CAYLUS

OBJECTIVE OF CAYLUS: The objective of Caylus is to be the player with the most prestige points when the game comes to an end.  

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 to 5 Players 

MATERIALS: 1 Gameboard, 1 Bailiff Cylinder, 1 Provost Disc, 30 Single Denier Coins, 10 Five Denier Coins, 30 Worker Cylinders, 100 Houses, 35 Marker Discs, 140 Resource Cubes, 40 Building Tiles, and Instructions 

TYPE OF GAME: Worker Placement Board Game 

AUDIENCE: Ages 12 and Up 

OVERVIEW OF CAYLUS 

Throughout the game, the players will embody master builders as they construct the King’s castle and the ever-growing city. As they do more work, the players will accumulate prestige points, gaining the King’s favor. The players pay to place their workers in various locations throughout the village, earning themselves more points along the way.  

SETUP 

To begin setup, the board is placed in the middle of the playing area. The building tiles are all sorted by color and placed on the board, face up. The pink tiles are mixed and placed on the first places of the road. The coins and resources are separated and placed beside the board, creating the stockpiles. 

Every player will then choose a color that represents them throughout the course of the game, collecting the wooden pieces of their matching color. One marker is placed beside the turn order scale for each player. One is also placed on the bridge, on the four fleur-de-lises, and on the first space of the score track.  

A player will take the markers that are beside the turn order scale and place them on the numbered spaces randomly, ensuring that they are not placing them strategically. This will determine the player’s order. If the player is on the first space, they will collect five deniers, six if they are on the second or third space, and seven if they are on the fourth or fifth space. Every player will also get a wooden cube and two food cubes from the stockpile.  

The players should ensure that their deniers and their cubes are visible throughout the course of the game. The game is then ready to begin. 

GAMEPLAY 

The game is played over the course of turns, with each turn consisting of seven phases. Suring the first phase, each player will collect two deniers from the stock, along with a denier for each residential building they own, a denier if they have a Library built, and two deniers if they have a Hotel built. Players are able to earn an unlimited amount of income. During phase two, players will complete one of the following actions: pass, place a worker in the castle, place a worker on one of their buildings, place a worker on another’s building, or place a worker on a fixed building.  

Once the players have placed their worker, they will move to phase three and activate any special buildings including the gate, the trading post, the guild, the joust field, the stables, and the inn. After all buildings have been activated, phase four will begin, allowing the players to move the provost if they choose. This is completed in the order of when players passed during phase two, allowing the first player who passed to be the first one to move the provost. They are allowed to move it up to three spaces forward or backward, as long as they pay one denier for each space moved.  

When every player has either spoken or passed, phase five can begin. At this point, all production buildings, construction buildings, lawyers, marketplaces, peddlers, churches, tailors, banks, and alchemists are activated in order along the road. This begins with the first space after the bridge to the location of the provost. Once they have all been activated and taken affect, the building of the castle may begin. During this phase, the players who have workers in the castle are able to build the castle, earning prestige points.  

After all of the work has been completed, and the workers are retrieved from the castle to their player, the end of the turn begins. The bailiff will move along the road, dependent on where the provost is located. If it is in front of him, he will move two spaces, but if it is behind him, then he will only move one space. The provost is then placed on the same spot as the bailiff. A new turn begins after this has been completed.  

The players will count the number of castle pieces that they have built before a new turn. When the count is completed, the players have to concentrate on the next part of the castle. They are unable to go back. Once the towers are counted, the game comes to an end.  

END OF GAME 

The game comes to an end when the count of Towers section ends. The players will then tally their points, adding three points for each gold cube they have, one point for every three cubes they have, and one point for every four deniers they have. The player with the most points will win the game! If there is a tie, everyone who is tied for first place, wins the game.  

Ellie Phillips
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