. Only workers of the same color can outbid a current highest bid, forcing players to think carefully about the colors of workers they use. Additionally, the arrangement of tiles in a player’s village can provide bonuses or additional resources, adding another layer of strategy.
At the end of the game, points are scored based on the structures and resources in a player’s village. The player with the highest score wins the game.
End of the game All good games must come to an end
The game of ‘Keyflower’ is played over four rounds, representing the four seasons – Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. At the end of the Winter round, the game ends and players proceed to final scoring.
The primary objective of ‘Keyflower’ is to accumulate the most victory points by game’s end. These can be gained through various means such as winning auction bids, completing objectives, and other in-game actions. However, the player with the highest total victory points at the end of the game is declared the winner.
End of the Game:
The game ends after the fourth round (Winter). After this round, players may take no further actions and must proceed to final scoring.
Pre-Scoring Actions:
Before final scoring, players must ensure that all their workers have been accounted for. Any workers still left on a player’s home tile or in a player’s personal supply are returned to the general supply. Players also have the opportunity to convert any remaining resources into gold, which can be used to gain additional victory points.
Scoring:
The scoring in Keyflower is done in the following order:
- Ship Points: Each player adds up the points from their ship tiles. These tiles can provide points for a variety of things, such as having certain types of tiles in your village or having certain resources.
- Tile Points: Each player scores the points from their green, yellow, and blue keyple tiles. These tiles can provide points for having certain types of workers or resources.
- Gold Points: Each player scores one point for every five gold they have.
- Resource Points: Each player scores points for their resources. The points are specified on the player’s winter tiles.
- Skill Tiles: Each player scores points for their skill tiles. These tiles can provide points for having certain types of tiles in your village or having certain resources or workers.
The player with the highest total score wins. In the case of a tie, the player with the most gold wins. If there is still a tie, the player with the most leftover resources wins. If there is still a tie after this, the players share the victory.
Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?
In the board game Keyflower, players accumulate points in multiple ways throughout the four seasons of the game. At the end of the game, the player with the most points is declared the winner. Here is a detailed breakdown of the scoring system:
1. Building Tiles:
- Each building tile has a specific number of victory points that is awarded to the player if they own the building at the end of the game. The number of victory points is depicted on the building tile.
2. Skills Tiles:
- Skills tiles can be used to upgrade buildings, which can increase their victory points. Some skills tiles also have victory points depicted on them, which are awarded at the end of the game.
3. Resource Hexes:
- Resource hexes (wood, stone, iron, gold) can be used to build or upgrade buildings, but they also provide victory points at the end of the game. Each resource hex is worth one victory point, regardless of the type of resource.
4. Winter Tiles:
- Winter tiles specify certain conditions that, if met, award additional victory points at the end of the game. The conditions and the number of victory points vary from tile to tile.
5. Workers:
- Each unused worker in a player’s personal supply at the end of the game is worth one victory point.
6. Transport:
- Boats and wagons can be used to transport resources, but they also provide victory points at the end of the game. Each boat is worth two victory points, and each wagon is worth one victory point.
In the event of a tie, the game includes specific tie-breaking rules. The player with the most gold is the winner. If there is still a tie, then the player with the most total resources (wood, stone, iron) wins. If there is still a tie, the player with the most workers wins. If there is still a tie after applying all these tie-breaking rules, then the players share the victory.