How to Play

Keyflower

2-6 players 90-120 min 7.7 Board Game Geek Rating

Keyflower spans four seasonal rounds where players use colored workers to bid on village tiles and activate abilities. Workers must match tile colors to bid or generate resources from any player's tiles. Spring through autumn bring new workers and random tile auctions, while winter features pre-selected scoring tiles. Victory goes to whoever accumulates the most points through optimal resource management.

Published 2012

Keyflower

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

1
Replace a boat tile
Choose any boat tile and replace it with the Keymelequin boat tile
2
Load the boat
Fill the Keymelequin boat according to its icons as you would any other boat
3
Place Sven in spring
In the spring season, the blue and yellow keyple called Sven will be on board
4
Place Paulo in summer
Flip the boat tile in summer and Paulo (green and red keyple) will be on board
5
Position the tile
Place the Key Celeste tile next to the highest numbered turn order tile
6
Set correct orientation
Ensure the side showing spring, summer, and autumn icons faces up
7
Place the ghost
Put the grey ghost keyple on top of the Key Celeste tile
8
Note tile flip timing
The Key Celeste tile is turned to the reverse side at the beginning of winter
9
--

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Use as ordinary keyple
Sven and Paulo can be used in the same way as any regular keyple
2
Count as either color
Sven counts as either a single blue or single yellow keyple; Paulo counts as green or red
3
Transform adjacent keyples
Yellow keyples with Sven can be treated as blue and vice versa; green keyples with Paulo can be treated as red and vice versa
4
Define "with" conditions
Keyples count as being with Sven/Paulo if they are part of the same bid, placed on the same tile, or allocated to the same tile/contract for scoring
5
Set tile color identity
When only Sven (and keyples with him) set the color, the tile can be either blue or yellow
6
Determine color later
Subsequent keyple placements by a player may determine which color the tile becomes
7
Cannot overbid wrong color
Players cannot overbid with keyples of a different color when tile identity is already set by another player's bid
8
Spend a turn to play
The player with the ghost can spend a turn to play it on its own to frighten away and replace another player's winning bid
9
Cannot bid against ghost
The ghost cannot be used to frighten away a bid by the player who is playing the ghost
10
Place to win tile
Place the ghost on the same side of the village tile as a winning bid and replace the worker(s) forming that bid
11
Take replaced workers
The player who played the ghost takes the replaced worker(s) and places them behind their screen
12
Ghost always wins
The ghost will always win the tile that it has been placed next to
13
No counter-bidding allowed
No workers can subsequently be played to counter bid the ghost
14
No placement on ghost tiles
No workers can subsequently be placed onto the tile which the ghost is winning
15
Existing workers remain
Any workers placed on the village tile before the ghost was played remain on that tile
16
Return ghost in summer/autumn
The ghost returns to the Key Celeste tile at the end of the season
17
Resolve Key Celeste last
The Key Celeste tile is the last to be resolved after village tiles and turn order tiles
18
Replace Keymelequin boat
At the end of summer, the player who wins the Keymelequin boat must choose a different boat tile not already in the game to replace it for autumn
19
Remove ghost in winter
If the ghost has been played during winter, it is removed from the game
20
--

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
Score mixed color groups
Keyples with Sven/Paulo can score together regardless of their original colors
2
Win the tile in winter
A player who wins the Key Celeste tile in winter places it in their village and gains three points
3
Bonus for ghost ownership
If that player also owns the ghost, they receive a further three points as indicated on the tile
4
Start player marker substitute
The start player marker may be used as a substitute for the ghost for scoring purposes
5
Count as boat tile
The Key Celeste counts as a boat tile for Sea Breeze scoring (maximum 32 points still applies)
6
Ghost cannot score as worker
The ghost is not a worker and cannot be used at the end of the game for scoring purposes requiring workers (apothecary or village hall)

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