# Caylus

Caylus is a board game for 2–5 players. It plays in 60–150 minutes and is meant for ages 12 and up. Ludoya players call it best with 3. It is rated 7.8 out of 10 by 122 Ludoya reviewers.

- **Players:** 2–5 (best with 3)
- **Playing time:** 60–150 minutes
- **Minimum age:** 12+
- **Complexity:** 3.8 out of 5
- **Year published:** 2005
- **Categories:** Medieval, Economic, City Building
- **Mechanics:** Ownership, Worker Placement, Action Queue, Variable Set-up, Turn Order: Claim Action, Turn Order: Pass Order
- **Ludoya rating:** 7.8 out of 10, from 122 reviews
- **Owned by:** 155 Ludoya players
- **Plays logged on Ludoya:** 618
- **Unique players:** 480

**Designers:** William Attia

**Artists:** Cyril Demaegd, Arnaud Demaegd, Mike Doyle (I)

**Publishers:** Ystari Games

## Expansions

- [Caylus: Jeweler promo tile](https://www.ludoya.com/games/caylus-expansion-the-jeweller)

## Similar games

- [Caylus 1303](https://www.ludoya.com/games/caylus-1303)
- [Carson City](https://www.ludoya.com/games/carson-city)
- [Belfort](https://www.ludoya.com/games/belfort)
- [Lords of Waterdeep](https://www.ludoya.com/games/lords-of-waterdeep)
- [Mombasa](https://www.ludoya.com/games/mombasa)
- [Le Havre](https://www.ludoya.com/games/le-havre)
- [Gùgōng: Deluxe Big Box](https://www.ludoya.com/games/gugong-deluxe-big-box)
- [Village](https://www.ludoya.com/games/village)
- [Village: Big Box](https://www.ludoya.com/games/village-big-box)
- [Keyside](https://www.ludoya.com/games/keyside)
- [Florenza: X Anniversary Edition](https://www.ludoya.com/games/florenza-x-anniversary-edition)
- [Darwin's Journey](https://www.ludoya.com/games/darwins-journey)

## Rules questions

### If a production building is activated by another player, do I also get resources as the owner?

Yes — when a production (stone) building is activated by anyone but its owner, the owner takes one resource cube (chosen among those produced) from the stock; if the owner activates it themself they take only the normal income and no extra cube is taken (page 3).

### How does the provost decide which buildings are activated — what if my workers are past the provost?

After players pay to move the provost (Phase 4), buildings are activated in order from the first space after the bridge up to the provost's current space; any workers on buildings beyond the provost are not activated and are returned to their owners without compensation (pages 3 and 5).

### If I place a worker on someone else’s building do they get points? What about placing on my own building?

Yes — placing a worker on another player's building immediately gives the building's owner 1 prestige point; placing a worker on one of your own buildings costs 1 denier but does not give any prestige point to anyone (page 3).

### I put a worker in the castle — what if I can't or won't supply a batch when it's my turn to build?

If you placed a worker in the castle but cannot or will not provide the required batch (three different cubes, one must be food), you lose 2 prestige points (but not below zero); this penalty does not apply if you can't give a batch because the Towers section has no room left (pages 4–5).

### Can I use the 'exclusive use' favor effects even if the corresponding building isn't on the board, and when are higher favor columns available?

Yes — the exclusive-use favor line lets you use construction-building effects even if the building isn't on the board (page 6); columns 3 and 4 of the favor table become available after the Dungeon count, and column 5 becomes available after the Walls count (page 6).

## Links

- [This page](https://www.ludoya.com/games/caylus)
- [Caylus in the Ludoya app](https://app.ludoya.com/g/caylus)
- [BoardGameGeek entry](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/18602)

_Data from Ludoya, updated 2026-09-23. Ratings, ownership and play counts are Ludoya's own._