Keyflower: The Farmers
R&D Games, Czacha Games, Dice Realm · Board game · 2013Objective 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.
- 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.
