Recently dethroned by Agricola after being a permanent mainstay (5 years+) in position one of Boardgamegeek, Puerto Rico will remain one of my favourite games (until I learn how to play the new #1) game... Designed by Andreas Seyfarth and published by multiple board game producers, it continues to remain popular amongst board game fanatics... Each player attempts to outdo their opponents in the game of economy, wits and guile. The player with the most Victory Points (VP) at the end of the game wins. Money and goods can assist you in victory, but are not victory conditions.
Every turn, each player chooses a different role and all players receive the benefit, with the player choosing the role having an additional bonus. For example, the player who chooses "Builder" allows all players to build a building this turn, except that he gets to build a building at $1 discount. Simlarly, choosing "Trader" allows all players to sell a good, but allows that player to receive $1 more out of his sale. Since each role can only be chosen once each turn, it is important to choose the correct one for several reasons...
1) Players need to choose a role which benefits them the most.
2) Players can pick a role to deny other players from choosing it, thus depriving them of the bonus.
3) Players can pick a role to sabotage their opponents, like choosing "Captain" when all ships are full and forcing loaded players to dump all their goods, or choosing "Builder" when an opponent has no money.
A detailed explanation of the roles are as follows, with an analysis of when are the most appropriate times to choose which:
1) Settler - Each player is allocated 12 plots of agricultural land when the game begins, and players have access to play several types of crops. The plantation list comprises of corn, indigo, sugar, tobacco and coffee. The player who chooses settler gets to receive a Quarry instead of the mentioned 5 crops, which allows the player to receive a $1 discount on buildings for each Quarry he controls. All other players draft the remaining crop tiles in clockwise motion. The drawing of plantations is the ONLY random element of the game, which makes this game highly alluring for hardcore strategy players who bemoan bad beats (like me)
It is advantageous to pick Settler if:
-you intend to win by generating VPs through buildings, since you can pick Quarry
-you intend to win by shipping corn and the corn crop appears in the early game.
It is horrible to pick Settler if:
-the supply is out of quarries and you need them.
-all the revealed plantations are the same and there are no more quarries
-when an opponent has Construction Hut and he is going for the building strategy and when Quarries are still available
-when an opponent has Hacienda and you cant get the plantation you want
2) Builder - Each player is also allocated 12 building plots to house their economic buildings. By choosing builder, each player chooses a building from the extensive list of buildings, pays the cost and puts the tile on their town. Every building has different bonuses and your choice differs greatly depending on your strategy and playstyle. The build gets first choice and builds his targeted building at a $1 discount while all other players pay full cost for their respective building.
It is advantageous to pick Builder if:
-nobody else has money, since they can't build anything.
-there is only one copy of the building you need leftover.
It is horrible to pick Builder if:
-someone else is richer than you or if you don't have money
3) Craftsman - All players receive goods based on the number of manned plantations they own, with the craftsman receiving a bonus good. Goods can either be sold to raise money, or be shipped to generate Victory Points. Corn does not sell for any money, but Indigo, Sugar, Tobacco and Coffee are sold for $1, $2, $3 and $4 respectively. All goods ship at the rate of 1 VP per good, which makes it kind of a waste to ship Coffee.
It is advantageous to pick Craftsman if:
-you are able to generate more goods than others AND if someone else choosing Captain doesnt ruin you.
-you can produce a good which nobody else can sell because you dont get killed if someone else chooses Trader.
It is horrible to pick Craftsman if:
-Captain hasn't been chosen and if it would cause massive losses if chosen later
-Someone else has a full-blown Factory / Specialised Factory active
-The ships are empty and you don't get to ship first
4) Mayor - All buildings and plantations don't work unless they are manned by a colonist. You can have 5 coffee plantations but if it is not manned by a colonist, you do not produce any coffee during the Craftsman phase. Similarly, all buildings that generate bonuses are treated as invisible unless a colonist is place on it. The player who selects mayor receives additional colonists compared to other players. Also, during the Mayor phase, all players may move colonists around to "activate" the buildings or plantations they wish to utilize. Players may NOT move colonists around except during the Mayor phase.
It is advantageous to pick Mayor if:
-you get an unfair amount of colonists. Like 5 colonists on the ship in a four player game, with you receiving 3 and other players 1.
It is horrible to pick Mayor if:
-your opponents need the colonists more badly than you
-your opponent have important buildings that need to be activated
-your opponent has active Hospice or University
5) Trader - As mentioned above Corn does not sell for any money, but Indigo, Sugar, Tobacco and Coffee are sold for $1, $2, $3 and $4 respectively. The Trading House has an interesting buying policy, they have a buylist of 4 slots and purchase one item of one type at any time and do not buy anymore until their entire order is fulfilled. For example, if Coffee has already been sold to the Trading House, no other player may sell Coffee anymore. Player receives money based on the good sold and the player who picked Trader receives $1 more if he also sold a good.
It is advantageous to pick Trader if:
-you are able to sell a good at a higher price than other people. No point selling Indigo for $2 ($1+$1) if someone else sells Coffee at $4
-if there is only one slot left in the Trading House
-if everyone is holding the same good as you have
It is horrible to pick Trader if:
-you dont have any goods to sell (doh!)
-someone else is trying to go Big Buildings strategy and have Small Markets / Big Markets / Trading Post
6) Captain - All players with goods are able to ship them to generate VP during the Captain phase. They are only three ships and each only carries one type of goods. If ship #1 contains Corn, ship #2 contains Indigo and ship #3 contains Sugar, no players may ship any Tobacco or Coffee and are force to throw them all away. Players receive one VP for each product shipped (with the captain receiving one more VP) and are allowed to retain only one item at the end of the Captain phase.
It is advantageous to pick Captain if:
-you are able to generate more VP than other players
-other players are holding goods NOT already on the ships or on almost full ships, to force them to throw their goods away.
-if nobody else has any goods
It is horrible to pick Captain if:
-you have no goods to ship
-if all the ships are almost full and your opponents have Wharf / Harbour
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7) Prospector - Nobody does anything. The player who picked Prospector receives $1. =) Selfish bugger...
All in all, a pretty simplistic model of role-picking from a sleepy author... feel free to criticize... I beat all of you anyway... More to come when I am less tired...
Think will produce great gaming sessions over a weekend evening for those who are Puerto-rico hard-cored, and before Agricola takes our attention away, if it ever happen. Sob sob. What you ppl think?
