Caylus Board Game

Caylus is a 2-5 player worker placement euro game set in France in 1289. Despite the number of other worker placement games that have been published since its first release in 2005, it remains one of my favourite worker placement games of all time. It takes a couple of hours to play and I always want to play it again - just to try out a different strategy. One of the reasons I like the game is because there is a permanent risk of screwage from other players and this risk needs to be actively managed. The rules are simple and the strategy is deep. It is also a no luck game - there are no dice and there is no random set up.The game is played by players placing their workers in village locations and buildings, some pre-printed on the board and some bought by players and placed on the board. Each building has an associated action. However, there are also game mechanics that stop some of the most recently placed buildings being triggered - if you put your worker on one of these buildings it will not be used. The buildings provide resources, allow new buildings to be built and so the game and number of available actions develops. In addition there is a castle building action that multiple players can use and this creates an opportunity to earn bonus points. The pace of the game can also be influenced by players - it can be sped up or slowed down and so this also creates some tension in the game play as there may not be enough turns to achieve what you have set out to do. Stopping some buildings being activated and speeding up the game are the two key areas of screwage that could impact your game. Small mistakes early on in the game will be picked up by other players and you will be brutally punished!If you like worker placement games and are happy to play a more aggressive worker placement game (than e.g. Agricola) then I strongly recommend buying and playing Caylus. I'm not sure anything has been published quite like it since! If you don't like 'take that' moments then I suggest steering clear of this game as it really isn't much fun if you're trying to play nicely against aggressive opponents.

It's Caylus, you need this game because it is THE worker placement game.Since got the special edition version that is amazing.

Caylus is a popular European style board game themed around the building of a Castle in medieval France.The game play is managed in a number of phases and it requires a fair degree of forward planning in order to be played successfully.The broad thrust of the game play is governed by a combination of workers, money, materials and buildings.Each player places a worker in turn on a square which represents a building or action. The placing of a worker costs money.Some buildings allow the player to create materials (required to make further buildings or to help with building the castle), others generate cash or allow the player to build or to gather victory points.Victory points (which determine the winner of the game) are gained by building the castle or by building other buildings or monuments.The game can be played with two to five players and is probably optimal with three or four.Playing first is a distinct advantage but to counterbalance this one of the worker buildings allows a player to change the play order.This is just one of many little things that make the game as fair and luck free as possible.There are no dice and precious little in the way of chance within the game. Rather the strategy and the skill of the players is the principle determining factor in who wins.When playing with relative peers this is great, but if joining a group of established players it is possible to be totally outclassed and become disheartened. In this area one has to rely on the other players being decent human-beings in order to learn the ropes and gain pleasure from the experience!The rules are colourful and well laid out but the language used to describe the game mechanics is a little arcane. This may be down to the translation from German or French. I found the best way to learn the rules was to play through them with a friend in a co-operative way until we got the hang of the mechanics.In short this is a game that rewards investment and perseverance.The rules are well balanced and 'luck free' so that the person who makes the best use of their own strategy and can adapt to the tactics of their opponents will win.If that sounds like your thing I'd recommend Caylus whole-heartedly.

Caylus came out in 2005 and really got me back into playing board games regularly. Caylus is a worker placement game: players place their workers either at the castle, on buildings along a track. Along the track players can build buildings that they can use for free or other players can use at a cost. Game time is marked by the progression of the Bailiff and the Provost along the road. When the bailiff reaches the finish line the game ends and the victory points earned during the game from buildings; players' contributions to building the castle and favours from the king are counted up. The movement of the Provost along the track influences the speed at which the Bailiff moves and the length of the track activated on a given turn. This gives gives opportunities to deprive other players of resources and adds an element of brinkmanship to the placing of workers close the the perceived end of the track, particularly as the Provost can be bribed.There are a good number of different strategies to follow from focussing on single aspects of the game or even single combinations of buildings to more general thesis of making the best move available to you. What works well in 2 player games may not be as effective with 4 or 5 players. I've played the game many times and with different groups of people who bring different strategies to the table and I have found it to have remained a fresh and engaging game since it's release.

This board game is amazing. 4 of us (adults) play it usually and it will take us 2.5 - 3.5 to finish it.You can learn rules in 30-45 minutes and you can start playing. After 3 games we already follow all rules. Rules are very simple. No need to worry.Story line is simple, no aliens, dragons, zombies etc. Just pure fun :)