Puerto Rico should need no introduction; it stood atop the bgg rankings for many years (I believe it is the longest-running #1 game in the history of bgg). However, If you’re not familiar, players assume the roles of colonial governors on their eponymous island. The game makes no attempt to nationalise or politicise the theme, other than alluding to European governors attempting to instil their values of order and industry to their respective islands and incoming colonists. I too will ignore the politics and real history of the period. Games are meant to be enjoyed after all and not provide a social commentary on human rights/abuses.
I recently received the Puerto Rico deluxe edition and have been excited to revisit this gem. However, if you’ve never heard of it (!!!) then the TL;DR is, if you like ‘Euro’ games with tight mechanics, don’t read this, just go and buy it.
Gameplay
The primary mechanic in this game is one of Action Drafting, in which the starting player will choose one of the six available actions. Every other player will then get to do the same action albeit without the bonus ability that the first player gets. After each player has taken their action, the starting player moves round to the next player on the left and then play repeats. Although this game may look quite intimidating to a new gamer the repetition of actions 2 or 3 times every round allows the rules to sink in surprisingly quickly. In my experience, there are very few questions from new players after the first 30 minutes or so.Ready...Steady...Colonise |
The chosen actions are all part of the Role cards, which are: Captain, Mayor, Builder, Settler, Trader and Craftsman. There is also a Prospector Role which has no associated action and will only be used in 4 or 5 player games. These roles all perform a thematically linked action that will help to develop your ‘island’. After players are familiar with the mechanics it is often quickly apparent which role should be chosen to most benefit you, however where I find the most fun in this game is looking for those roles which most hurt your opponents.
The available roles |
It is obvious from this description that some level of strategic thought is necessary to optimise your chosen plantations and buildings. It is pointless planting sugar cane if you never build a sugar mill… there are many different building and goods options that provide viable paths to victory no one method will guarantee the win. The adage ‘do what your opponents aren’t’ springs to mind, you really do have to play tactically as well and consider the board state and available resources to do well. New-comers won’t necessarily appreciate these nuances until their second or third play, but they’ll still have a good time whilst they're learning.
What you're playing on |
Like many Euro games, the economy is very tight, money is often hard to come by. But the true grease of your VP engine is your produced goods. Each good can be sold to the Trader for some money but often you may be forced to ship your high-value coffee stock or risk having to just lose it without any gain. New players don't often realise the ramifications around the table of their role choices but I revel in causing other players to lose their produced goods.
The player board (near the beginning of the game) |
Each Mayor phase will cause more colonists to be brought to the player's island and when the colonist supply runs out the game is over. VPs come from buildings and shipped goods and any of the expensive large buildings which will be built towards the end of the game. Amongst equally experienced players the score appears to be fairly tight and a skilled player against newer players should win every time. As with any mechanically sound game, aside from your opponents’ choices, luck does not feature in this game.
Some of the expansion content |
Components
I was quite disappointed in the quality of the components in what is considered a deluxe version. The deluxe version, as far as I cant tell, only adds the two expansions (New Buildings and Nobles) into the base game. Unfortunately, this edition has very thin card stock and I don’t think it will stand up to much normal wear-and-tear.What you've got to work with |
I like the new art-work and I appreciate the insert that comes in the box. The cubes and goods barrels work perfectly well and I wouldn’t want them to change anything about the colonist discs or any of the wooden components. The only very minor functional gripe with the functionality of the components is that there are no spaces for two of the expansions’ large buildings on the game board.
Old vs New |
Criticisms
The only real gripe I have is just of component quality which I have already mentioned.
Conclusion
Some would say there is a lack of direct player interaction but if so, they’re playing the game wrong. Puerto Rico provides a less confrontational experience than something like Tigris & Euphrates but still gives all players the ability to negatively and (unfortunately) positively affect their opponents. You’re often left with a decision between something good for you or something bad for your opponents and just okay for you. I like these types of decisions – although I struggle not to (try at least) hurt my opponents as much as possible.The end |
I’d like to thank Asmodee for sending out this review copy. Many local game stores will have this in stock and you can use this link http://www.findyourgamestore.co.uk/ to support your FLGS or use their online web store.
Designer: Andrea Seyfarth
Publisher: Alea
BGG Page: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3076/puerto-rico
Players: 3-5
Playtime: 2 hours
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