Key Market (Second Edition) Rulebook

Table of Contents

Contents
Set up
The Seasons
Farming
End of Farming
Market Day
Guild actions
End of Market Day
End of Season
End of Game
Scoring
Guild tiles
Acknowledgements
Missing pieces
Published by

90 resource tokens, 18 each of:

Crops: fruit, vegetables, wheat.

Livestock: fish, sheep.

18 luxury tokens.

64 gold coins: x30 value 1, x20 value 5, x10 value 10, x4 value 50.

4 large country boards.

1 small country / favour track board.

16 guild tiles (English / German).

5 farm / manor house tiles (English and German).

Seasons board / score track.

Market board / score track.

12 season markers.

Player components: 40 workers (represented by both counters and wooden markers) in the player colours. Choose either the counter characters, the counter shields or the wooden keyples for your game. Each player has 9 workers and 1 key worker. Note: the Key worker has special abilities, but only if guild 4 is in play.

4 screens.

4 reference cards.

Set up

Place the market board on the playing surface.
The number of resources and luxuries of each type used in the game depends on the number of players as follows: 2 players = 12, 3 players = 15 and 4 players = 18. Return any excess resources and luxuries to the game box. Place resources (but not luxuries) onto the market board. For 2 players cover the 6, 5 and 4 prices with a resource of that type; 3 players the 6 and 5; 4 players the 6 only.
Place the remaining resources and luxuries in a general supply near the market board.
Place the seasons board on the playing surface.
Place season markers unseen and face down onto the empty spaces on the seasons board as follows: the 3 circular markers with the number 2 on the back onto the 3 circular spaces and 3 of the 6 square markers onto the 3 square spaces. These 6 markers will be active during year 2 of the game. Then, matching the shapes, place the remaining 6 markers randomly face down on top of the year 2 markers and then turn these face up. These will be in use during year 1 of the game.
Place 1 worker (but not the Key worker) for each player randomly over a winter icon on the seasons board in order to identify the initial player turn order. These workers are now known as the player markers. The player whose player marker is at the top of the column is the first player, followed by the player whose player marker is second top, and so on.
In the 3 and 4 player game, place the favour track board next to the seasons board. Each player places 1 worker (but not the Key worker) in reverse order of their turn sequence onto the favour track (i.e. the player at the top of the seasons board takes the lowest appropriate spot on the favour track). Note that in the 2 player game players consequently have 1 extra worker to deploy elsewhere.
Place the gold by the side of the boards as a reserve.
Each player now takes the following: a screen in their chosen player colour.
10 worker counters or keyples of their chosen colour. Unemployed workers are always kept visible in front of a player's screen.
A player reference card in their chosen player colour.
A farm house tile (at random). These are always kept visible in front of the player's screen.
1 resource (but not luxury) of each type. A player's resources and luxuries are always kept hidden behind the player's screen.
Gold from the reserve as follows: start player = 3 gold, second player = 4 gold, third player = 4 gold and fourth player = 5 gold. Gold is kept hidden behind the player's screen.
In the 3 or 4 player game the last player shuffles the 4 large country boards and gives 1 unseen to the first player, with 1 side face up. The first player may turn over the country board to the other side. The first player places the board onto the playing surface.

Next the first player places a worker onto any of the 8 resource fields on the large country board they have just placed, but not the village 'field' in the centre of the board, and takes 1 resource of the corresponding type.

Each large country board is comprised of 9 fields, including the village. 2 or more connected fields are known as an area, which may extend over 2 or more boards.

The last player now hands a country board unseen to the third player (themself in a 3 player game), who repeats the same process as the second player. Repeat again for a fourth player if applicable. Place any unused boards back into the box.

In the 2 player game the rules are the same except for the addition of the small country board. Start by placing the small country board onto the playing surface.

Next, the first player places the large country board that they have been given next to the small country board, connecting 3 fields. The boards can be rotated as required. The first player places a worker onto any of the 8 resource fields on the large country board they have just placed, but not the village, and takes 1 resource of the corresponding type.

Next, the last player now hands a board unseen to the second player with one side face up. As previously, the recipient may not turn over the country board to the other side. The second player then places the board onto the playing surface. All of the 3 fields on the connecting edge of the country board must line up with a previously played country board. The large country boards can be rotated as required.

The second player then places a worker on any field on the large country board they have just placed, but not in the village or in the same area as another worker. The player then takes 1 resource of the corresponding type.

In the 2 player game, the second player may place the large county board in any position providing all 3 fields on the connecting edge line up with the previously played large and/or small county boards.

Select a number of guild tiles at random depending on the number of players as follows: 2 players = 5, 3 players = 6 tiles and 4 players = 7 tiles. In your first game select the tiles with the lowest numbers on their shields.
Finally, each player must now pay for their farm house. The cost of the farm house is 1 resource of the type shown on the left of the farmhouse tile, plus 1 other different resource. Players choose and conceal the resources they are paying with in one hand. They then reveal these simultaneously and add these to the next empty space on the market board. As a result some resources will have different starting prices.

Example: In a 4 player game, 1 resource of each type was initially added to the board. Player 1 (red) paid for their farm house with a vegetable (required) and a sheep (their choice). Player 2 (yellow) paid with a wheat and vegetable. Player 3 (green) paid with a sheep and a vegetable and player 4 (blue) paid with a fish and wheat. The opening prices for each resource are therefore: fruit 5, wheat 3, vegetables 2, sheep 3 and fish 4. Note that there are no luxuries on the board at this point in the game.

The game can now begin, with the Farming phase in the winter season of year 1.

The Seasons

A game of Key Market is played over 2 years, each year has 4 seasons: winter, followed by spring, summer and finally autumn.

Each season has 3 phases:

Farming (see pages 4-6)
Market Day (see pages 7-8)
End of Season (see pages 9-10)

The end-of-season icon indicates that there is no End of Season phase in autumn of year 2.

Progress throughout the game is tracked by the player markers on the seasons board.

Farming

There are 6 actions available in the Farming phase:

Move workers
Hire one worker
Produce resources and luxuries
Promote one guild member
Upgrade farm house
Retire one worker

The first player takes all of the actions that they wish to take in sequence 1 to 6. Then the second player takes all of the actions they wish to take, followed by the third and fourth players, if applicable.

Note that you cannot Sponsor one apprentice as a Farming action. Sponsoring an apprentice is only possible during Market Day. (See Guild action A, page 8.)

Note that in winter in year 1, the very first season, none of a player's workers will produce any resources or luxuries and a player does not have any guild members to promote. Therefore the only actions a player is able to take are actions 1 and 2, moving and hiring workers. Note also that any workers a player hires will need to be paid at the end of the season!

1. Move workers

A player may move a worker orthogonally (horizontally or vertically, but not diagonally) any number of fields (including a village) at a cost of 1 gold for each field moved into.

Cost = 1 gold + 1 gold (example: moving 2 fields)

If a worker moves into an empty village and settles there then this costs an additional 5 gold.

Cost = 1 gold + 5 gold (example: moving into an empty village)

A worker cannot end up in, or adjacent to (orthogonally or diagonally), a field which contains a worker belonging to the same player.

A worker cannot end up in the same area as any other worker. (An area is a group of orthogonally adjacent fields of the same type, see Set up step 15, page 2).

Whilst moving, a worker may move through fields and/or areas containing other workers.

2. Hire one worker

A player may introduce 1 worker to the country boards by paying an amount of gold equal to the number of workers they already have on the country boards. For example, if a player plays a third worker onto the country boards, they must pay 2 gold to hire that worker.

The worker hired is usually taken from the player's supply of unused workers, but a worker could also be taken from a guild. A worker already on a country board cannot be hired as they are already working.

A player cannot place the worker they hire directly into a village.

A player cannot place their workers into a field which is adjacent (orthogonally or diagonally) to a field already occupied by another of their workers. Note, if a player has a worker in a village then none of the player's other workers can be on the same country board as all other fields are adjacent.

A player cannot place their workers into the same area as any other of their workers or any of another player's workers.

3. Produce resources/luxuries

Workers now produce resources and luxuries according to the shape and type of the fields they are working in.

A field's basic production is shown on the top row of the seasons board. Square fields usually produce 2 resources. Circular fields usually produce 1 resource or, if it is a village, 1 luxury. In winter there is no basic production. The basic production may be modified by the workers in the guilds.

Due to their topography, each season the basic production of two of the resources or luxuries will be affected by the weather, as indicated by the season tokens in the second row on the seasons board. The resource or luxury indicated by the square token for that season will not produce anything, whilst the resource indicated by the circular token will produce 3 resources instead of the usual 1.

In the example above, during spring in year 1, circular vegetable fields will produce 3 vegetables. All other circular fields will produce 1 resource or luxury. Square fish 'fields' will produce 0 fish. All other square fields will produce 2 resources.

Only the single field occupied by a worker determines the production. The size of an area that the field is in is not relevant.

For ease of identification, it is suggested that the resources produced by each worker are set aside separately at the side of the country boards and are checked for guild modifications before being taken by the player.

In the following example (referring to the production in the previous example), in spring of year 1, red collects 3 vegetables and 2 sheep.

If there are insufficient resources in the general supply for a player to receive all they are entitled to, then the player receives 1 gold from the reserve for each resource and/or luxury they were short.

Note, it is a legitimate tactic for players to monopolise or to exhaust 1 or more types of resource or luxury, and other players should be alert to this possibility.

4. Promote one guild member

If there is a vacant space, a player may promote 1 of their own guild members 1 level. Move the worker from the current level to any vacant space in the next level.

Promotion from craftsman to master costs 4 different resources, or 2 different resources and 1 luxury.

Promotion from apprentice to craftsman costs 3 different resources, or 1 resource and 1 luxury.

The resources are paid into the general supply.

If there are no vacant spaces on the row above the worker, then no promotion can take place in that guild until a space arises.

This action is also available during Market Day, guild action B, page 8. Note, this action does not enable a player to introduce an apprentice (see Guild action A, page 8).

5. Upgrade farm house

Once per game a player may upgrade their farm house into a manor house. The cost is 1 specific resource, as indicated on the left of the player's farm house tile, plus 1 different resource plus 1 luxury.

Example: to upgrade, this farm house requires a fruit, plus a different resource, plus a luxury.

When the cost has been paid, turn the farm house tile over to reveal the manor house.

With a manor house a player is now able to:

sell an additional resource to the market when selling, and
retire workers.

6. Retire one worker

If a player has converted their farmhouse into a manor house, then they may retire 1 worker into their manor house.

Retiring a worker costs 4 different resources, or 2 different resources and 1 luxury. At the end of the game a retired worker is worth 15 points.

The retired worker can be taken from a country board or from a guild tile, but not from the player's supply of unemployed workers.

There is no limit to the total number of workers that may be retired. But only 1 worker may be retired in each Farming phase 6.

This action is also available during Market Day, guild action C, page 8.

End of Farming

Once the active player has completed (in order) all of the Farming actions that they wish to take, then they move their player marker on the season track from the Farming column to the Market Day column.

The next player now undertakes all of their Farming actions, and so on.

Once all players have finished their Farming phase then the Market Day phase begins.

Market Day

1. Choose items to take to market

At the beginning of Market Day all players must choose 1 or more resources and/or luxuries to sell to the market and conceal these in their hand.

All players then simultaneously reveal these and then place the items onto their farm or manor house tile, so that all players can clearly see what each other player is sending to the market to sell.

A player cannot later add additional resources or luxuries from behind their screen, or add resources or luxuries purchased at the market.

Example: a player takes a sheep and 2 vegetables to market and places these on their farm house.

If a player has no resources or luxuries, they must reveal this to all players by lifting their screen. As a consequence all players can see how much gold that the player has!

2. Market Day actions

In player order, players must now do 1 of the following:

(i) Sell a batch of resources or luxuries, or (ii) Take one guild action, or (iii) Pass

A player cannot pass until they have sold everything they took to market and have taken their one guild action.

Once a player has passed they take no more actions for the rest of the phase. The other players continue taking actions, skipping any player that has already passed, until all players have sold all the resources and luxuries that they brought to market and have used their guild action.

Hint: A player will need to raise sufficient gold to (i) pay any workers that they are retaining on the fields in the 'End of Season' phase and (ii) to Hire one worker, if they wish to, in the following season's 'Farming' phase.

2(i) Sell a batch of resources or luxuries

A player sells a batch of 1 or 2 resources or luxuries of one type that they brought to market. If a player has a manor house then they can sell up to 3 resources or luxuries. A player may choose to sell 1 resource or luxury on its own, even if they could sell it as part of a larger batch.

The player receives gold from the supply equal to the price (the highest visible number on that track on the market board) multiplied by the number of resources or luxuries sold.

1 resource or luxury from the batch is then placed onto the lowest-numbered empty space for that type on the market board. This will lower the price by 1. Any additional resources or luxuries are placed in the general supply.

If there are no empty spaces, add 1 resource or luxury from the batch sold to the 1 space. The 1 space can hold any number of resources or luxuries.

Example. 3 fruit and 1 sheep are brought to market. The price for fruit is 4 gold. The player has not upgraded their farm house to a manor house, so they can only sell batches of 1 or 2 identical resources or luxuries. On their first sale, the player sells a batch of 2 fruit and receives 2 x 4 = 8 gold. 1 of these fruit is placed on the market board on the number 4 space, reducing the market price for future transactions to 3 gold. The other fruit from the batch sold is placed in the general supply. The remaining fruit and the sheep must be sold subsequently in separate batches.

2(ii) Take one guild action

There are 5 guild actions available (see page 8 for details):

A. Sponsor one apprentice B. Promote one guild member C. Retire one worker D. Buy resources or luxuries E. Take gold

Once a player has taken their guild action then they move their player marker on the seasons board from the Market Day column to the End of Season column to indicate that they have used their guild action.

Example. The red and green players have taken their guild action and have advanced their player markers to the End of Season column.

When paying for guild actions 1 luxury can always be used instead of 2 resources. 2 luxuries cannot be used together. Resources or luxuries sent to market cannot be used.

Guild actions

A player may sponsor a new apprentice into a guild if they do not already have a worker in that guild. A player may never have 2 workers in the same guild.

The cost of sponsorship is 2 different resources or 1 luxury.

A worker is placed on a vacant space on the bottom row of that guild. If there are no vacant spaces on the bottom row, then no new apprentices may be sponsored into that guild until a space arises.

The sponsored worker can be taken from the player's supply of unemployed workers, another guild or from a country board.

B. Promote one guild member

See Farming, action 4 (page 5).

C. Retire one worker

See Farming, action 6 (page 6).

D. Buy resources or luxuries

A player may buy 1 or 2 resources or luxuries of the same type from the market at the price indicated by the highest empty market space for that luxury or resource. If a player buys 2 resources or luxuries then they pay that same price for both. The minimum price for a purchase is always 1.

The cost in gold is placed in the reserve and the resources or luxuries are taken from the market, increasing the price by 1 or 2, and placed behind the player's screen. They cannot be sold this Market Day.

If there are no resources of a particular type or luxuries on the market board, then the player cannot purchase that type of resource or luxuries.

Example. 2 fruit are bought from the market. The price is 3 gold. The player pays 6 gold.

E. Take gold

A player may take 5 gold from the reserve less 1 gold for each worker they have on the country boards. If they have 5 or more workers they neither receive nor pay any gold.

In the 3 or 4 player game the player also moves to the top of the favour track. Other players move their worker 1 space down where appropriate.

Note that a worker cannot be removed at this time in order to increase the gold received. Workers can only be removed during End of Season, action 3, page 9.

Example. Yellow chooses to take gold. Yellow has 2 workers on the country boards. Yellow receives (5 - 2) = 3 gold. Yellow moves their worker to the top of the favour track. Blue and green move down 1 space.

End of Market Day

Market Day ends when all players have sold everything that they brought to market and they have used their guild action.

All the player markers will now be in the End of Season space. The End of Season phase now begins.

End of Season

If it is the autumn season in year 2, skip this phase and go straight to End of game (page 11). Otherwise the following actions occur in sequence:

Adjust market prices
Remove season markers
Pay or remove workers
New player order

1. Adjust market prices

As indicated at the top of the market board, resources and/or luxuries are removed from the market board according to the current price.

Where the price of 1 is covered by a resource or luxury, remove 2 of that type.

Where the price is 1 or 2, remove 1 of that type.

Where the price is 3, 4, 5 or 6, do not remove any resources or luxuries.

Hint: to avoid confusion, when adjusting the market prices start at the top with fruit, then, where applicable, adjust each row in turn from the top to bottom.

2. Remove season markers

In spring, summer and autumn of year 1, remove the 2 season markers from the seasons board for the season just ending. This will reveal the season markers underneath, which are for the corresponding season in year 2.

Turn the markers for year 2 over so that the side showing which resources/luxury are affected is visible.

Season markers that have been removed are left face up by the side of the seasons board for easy reference.

No removals are required in winter or in year 2.

3. Pay or remove workers

In player turn order, each player must either pay 2 gold for each of their own workers on the country boards or remove any workers that they have decided not to pay.

Note that there is a winter season in the middle of the game during which some of a player's workers are unlikely to produce anything. However workers must still be paid at the end of that winter season. Therefore unless the workers are producing essential resources or luxuries, players might consider removing 1 or more of those workers at the end of autumn in year 1 and then rehiring them in the following year. However note that a player can only hire or rehire 1 worker during each season (Farming, action 2, page 4.).

4. New player order

Reposition the player markers on the seasons board for the next season.

First, the player with the fewest workers on the country boards moves their player marker from the End of Season column to the top of the Farming column for the next season. Note, at the end of autumn in year 1, this is to the winter farming column identified by the snowflakes on the far left of the seasons board.

The other positions are allocated in the same way, finishing with the player with the most workers on the board taking the lowest position.

In the event of a tie for the player with the fewest workers, the position is allocated to the tied player that is highest on the favour track. That player moves their player marker to the highest available place on the Farming column for the next season and then moves their player marker to the bottom of the favour track. The player markers for the other players on the favour track move up 1 space as appropriate.

Note, in the 2 player game there is no favour track. If the players have the same number of workers then the player markers switch positions when they are moved from the End of Season column to the Farming column of the next season.

Example: The players have the following number of workers on the country boards: blue 3, green 4, yellow 4 and red 5. Firstly the blue player moves their player marker from the End of Season column to the top position on the summer Farming column. The green and yellow players have the same number of workers on the country boards. Yellow is placed higher than green on the favour track. The yellow player therefore moves their player marker to the second top position of the summer Farming column and moves their player marker to the bottom of the favour track. The green player then moves their player marker to the third position of the summer Farming column. As the green player is no longer tied with any remaining players on the End of Season column they do not move their player marker on the favour track. Finally, the red player moves their player marker to the bottom space of the Farming column.

The game now continues by returning to the Farming phase.

End of Game

There is no End of Season phase in the autumn season in year 2, which is the last turn of the game.

Turn over the market board and the seasons board to reveal the score track boards.

Each player places their player marker (that was previously on the seasons board) onto the 0 space of the score track.

Alternatively add the scores as shown on the table below (per player): Manor House, Retired workers, Gold pieces, Pairs of resources/luxuries, Guild members, Guild master skills, Total.

Scoring

Points are scored as follows:

Manor house - 15 points.
Retired workers - 15 points each.
Gold - 1 point for each gold.
A pair of identical resources or luxuries - 5 points. A single resource or luxury scores 0 points. (Hint, players should aim to sell single resources or a single luxury during the final Market Day.)
Guild members - as indicated on the guild tiles for the ranks achieved by the workers: apprentice, craftsman and master.
Guild master skills, as identified by the yellow scrolls, can give rise to bonus points as follows:
- Guild 1: Each fish or sheep = 5 points.
- Guild 5: 5 different resources = 25 points.
- Guild 6: Pairs of luxuries and resources +3 points.
- Guild 7: Apprentices +2 points, craftsmen +4 points and masters +6 points.

The winner is the player with the highest score.

In the 3 or 4 player game, ties are broken by the tied player who is highest on the favour track.

In the 2 player game, a tie is broken in favour of the player who was first in turn order in the autumn of year 2.

We hope you enjoyed the game!

Guild tiles

Having a worker as a member of a guild provides one of a variety of skills, such as improved resource production, easier worker recruitment or movement and enhanced trading abilities.

Each guild has 3 levels. When a worker is sponsored, it enters a guild at the lowest level as an apprentice (A). Workers can then be promoted to the middle level as a craftsman (C) and subsequently to the top level as a master (M).

The cost in resources of sponsoring or promoting a worker is shown by the number of resource icons on the guild card. 1 luxury can replace two resources once. The cost of sponsoring an apprentice is therefore 2 different resources or 1 luxury. Promotion from apprentice to craftsman costs 3 different resources or 1 resource and 1 luxury. Promotion from craftsman to master costs 4 different resources or 2 different resources and 1 luxury.

A guild tile shows: the guild name; the guild number; the master level (with its cost of promoting or sponsoring and its points at the end of the game); whether it may produce in winter; a '+' indicating a cumulative skill; the craftsman level; a continuous scroll; and the apprentice level.

Only 1 worker can occupy each space in a guild. A worker can be promoted to any empty space on the next highest level in a guild. More than 1 worker can be in the same column. Workers cannot be demoted or moved sideways. Workers can be removed from a guild at any time so that they can be placed elsewhere.

Each level gives the immediate benefit of a new skill. Where the wording of a craftsman's or master's skill starts with a '+' sign, then that skill is additional to the skills indicated by the continuous scroll. The use of any of the skill is optional.

The effect of the skills in separate guilds is cumulative. For example, if a player has a worker on a square sheep field and an apprentice in guilds 1 and 2, then if the field is producing in the current season the production will be 2 + 1 + 1 = 4.

A winter icon after the skill scroll indicates that this skill may give rise to production in winter.

1. Guild of Woolmen and Fishermen

As with all other guilds, when a worker is promoted from one level to another, they may switch columns, e.g. from sheep to fish.

M. At the end of the game, instead of scoring as part of a pair, each chosen livestock, either sheep or fish, scores 5 points.

C. During Farming, action 3, each circular field of the chosen type, sheep or fish, produces an extra 1 resource. This includes the winter season.

A. During Farming, action 3, 1 field of the chosen type, sheep or fish, produces an extra resource. As the increase only applies to a field that produces, then this increase will not usually apply to the winter season.

2. Guild of Mercers

M. During Farming, action 3, any 3 square fields, regardless of their base production, produce an additional resource. This includes the winter season.

C. During Farming, action 3, 2 square fields where the season's base production is 2 produce 1 additional resource.

A. During Farming, action 3, 1 square field where the season's base production is 2 produces an additional resource.

3. Guild of Master Craftsmen

M. During Farming, action 3, a player may exchange up to 2 identical resources for luxuries. The resources do not need to have been produced in the current farming phase and may therefore include resources from behind the player's screen.

C. During Farming, action 3, a player may exchange 1 resource for 1 luxury. The resource does not need to have been produced in the current farming phase and may therefore be a resource from behind the player's screen.

A. When a player sponsors this apprentice as a guild action during Market Day, they may immediately trade 1 resource not sent to market for 1 luxury. This is a one-off opportunity.

4. Guild of Key Workers

M. During Farming, action 3, the field occupied by the key worker produces an extra 2 resources, or if they are in the village, an extra 2 luxuries. This includes the winter season.

C. The key worker may be placed in or moved into an area that is occupied by another worker. If that worker is the player's own worker the non-adjacency rule must still be complied with, i.e. a key worker cannot end up adjacent (horizontally, vertically or diagonally) to another of that player's own workers. As usual, 2 workers cannot be in the same field. Note other workers may not move into an area occupied by the Key Worker, except to move through that area.

A. During the End of Season, action 3, a player does not have to pay the Key worker. This skill takes priority over the craftsman level skill in the Marshals' Guild (#12), which reduces the cost of each worker to 1 gold.

5. Taskmasters' Guild

M. At the end of the game, each set of 5 different resources is worth 25 points. Luxuries may not be included. (The resources included in sets of 5 cannot also be scored elsewhere.)

C. During Farming, action 2, a player may choose to hire a second worker.

Note, the second worker that you hire in a phase may be more expensive than the first worker, since you have an additional worker on a field.

Note, it may be less costly for a player to fire 1 or more workers (especially in autumn in year 1) and then re-hire them in new locations, saving any movement costs.

A. During Farming, action 2, when a player hires a worker the cost of hiring the worker is a maximum of 2 gold.

Note that a player can fire a worker and then rehire them the following season at the same cost as a player would otherwise have spent on their upkeep! The worker can be placed in a new location, saving any movement costs.

As all guild abilities are optional, it follows that if a player has no workers or only 1 worker on the country boards, then the cost of re-hiring is only the normal cost of 0 gold or 1 gold respectively.

6. Guild of Wheelwrights

M. At the end of the game, the value of each pair of resources or luxuries is increased by 3 points.

C. During Farming, action 1, a player may move their workers a total of 6 fields for no cost. The 6 free moves may be shared by more than 1 worker.

A. During Farming, action 1, the cost of settling into the village is reduced from 5 gold to 2 gold. This is in addition to any cost of movement.

7. Guild of Gamers

M. At the end of the game, the score for any of the player's apprentices is increased by 2, the score for any of the player's craftsmen is increased by 4 and the score for any of the player's masters (including this guild) is increased by 6.

C. During Farming, action 4, or when promoting a worker as a guild action during Market Day, the cost of promoting a worker from an apprentice to a craftsman or from a craftsman to a master is reduced by 1 resource. This includes promoting a craftsman to master in this guild.

A. When sponsoring a worker as a guild action during Market Day, the cost is reduced by 1 resource.

8. Guild of Agriculture

As with all other guilds, when a worker is promoted from one level to another, they may switch columns, e.g. from fruit to vegetables.

M. During Farming, action 3, the production of each field of the chosen type, fruit, wheat or vegetables, is increased by 1 resource. This includes the winter season.

C. During Farming, action 3, the player may take an extra resource (not luxury) of their choice from the general supply. The resource can be of any type (fish, fruit, sheep, vegetables or wheat). This includes the winter season.

A. During Farming, action 3, the production of 1 field of the chosen type; fruit, wheat or vegetables, is increased by 1 resource. As the increase only applies to a field that produces, then this increase will not usually apply to the winter season.

9. Ploughmen's Guild

M. During Farming, action 3, 3 circular fields, regardless of their base production, produce an additional resource or luxury. This can include the village. This can also include the winter season.

C. During Farming, action 3, 2 circular fields where the season's base production is 1 produce 1 additional resource or luxury. This can include the village if it is producing 1, even in winter.

A. During Farming, action 3, 1 circular field where the season's base production is 1 produces 1 additional resource or luxury. This can include the village if it is producing 1, even in winter.

10. Salesmen's Guild

M. During Market Day, the player may sell a batch of resources or luxuries before any of the other players, regardless of their turn order. If another player has the craftsman's skill to buy a batch early, then the order in which the relevant players can buy and sell early (master) or just buy early (craftsman) will depend upon their positions on the favour track. The player in the higher position on the favour track may buy (and sell) first, and then they move to the bottom of the favour track. The other player may then buy (and sell). If the player higher on the favour track declines the opportunity to buy (and sell) first, then the other player gets the opportunity, but positions on the favour track remain the same. The player may choose to use their buy early and sell early abilities in either order.

C. When buying resources or luxuries as a guild action during Market Day, a player may buy a batch of resources or luxuries before any other players buy or sell batches, regardless of their turn order. Note, this action does use the player's guild action for the season. This bonus can be cumulative with the master level of the Restaurateurs' Guild (#15). If another player has the master skill to buy and sell early, or the craftsman's skill to buy a batch early, then the order in which the relevant players can buy and sell early (master) or just buy early (craftsman) will depend upon their positions on the favour track. The player in the higher position on the favour track may buy (and sell) first, and then they move to the bottom of the favour track. The other player may then buy (and sell). If the player higher on the favour track declines the opportunity to buy (and sell) first, then the other player gets the opportunity, but positions on the favour track remain the same.

A. During Market Day the price which the player obtains for their first sale is increased by 1. If the apprentice is sponsored before that player has made a sale, the price increase will apply to that player's first sale in that same season. If more than 1 resource or luxury in that first batch is sold, then the price increase applies to each of the resource or luxuries that have been sold. Example: fruit has a price of 3. A player sells a first batch of 2 fruit. The player therefore earns 8 gold: (3+1) (price) x 2 (size of batch).

11. Guild of Merchants

M. All sales are made at a price of +1. This bonus can be cumulative with the apprentice level of the Salesmen's Guild (#10) although the Salesman's Guild (#10) bonus will only apply to the first sale.

C. During Market Day the player may sell 1 additional resource or luxury during each of their sell actions. Note that if a player has upgraded their farm house to a manor house then they will be able to sell 4 resources or luxuries in 1 batch.

A. When a player uses the buy resources or luxuries guild action during Market Day, the price of each resource or luxury purchased is reduced by 1, subject to a minimum price of 1.

12. Guild of Marshals

M. During the End of Season, action 3, a player only has to pay 1 gold for each of the large country boards containing at least 1 of their workers. Example: there are 3 large country boards in a 3 player game. A player has 4 workers but they are only on 2 of those boards, so the player pays 2 gold in total.

C. During the End of Season, action 3, a player only has to pay 1 gold for each of their workers, not the usual 2 gold. This skill does not affect the apprentice level skill of the Key Worker's Guild (#4).

A. When taking gold as a guild action during Market Day the player receives 4 additional gold. In the 3 to 4 player game the player moves to the top of the favour track.

13. Guild of Thieves

M. During Farming, action 3, the player may take any 1 resource (not luxury) from the market board into their supply. This will cause the price of that resource to increase. This includes the winter season.

C. During Farming, action 3, the player takes 1 of the cheapest resource (not luxury) currently available from the market board into their supply. In the event of a tie for the cheapest resource, the resource nearest the top of the market board takes precedence (i.e. fruit, then vegetables, then wheat, then sheep and then fish). This will cause the price of that resource to increase.

A. During Farming, action 3, the player gets 1 gold from the reserve.

14. Guild of Bankers

M. During Farming, action 6, or as a guild action, if a player chooses to retire one worker to their manor house, they may do so for a cost of 9 gold instead of using 4 different resources. In addition, they may choose to retire workers from their supply of unemployed workers instead of from a country board or a guild.

C. During Farming, action 3, the player gets an additional 3 gold from the reserve.

A. When a player sponsors an apprentice to this guild, they receive 5 gold from the reserve immediately. This is a one-off bonus.

15. Restaurateurs' Guild

M. During Market Day, if the player takes the buy action, they may choose to buy up to 3 different resources (not luxuries) at their current prices from the market.

C. During Market Day a player may, in addition to their regular sales, sell 1 batch of up to 3 different resources (not luxuries). 1 resource is added to the market as usual. This resource determines the base value of the batch. The other resources are returned to the general supply. Example: a player sells a batch containing 1 fruit, 1 sheep and 1 fish. The fruit are currently priced at 3 gold, the sheep are currently priced at 4 gold and the fish are currently priced at 2 gold. The player chooses to add 1 sheep to the board and returns the fruit and the fish to the general supply. The player receives 3 x 4 gold (the price of the sheep) = 12 gold.

A. During Market Day a player may, in addition to their regular sales, sell 1 batch of 2 different resources. 1 resource is added to the market as usual; this resource determines the base value of the batch. The other resource is returned to the general supply. Example: a player sells a batch containing 1 fruit and 1 fish. The fruit are currently priced at 3, and the fish are currently priced at 2. The player chooses to add 1 fruit to the board. The value of the batch is thus 6 (2 x 3 at the price of the fruit).

16. Specialists' Guild

M. During Farming, action 6, or as a guild action, if a player chooses to retire one worker to their manor house they can use any combination of 4 resources and/or luxuries, with a luxury counting as 2 resources.

C. During Farming, action 4, or as a guild action, if a player chooses to promote a craftsman to become a master they can use any combination of 4 resources and/or luxuries, with a luxury counting as 2 resources.

A. During Farming, action 4, or as a guild action, if a player chooses to promote an apprentice to become a craftsman, they can use any combination of 3 resources and/or luxuries, with a luxury counting as 2 resources.

Acknowledgements

Game design: David Brain

Development, graphics and realisation: Richard Breese

Artwork: Juliet Breese

German translation: Ferdinand Köther

Finally a big thank you to all Kickstarter backers for supporting this second edition of Key Market.

Missing pieces

Whilst the manufacturers make every effort to ensure that your copy of Key Market is complete and in good condition, the large volume of units and components means that occasionally errors will arise. In these circumstances please contact: [email protected] if you acquired your copy of the game in North America. [email protected] if you acquired the game elsewhere in the world.

Published by

R&D Games, 3 Denne Close, Stratford upon Avon, CV37 6XL, United Kingdom. e-mail: [email protected]

First edition published 2010. Second edition published 2019.