# Keyflower: The Farmers ## General Info - **Year Published**: 2013 - **BGG Rating**: 7.8 - **BGG Rank**: — - **Players**: 2-6 (Best with: 4) - **Duration**: 90-120 min - **Weight**: 3.30 / 5 - **Designers**: Richard Breese, Sebastian Bleasdale - **Artists**: Gemma Tegelaers, J Breese, Juliet Breese - **Publishers**: R&D Games, Czacha Games, Dice Realm, Ediciones MasQueOca, Game Harbor, Game Salute, Hutter Trade GmbH + Co KG, Quined Games - **Categories**: City Building, Economic, Expansion for Base-game, Farming, Renaissance - **Mechanics**: Auction / Bidding, Modular Board, Network and Route Building, Pick-up and Deliver, Set Collection, Worker Placement ## Verdict The perfect seasoning for Keyflower fans looking for deeper strategic layers.Adds real strategic depthSmart board interactionHighly flexible usageImmersive farming themeRequires the base gameSlightly increases complexityHIGHLY RECOMMENDED ## Description If you're already a Keyflower fan and feel your village needs a bit more life (and maybe some animals running around), Keyflower: The Farmers is the upgrade you've been waiting for. This expansion dives deep into the agricultural side of the economy, adding a delicious layer of complexity to resource management. Instead of just focusing on buildings and boats, you'll now deal with wheat production and animal husbandry, including cows, pigs, and sheep. The brilliant twist here is how the animals interact with the board. They don't just sit in a storage area; they occupy the fields created by the layout of the roads you build. This adds a strategic positioning dimension that the base game lacked, forcing you to think about your land layout not just for aesthetics, but for profit. Scoring also gains new avenues: harvesting wheat, breeding animals, and even the specific layout of your fields can yield massive points. For those who love customization, the expansion is incredibly flexible. You can use all the new tiles from The Farmers and fill the rest with random tiles from the base game, or simply mix both sets entirely for a completely refreshed experience. It's the kind of content that doesn't just 'add stuff,' but truly expands the strategic possibilities, making every Keyflower session richer and more unpredictable. Get your fences ready, because harvest season is about to get intense! ## How to Play Objective of the Game In Keyflower – The Farmers, players develop the agricultural side of their economy. You are working to expand your unique village over four seasons by bidding for village tiles (specialized buildings and boats), skills, resources, and workers (known as keyples). To win, you must successfully acquire and breed farm animals (cows, pigs, and sheep), harvest wheat, and optimize the layout of your fields to maximize your score. Preparation (Setup) To set up the game, follow the standard Keyflower rules with these specific modifications: Turn Order Tiles: Replace the number 1, 2, and 3 turn order tiles from the base game with the corresponding Keyflower – The Farmers tiles. If playing with 5 or 6 players, continue using the number 4 turn order tile from the base game. Village Tiles: Add the new Keyflower – The Farmers tiles to the existing Keyflower seasonal tiles. Winter Tiles: Mix the six new winter village tiles with the Keyflower winter tiles. The number of winter tiles received per player increases: 4 tiles for 2-4 players, and 3 tiles for 5-6 players. Components: Place the cow, pig, and sheep pieces, and the wheat tiles in separate piles near the playing surface. Farmer's Variant (Recommended for first games): In spring, summer, and autumn, use all four new Keyflower – The Farmers tiles plus enough Keyflower tiles to meet the seasonal requirement. For winter, use the six new winter village tiles plus the required number of Keyflower tiles. Game Flow The game progresses through four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Each season follows a specific structure: Seasonal Rounds During spring, summer, and autumn, players engage in bidding for village tiles, skills, resources, and workers. After items are taken from the boats, a breeding phase occurs. The Breeding Phase At the end of spring, summer, and autumn, breeding occurs. If two or more animals of the same type are in a field, they create one additional animal of that type. Note that breeding does not occur during winter because it is too cold. End of Season Procedure The recommended order to conclude a season is: Retrieve workers that were part of losing bids. Players collect their won village tiles one by one in clockwise order. Resolve turn order tiles and boat tiles. Perform breeding (except in winter). Actions and How to Play Players use workers to interact with village tiles to gain resources, skills, or animals. Generating Animals Animals (sheep, pigs, and cows) are obtained by placing a worker on a tile that generates them. If the tile is in your own village, the animal is placed in an available field on that tile. A field must be empty or contain only the same type of animal. If the tile is in another player's village or being bid for, the animal is placed in a field on the active player's home tile. If no available field exists on the generating tile, no animal is generated. Movement of Animals You can move animals by using transport abilities on specific tiles (such as the farrier, home tiles, paddock, stable, or wainwright). It costs one movement to move an animal to an adjacent field. Wheat can be spent to increase transport capacity (1 wheat = +1 movement). Using Wheat Wheat is a resource that can be stored behind your home screen. It can be used to increase transport movement when using a transport tile. Wheat can also be used for scoring if you own the Keyflower tile. Fields A field is an area surrounded by roads, water, and the unconnected sides of tiles. Fields are essential for housing animals and scoring points. End of Game and Scoring The game ends after the winter season. Scoring follows a specific procedure: Score resources placed on autumn scoring tiles (barn, blacksmith, stone yard, and timber yard). Score sheep located in the sheep shelter. Score fields containing animals: Sheep: 1 point per field. Pigs: 2 points per field. Cows: 3 points per field. Note: If you own the weaver, truffle orchard, or dairy, you receive additional points for these fields. Score tiles with fixed points. Score remaining winter tiles and the White Wind boat. Score remaining boat tiles (Keyflower, Sea Bastion, and Sea Breese). Score turn order tiles (1 point for each adjacent tile). Score 1 point for each gold resource. The player with the most points wins. In a tie, the player who chose their boat tile first in winter wins. Tips for Victory Optimize Field Layout: Be careful when placing winter tiles. While you want to connect tiles to the hillside for points, avoid connecting two fields that contain the same type of animal, as they will merge into a single field and score only once. Strategic Breeding: Since breeding requires two or more animals of the same type in the same field, plan your animal movements and transport carefully to ensure they are grouped together before the end of the season. ## FAQ ### Can I play this without the base game? No, this is an expansion and you absolutely need the original Keyflower to play. ### Does the game get much longer with this expansion? Playtime stays within the 90-120 minute range, though the density of decisions increases. ### Is it hard to learn? If you already know the base game, the learning curve is gentle as the new mechanics integrate organically. ### How many players can participate? The expansion follows the 2-6 player standard, just like the base game. ### Does the expansion change the game style significantly? It maintains the Keyflower essence but adds a heavier focus on territory management and agricultural production. ### Are the components good quality? Yes, they follow the quality and art standards of Richard Breese's Key series. ## Price Comparison ### Best International Offers - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 25.30 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=599620&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 25.90 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=3436545&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 26.16 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=6915050&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 30.05 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=6076903&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 30.40 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=4780094&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 30.91 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=1017599&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 34.36 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=6903162&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 47.11 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=6721740&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 53.97 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=4815035&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - See all on BoardGamePrices: https://boardgameprices.com/item/show/7398/keyflower-the-farmers?utm_source=boardgamesbot.com