Keyflower Game Summary

Keyflower is a game for two to six players played over four rounds, each representing a season: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Each player begins with a home tile and a random team of eight workers (blue, red, and yellow). Players use these workers to bid on tiles to add to their villages. Alternatively, workers can generate resources, skills, additional workers, and victory points from the player's own tiles, other players' tiles, and the new tiles being auctioned.

Each season, more workers arrive on the Keyflower and her sister boats, along with new tiles for auction. In spring, summer, and autumn, some of these workers possess skills related to iron, stone, and wood. In winter, players choose village tiles for auction, each offering victory points for specific combinations of resources, skills, and workers.

Keyflower presents players with diverse challenges, and each game varies due to the mix of available village tiles. Throughout the game, players must strategically utilize their resources, transport capabilities, upgrades, and workers. The player with the most victory points at the end of winter wins.

Start of Season

• Spring: The player with the lowest numbered home tile starts.
• Summer, Autumn, Winter: The start player is the player who won the highest numbered start player tile in the previous season.
• Turn boat tiles over to the current season's icon (except summer boat tiles).
• Summer & Autumn: Place new workers and skill tiles on the boat tiles.
• Summer & Autumn: Place the season's village tiles in the center.
• Winter: Each player secretly selects winter tiles, reveals them simultaneously, and places them face down in the center. These are then shuffled, revealed, and auctioned.

Player Turn

Players take turns placing one or more workers in a single location to:

1. Bid for a village tile or turn order tile.
2. Utilize a village tile (production, transport, upgrading).

Play proceeds clockwise until all players pass.

Bidding

• Village Tiles: Players bid with same-colored workers (or green workers) to win tiles. Bids must be higher than previous bids. Outbid workers can be moved but not returned behind the screen.
• Turn Order Tiles: Bidding works similarly. These tiles determine player order for selecting from the boats and the next season's start player.

Production

Players place workers on tiles (own village, other villages, or current season's tiles) to generate resources, skills, and workers. The first use of a tile requires one worker, the second two, and the third three (all same color). Resources generated in a player's village are placed on that tile. Resources from other villages or the current season's tiles go to the player's home tile. Skills and workers are placed behind the player's screen.

Transport and Upgrading

Players upgrade village tiles by flipping them. The cost is shown on the tile. Home tiles and transport tiles (farrier, stable, wainwright) allow resource transport and tile upgrading. Players place workers on transport tiles and move resources along roads to upgrade tiles. Resources and skills required for upgrades are provided by the player.

End of Season

1. Unsuccessful Bids: Players collect their outbid workers.
2. Unbid Tiles: Removed from the game; workers on them go back into the bag.
3. Collect Village Tiles: Players collect successfully bid-for tiles and workers.
4. Collect Home Village Workers: Workers on home village tiles are returned behind the player's screen.
5. Turn Order Tiles:
   • Spring, Summer, Autumn: Players take workers and skill tiles from boats in turn order. The player with the start player icon takes the marker.
   • Winter: Players take turn order tiles and choose boat tiles. These tiles are added to player villages.

Expanding Villages

Players simultaneously add acquired tiles to their villages, matching sides (roads, water). Resources can only be transported along roads.

Game End Scoring

Players score points for tiles in their village and gold counters. Only resources on the barn, blacksmith, stone yard, and timber yard at game end score. Other resources, skills, and workers can be allocated to other scoring tiles. Each item can only be scored once. The purple start player marker can be declared as any resource, skill, or worker. Gold counters are worth one point each if not allocated to other scoring tiles. The player with the most points wins.

Official English Rules

Link to 2nd Edition Rules on BoardGameGeek by the Designer:

• https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/93479/keyflower-second-edition-rules