Caylus

In a retro mood, we brought the classic Caylus to the table and, after realizing that nobody was certain whether they had played it before, gave it two and a half games. It is one of those German-school euros that needs no fanfare: lean, honest, and possessed of a clarity that plenty of modern designers would do well to study. More is not always better, indeed.

The game rests on tightly connected mechanisms, with a feel that reminded me a little of Wallace. The course of the game is built around choices that carry weight, without burdening the player with a pile of separate systems just to demonstrate depth.

Interaction becomes especially clear when everyone is eyeing the same crucial spots. To jump ahead, someone fights for a big scoring building, and access to it may run through a chokepoint—the gold mine is the obvious example. It is not enough simply to pursue your own plan there: you have to get ahead of the others and withstand the pressure of competition.

Personally, I was not crazy about this struggle over one big scoring building; it is not the kind of tension I enjoy most. Even so, the experience was very pleasant, and Caylus makes it perfectly clear why it is considered a classic and why it has collected so many accolades.