Why I don't like Caylus

There's a Thursday night game night, where we frequently hit 5 players. This means Le Havre, Caylus, Puerto Rico, Imperial...but normally Le Havre. I picked up Imperial, just because I loved the elegance of Antike, but Imperial doesn't have the same elegance for me.

Caylus I have, but it's not going to get dusted off, anytime soon. My last several experiences were pretty much identical (and miserable).

Caylus has a primary flaw - most of the game is placing workers - gaining special powers for a turn, gathering resources, building buildings, and making bricks for the king's castle. There's a gap after you place workers, and before you start resolving them...and this is where it gets to be a bully contest. Provost time!

Up to this point, there's no table talk. It only happens at the gap. Suddenly, you're trying to make deals with others players to sabotage another player or multiple players. It's tough to hit multiple players, as a tug of war rarely results in a big delta (change of position). So what typically happens, one person gets screwed.

This is why I associate it as the bully step. 2 or more people gang up to thwart one person. It's not a quick hit though, the bullies need to talk about how much they're going to spend amongst themselves, bullying their victim...and making sure that the victim can't fight back. (And the victim gets the extra pain as the bullies rationalize their behavior. Even the discussion becomes part of the act.)

Typically it's not the first place person, as the first place person doesn't need to take the outlier risks that can get burned. The anti-blue shell, the one that can only hit people not in first place. Normally, an interactive step might require 2nd and 3rd to combine forces, just to slow or stop 1st...not here.

That's my disappointment post with Caylus. Bullying and poor risk design. The rest of the game, great.