Fanshop
Caylus - Online Guide
Starting The Game
With /join 2-5 players can join the game. With /start the game begins. Alternatively, you can use the Game Tool!
Object of the Game
Caylus is a strategic board game with extensive rules.This is a summary guide for the online game. There are no claims to the completeness of the rules, however the game mechanism should be the same. You can see the actual rules at RioGrande.
The players try to obtain the most prestige points from the king. These are obtained by developing the castle keep (dungeons/walls/towers) and buildings in the adjacent city.
The Interface
- Castle Keep
- Tower
- Player Dashboard
- Bridge
- Town Buildings
- Bailiff and Provost
On the screen you will see a path, which leads from the castle (1) by the special buildings, across the bridge (4) and downward past the neutral red buildings (5). To the right of the castle is the building zone for the dungeons, walls and towers of the castle. If you hover over these sections their prestige value is shown.
In the top right corner, the players names and status bars are located (3). The number in the status bar shows the players current position of play. Raw materials, the Denar and number of available workers are also shown.
Under the player dashboard is the listing of available buildings: wood, stone and prestige buildings. To view what is available, hover over the appropriate building icon. Hovering over this area will show the cost for building houses (green buildings). Clicking on one of the building icons will display the available buildings of that type. Hover again over this listing and the current building being viewed will enlarge to show more detail.
Click to the lily beside it shows the favour overview. There one sees, which players advanced as far with which favour already. One sees overview way also left in the play announcement of each player.
Flow of the game
The game is played in rounds. Each round consists of 6 phases.
Phase 1 - Income
Each player receives 2 Denar. In addition they receive 1 Denar for each house they own (and income from 2 of the Prestige buildings if built).
Phase 2 - Place the Workers
Each player in sequence places workers to provide future materials/prestige points. When it is your turn click on the building or castle keep to place a worker. Each placement of a worker costs 1 Denar. If you no longer wish to place any more workers (or cannot) you can click on the bridge to complete your actions in this phase. The first player to choose this action, receives 1 Denar. As players take this action the cost for building goes up (defined by the value of the lowest number still available on the bridge). If you are placing on one of your own buildings then it only costs one Denar.
Phase 3 - Activation of the special buildings
These special buildings pay out in the sequence from the gate to the inn. Players who have a worker in these buildings may take the appropriate action. Some the actions automatically happen, while others require you to take an action.
If you chose the joust field a window will open. To active this action (costing 1 Denar and 1 cloth) click inside the window. Otherwise click the red 'X'. If you chose to take this action the King's Favour table will pop open.
Phase 4 - Moving the Provost
Phase 4 - In this phase each player is given the option to move the provost. Starting with the first player on the bridge (The player who placed on the bridge first) and finishing with the last person on the bridge (the player who placed on the bridge last). You can move the provost three spaces in either direction. This costs 1 Denar for each space. Simply click on the space you wish the Provost to go to. If you do not wish to move the Provost click on the same space he was originally on (when you srated this action). For best accuracy click in the top portion of the square you with to place the Provost. Remember that everyone is given the opportunity to place the Provost!
Phase 5 - Activation of the buildings
Beginning at the bridge, and moving through all the buildings up to and including the space the Provost ends on, each building is activated.
In this example the red player receives nothing since his actions would take place after the Provost!
Phase 6 - Building of Keep
Players have the opportunity to build in the keep sequentially according to the order in which they were placed (if they were placed) on the 5 keep spaces.
If you took thuis action you will see a pop-up window. You will be prompted as to what type of material you will use to build. You MUST use 1 food and 2 of any other different raw materials for each batch (e.g. 1 food, plus 1 stone and 1 wood). When finished you will again receive the pop-up window. If you wish to make another batch repeat the previous action, otherwise, click on tghe red 'X'. The next player is then given the option to build at the keep. If you chose this action and decided not to build you will lose 2 prestige points!
Once all respective players have built in the keep, the player who built the most in the keep (if there is a tie it is the first of these players) receives a King's Favour. This will open the King's Favour Pop-up window.
Phase 7 - End of the Round
Once Phase 6 is finished, if the Provost is in front of the Bailiff, (point of refernce being the keep as the starting position), the Bailiff moves two spaces further down the path. If the Provost sits after or on the same space as the Bailiff, the Bailiff moves one space further down the path. The Provost is then placed on the same square as the Bailiff. When the Provost reaches one of the three trigger squares, the keep is scored and the appropriate bonuses/penalties apply. If the appropraite section of the keep is build befoire the trigger point is reached, the keep is also scored. If this happens then the scoring takes place at the end of that round.
End of the Game
The game ends when the third trigger point is reached.
The following prestige points are awarded:
- 3 points for each piece of gold
- 1 point for every 3 Raw Materials
- 1 point of prestige for every 4 Denar
Supplimental
Building Pop-up
The Pop-up Window can rbe relocated on thescreen with the right hand button of the mouse and dragging it if it blocks your view of the game. The red 'X' closes the windows and cancels/terminates this action.
If you wish to see the buildings which are left use the yellow arrow located on the bottom right of this window. In this sub-menu, when you select a building it replaces the one in the main view. If this is not the building you want, simply click the yellow arrow again. If it is the one you want, click the green arrow (on the top right). The window always opens at the first available building of that type.
King's Favours
You can receive a King's Favour either via the Joust Field, by building the most in the Keep or via Prestige Buildings. When this happens the King's Favour window opens. There are 4 tracks to choose from (Prestige points, money, material and building). Your choices build sequentially as you gain favours. During the building of the first section of the Keep (Dungeons) you can improve any track up to the second column. During the building of the second section of the Keep (Turrets) you can improve any track up to the fourth column. During the building of the third section of the Keep (walls) you can use the last column as well. You can use any of the favours up to the last column of the track of favours that you have already selected. Ensure that when you select a favour you have the material to take advantage of it! You can only use one type (track) of favour in any phase, therefore the maximum favours you can play at any one time is 4. This can happen if you build the monument and receive 3 King's favours! It is possible to select the same favour track in phase 3 and phase 5 and/or phase 6.
Using Buildings
Always thing about the logical progression of the buildings. (For example it would be useless to place a worker on the Joust Field when you will not have a cloth or any money to pay for the favour!) If you are going to build in the Keep, make sure that you will acquire enough materials to make the number of batches you want. Always keep an eye on the Provost and where other players may place it. Think about where you want the Provost and where you wish to place on the bridge as this will influence when you have control over the Provost.
Special Rules for 2 Players
The following changes take place in a 2 player game:
- Both players receive 5 Denar at the beginning
- Both players alternate as the start player for each round. The stables therefore are meaningless.
- If a player passes (places on the bridge), the other one must pay 3 Denar for using each worker. Your buildings, however, still only cost 1 Denar. The inn still keeps its function.