Review
Key Flow
Key Flow gave me the world of Keyflower in a much lighter, more compact game night. It may not necessarily replace its bigger sibling, but it reminds me exactly why I want to return to those rivers and roads.
- Published
- 2018
- Designer
- Sebastian Bleasdale, Richard Breese, Ian Vincent
- Publisher
- R&D Games, HUCH!
- Players
- 2–6
- Playing time
- 75 min
Keyflower is one of my favourite games, but the complete collection with all the expansions has become such a jumble that it rarely makes it to the table. Key Flow feels like the lighter, easier-to-schedule version of that experience: something I can set up, enjoy, and pack away without feeling as though I am organising a whole campaign.
At its core it is still an engine-building game, but here the bidding mechanism gives way to drafting. So rather than revolving around bids, the flow is driven by the choices we make as we select things for our own build.
That makes the game more streamlined without losing its character. You start, build your engine, and reach the end in about an hour regardless of player count, so interaction comes more through the drafting and the choices that are left or taken than through Keyflower's bidding mechanism.
It made a very good impression on me. I have piled up a whole bunch of FOMO “must-play” games, and I cannot wait to get through them just so I can return to Key Flow's rivers and roads. 7/10, but I love it.
Source: BoardGameGeek
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