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The 5th Key

The 5th Key 2022

Publisher (Self-Published)
2–6
Players
30–90
Minutes
12
Age

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Expansions & Promos

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About the Game

The 5th Key is a medieval turn-based strategy game where the goal is to obtain five or more keys and gain control on the central island. During the game you can use special cards which will give you strategic advantages and are designed to make the game fun and balanced.

After each round the control of the Castle port changes from one player to the next in clockwise order. A player can use the Explorer Spirit card to obtain the control of the port for the next 2 rounds,. The first player to obtain 5 keys and gain control on the castle port on his turn wins the game.

Battles are the only way to obtain keys. Every player starts with 3 keys and the remaining 2 keys need to be obtained from the neighbour players, the battle mechanics are based on a simple formula: dice points multiplied by the attack points plus the number of soldiers, during the match you can send a maximum of 20 soldiers for a battle and by default the number of attack points is 1, but it can be increased with the Brave Destiny Card. You can only launch an attack at your turn after collecting your village resources, If you win the battle you can claim 1 key and 5 coins if available. The loosing party will loose the number of soldiers sent to the battle unless he has hospitals to treat his soldiers.

After each battle the losing party will be allowed to draw a special card, the card needs to be displayed at any time to others, some cards are valid only once and need to be returned to the card pool, other cards are held permanently by the player. Only the defender can claim the special card and only the attacker can claim the key and the coins.

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Mechanics
BGG data
refreshed Sep 7, 2026