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Game Info
Year
2016
Players
2-6
Age
14+
Playtime
120 min
Collection
Ratings
Creator Score
Mechanic profile
Not enough video data yet
Vibe profile
Not enough video data yet
Description
Description from the publisher:
In Key to the City – London, each player aims to develop their own London borough based on their home tile, using the large hexagonal location tiles. Each location tile gives victory points and may generate resources (skill tiles or connectors that connect two location tiles). Connectors and skill tiles can be used to upgrade location tiles for additional victory points and productivity.
The game is played over four eras, and in each era, new location tiles will be available for bidding. In both era 1 and 2, these tiles consist of six resource-generating tiles, plus some additional building tiles. In era 3, there will be only building tiles, which arrive already upgraded. In era 4, some of the Routemaster tiles become available.
On their turn, a player chooses one of five actions. They may use one or more of their team of wooden workers ("keyples") to (1) bid for a location tile, (2) use a location tile to generate resources, or (3) upgrade a location. They may (4) pass, in which case they may play again in that era, or (5) cease playing in that era by setting off in their sailing barge along the Thames. The game finishes after the last river barge sets sail at the end of era 4, at which point the player with the most victory points wins.
Key to the City – London has similarities in structure to the award-winning 2012 R&D game Keyflower.
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Rules Teach
Key to the City: London
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 3
This page: 3
Sentiment:
pos 1 ·
mix 1 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 1
Showing 1–3 of 3
Video 4Ffpb7K7S7g
All You Can Board Analysis at 1:12 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 129422 · mention_pk 368070
Click to watch at 1:12 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- Easier to learn than Keyflower
- Streamlined gameplay
- Appeals to players who find Keyflower too complex
- Clever use of connectors as a mechanic
- Interesting choice with setting sail vs. passing
- Thematic and immersive 3D buildings when upgrading
Cons
- Streamlining removes strategic depth found in Keyflower
- Less distinct player strategies
- Connectors felt thematically abstract
- Lacks the surprise scoring and distinct lanes of Keyflower
- Felt more tactical than strategic
- Thematic elements of connectors didn't fully cohere
Thematic elements
- London
Comparison games
- Keyflower
- Frost Haven
- Gloom Haven
- Katan
- Agricola
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action selection — Players select actions by placing meeples on tiles.
- auction/bidding — Players bid on tiles using colored meeples, with the color of the meeple determining bidding power.
- Engine Building — Players build up their city with tiles that generate resources and provide actions.
- Resource Management — Players manage resources generated by tiles to perform upgrades and gain victory points.
- Set Collection — Players collect resources like tools or oil, which can contribute to scoring.
- tile laying — Players acquire and place hexagonal tiles, which form their 'city'.
- Worker Placement — Players place meeples on hexagon tiles to bid on them or use their actions.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I suspect I'm going to like some things about this more, and I'm going to like some things about Keyflower more.
- I have a feeling I'm going to be frustrated that these both exist separately and that they they you can't take the best of both and kind of make like the ideal version.
- Streamlining Keyflower makes it a worse game for me.
- Everything in this game is very, very, very tight. You never feel like you have enough money. You never feel like you have enough camels. You never have enough actions to get what you need to get done.
- It's a new problem to solve, a new set of parameters every time.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video YUdTtLVqWEI
Getting Games Top 25 List at 2:38 sentiment: negative
video_pk 92121 · mention_pk 247397
Click to watch at 2:38 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
negative
Pros
- neat ideas in bidding and hex tableau
- auction mechanic is neat
Cons
- game bored the players
- art style didn't do much for me
- felt not compelling or interesting
Thematic elements
- bidding and hex tableau building
- London
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- bidding/auction — place bids to buy tiles and activate abilities
- End scoring — some tiles give victory points, some actions remain active for scoring
- tiles acquisition and hex tableau — bidding to acquire tiles; placing and activating hex tiles
- worker placement/activation — placing workers on hexes for actions
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the rules were really not good there were a couple questions we had where we like passed the rule book around twice trying to figure out some really basic questions
- it's a chaotic game I felt zero control while I was playing it
- I would teach and play it again
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video _CtozDZ72VQ
Rules Teach at 0:06 sentiment: positive
video_pk 79761 · mention_pk 193320
Click to watch at 0:06 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Upgrading location tiles gives more victory points.
- Upgraded landmark tiles with 3D buildings give significant victory points.
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Becoming the best borough developer
- City of London
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- bidding — Players bid on location tiles using 'keeples', with the highest bid winning the tile at the end of the era.
- city building — Players upgrade locations and connect resources to develop their borough.
- Resource Management — Players gain and utilize resources like builders, architects, financers, and various utility connectors (telecom, water, waste, electricity, tunnels, gas).
- Set Collection — Players collect river tiles based on barge placement.
- Tile Placement — Players place hexagon location tiles to build their borough.
- Worker Placement — Players place 'keeples' on locations to perform actions like bidding, generating resources, or upgrading.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- welcome
- now that we know what the winning condition is let's take a look at the components set up and how gameplay works in key to the city london
- now let's take a look at the components
- now let's take a look at the setup
- now let's take a look at the gameplay
- player turns continue until all of our players have set sail
- once all the players have set sail we move to the end of an era
- once everyone's placed their location tiles we would move to starting an era
- errors continue until the end of the fourth era
- once you finish the end of the era steps in the fourth era you would go to the final scoring
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–3 of 3