
- BGG rank
- BGG #2,975
- BGG rating
- 7.0
Key to the City: London
- 2–6 players
- 90–120 min
- Complexity 2.9/5
- 2016

Rules assistance for Keyflower: The Merchants
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Keyflower: The Merchants is an expansion for Keyflower released in 2014 for 2–6 players, 90 minutes per game, and ages 14 and up. It was designed by Sebastian Bleasdale and Richard Breese and its main mechanics are Set Collection, Auction / Bidding, and Tile Placement.
In Keyflower, each player develops her own unique village over four seasons by successfully bidding for village tiles that feature specialized buildings and boats, and by collecting skills, resources and workers ("keyples"). In Keyflower: The Merchants, the second expansion for Keyflower, players continue to develop their village by building extensions and cabins, entering into lucrative contracts, and encountering new combinations of items on the incoming boats. Whereas Keyflower: The Farmers added breadth to the Keyflower game, Keyflower: The Merchants adds depth. The contracts, for example, provide more ways to score points, but may also be traded for the item they depict: workers, resources, or skill tiles. Extensions double the fixed point scores of existing tiles. Cabins provide more opportunities to upgrade and to build the extensions. Keyflower: The Merchants works well with 2-6 number of players and particularly enhances the two-player game. Players may choose to use all of the tiles from Keyflower: The Merchants, then add additional tiles at random from Keyflower in order to make up the required number of tiles (the Merchant's variant), or they can simply combine the new tiles with the existing game.
Keyflower: The Merchants supports 2–6 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Keyflower: The Merchants is 90 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Keyflower: The Merchants for ages 14 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Keyflower: The Merchants has a complexity rating of 3.2 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-weight game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Keyflower: The Merchants belongs to these categories: Economic, City Building, and Expansion for Base-game. Its main mechanics are Set Collection, Auction / Bidding, and Tile Placement. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Keyflower: The Merchants are: Sebastian Bleasdale and Richard Breese. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Keyflower: The Merchants as an expansion for Keyflower. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need Keyflower to use it. Check that your edition of Keyflower is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.