Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
A Keythedral is being built in the fields near Keytown, in the middle of the Keydom. The inhabitants of Keyland will gather the resources with which to build the Keythedral from the surrounding fields.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Auction/Bidding
Bid against other players to determine who receives an item, action, or priority.
Modular Board
Build the play area from interchangeable sections that vary between games.
Set Collection
Gather related items that become more valuable when scored together.
Tile Placement
Place tiles to build a shared or personal spatial arrangement.
Worker Placement
Commit limited workers to action spaces before opponents occupy them.
Read the full game description
A Keythedral is being built in the fields near Keytown, in the middle of the Keydom. The inhabitants of Keyland will gather the resources with which to build the Keythedral from the surrounding fields. The Keythedral will be built in five stages, and each stage will require different building materials. In the early stages, simple materials will be needed, and as the building nears completion, more specialized materials will be needed. Throughout the development period, the builders will require food and water, and, if they are lucky, the builders will also receive some wine. In the game, each player starts with five cottages. Each cottage houses a worker. Each turn, every worker will try to move into one of the fields adjacent to their cottage in order to gather resources from the land. These resources are required for building the Keythedral. Problems, however, are at hand. Firstly, no one is ever quite sure what the building requirements for the next stage of the Keythedral will be until the previous stage is completed. Secondly, once more workers arrive, the fields will become crowded, and some of the workers will be idle. Players may choose to fence off some of the fields in order to keep out their opponents' workers. However, the workers are quite partial to the odd tipple, and for a couple of barrels of wine, they can be persuaded to remove any one of the fences that a player has taken offense to! Good luck in your endeavors to keep your workers productive and to get the right building materials at the right time. Keythedral is Richard Breese's fourth game in the key series.