Puerto Rico

2002

Step into the shoes of a colonial governor in Puerto Rico! Grow crops, build cities, trade goods and earn points in this strategic board game. Master the art of role selection for maximum gains!

150
minutes

3 - 5
player(s)

12+

Medium Heavy

About the game

In Puerto Rico, players assume the roles of colonial governors on the island of Puerto Rico. The aim of the game is to amass victory points by shipping goods to Europe or by constructing buildings. Each player uses a separate small board with spaces for city buildings, plantations, and resources. Shared between the players are three ships, a trading house, and a supply of resources and doubloons. The resource cycle of the game is that players grow crops which they exchange for points or doubloons. Doubloons can then be used to buy buildings, which allow players to produce more crops or give them other abilities. Buildings and plantations do not work unless they are manned by colonists. During each round, players take turns selecting a role card from those on the table (such as "Trader" or "Builder"). When a role is chosen, every player gets to take the action appropriate to that role. The player that selected the role also receives a small privilege for doing so – for example, choosing the "Builder" role allows all players to construct a building, but the player who chose the role may do so at a discount on that turn. Unused roles gain a doubloon bonus at the end of each turn, so the next player who chooses that role gets to keep any doubloon bonus associated with it. This encourages players to make use of all the roles throughout a typical course of a game. Puerto Rico uses a variable phase order mechanism in which a "governor" token is passed clockwise to the next player at the conclusion of a turn. The player with the token begins the round by choosing a role and taking the first action. Players earn victory points for owning buildings, for shipping goods, and for manned "large buildings." Each player’s accumulated shipping chips are kept face down and come in denominations of one or five. This prevents other players from being able to determine the exact score of another player. Goods and doubloons are placed in clear view of other players and the totals of each can always be requested by a player. As the game enters its later stages, the unknown quantity of shipping tokens and its denominations require players to consider their options before choosing a role that can end the game. In 2011 and mostly afterwards, Puerto Rico was published to include both Puerto Rico: Expansion I – New Buildings and Puerto Rico: Expansion II – The Nobles. These versions are included in the other game entry Puerto Rico, not this regular game entry for Puerto Rico. Some editions of Puerto Rico list the player count as 2-5 instead of 3-5, and they include variant rules for games with only two players.

Setup and rules summary

Game components Unboxing the fun!

Puerto Rico, a popular board game, comes packed with different components, each playing a vital role in the game. Here’s a list of all the components included in the game, along with a description of each one and their function within the game:

1. Game Board: The game board is designed to hold several elements of the game, such as the plantation tiles, different building types, and the colonist ship. It also displays the order of the roles and the costs of the buildings. The game board is the central part of the game that guides the players’ actions and strategies.

2. Five Player Boards: Each player receives a personal board which represents their island. Players place their plantation tiles and buildings here, and it also provides a space for colonists to work.

3. Role Cards: There are seven role cards in the game, each depicting a different role (Settler, Mayor, Builder, Craftsman, Trader, Captain, and Prospector). Players choose these roles to perform specific actions or gain specific benefits during their turn. Each role interacts with the game in unique ways, influencing the game’s flow and players’ strategies.

4. 49 Building Tiles: These tiles represent various buildings that players can construct on their player boards. Buildings grant special abilities or points at the end of the game, and they also provide jobs for colonists.

5. 58 Island Tiles: These tiles, which depict different plantation types (indigo, sugar, corn, coffee, and tobacco), are placed on the player boards. They’re necessary for producing goods when the Craftsman role is chosen.

6. 100 Colonists: These tokens represent workers that players can use to activate their buildings or work on plantations. The number of colonists in the game is limited, creating a strategic element for players to consider.

7. One Colonist Ship: This ship brings new colonists to Puerto Rico. The number of colonists it brings each round depends on the number of vacant building and plantation spaces on all player boards combined.

8. 100 Goods: There are five types of goods – indigo, sugar, corn, coffee, and tobacco, corresponding to the plantation types. Goods can be produced, sold for doubloons, or shipped for victory points.

9. One Trading House: The trading house is a place where players can sell their goods for doubloons when the Trader role is chosen. It has limited capacity, adding another strategic element to the game.

10. 50 Doubloons: Doubloons are the currency in the game. Players earn doubloons by selling goods or choosing the Prospector role, and spend them to build buildings and sometimes to choose roles.

11. Three Cargo Ships: These ships are used to export goods for victory points when the Captain role is chosen. Each ship can only carry one type of good but has a different capacity.

12. Victory Point Chips: These chips are earned mainly by shipping goods and are kept hidden from other players. The player with the most victory points at the end of the game wins.

13. Two Rulebooks: The game includes one rulebook in English and one in Spanish. These provide detailed instructions on how to play the game, explaining all the rules and interactions between components.

Game setup Lay it out, line it up, let’s go

Puerto Rico is a classic strategy board game that revolves around building and managing a thriving colony in the Caribbean. The game requires careful planning and strategy to maximize points through building, shipping goods, and selection of roles. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to set up ‘Puerto Rico’:

Step 1: Board Placement

Start by placing the main game board in the center of the playing area. Each player chooses a color and takes the corresponding player board. The player boards should be placed in front of their respective players. Ensure that all players can reach the main board easily.

Step 2: Initial Resources

Each player receives an amount of doubloons based on the number of players in the game. For a three-player game, the starting player receives 2 doubloons, the second player 3 doubloons, and the third player 4 doubloons. In a four-player game, the starting player receives 3 doubloons and so forth.

Step 3: Plantation Tiles

Shuffle the plantation tiles and place them face down in a stack. Draw tiles equal to the number of players plus one and place these tiles face up on the unoccupied island spaces.

Step 4: Supply of Goods

Place the five types of goods (corn, indigo, sugar, tobacco, and coffee) in separate piles near the main board. Each player receives one barrel of corn.

Step 5: Colonist Supply and Colonist Ship

Count out a number of colonist pieces based on the number of players and place them in a pile to form the colonist supply. The remaining colonists go on the colonist ship – the number of colonists placed on the ship depends on the number of players.

Step 6: Building Tiles

Arrange the building tiles by type on the designated spaces on the main game board. Each building type has its own space.

Step 7: Role Cards

Place the role cards on their designated spaces on the main game board. The number of role cards used depends on the number of players.

Step 8: Victory Point Chips

Place the victory point chips in a pile next to the main game board. These will be awarded to players throughout the game.

Step 9: Random Elements

Random elements in Puerto Rico come in the form of plantation tiles and role cards. During each round, players will select a role card that provides specific actions or benefits. The plantation tiles drawn during the settler phase also add a random element to the game.

Now, you’re all set and ready to play Puerto Rico. Enjoy the game and may the best colonist win!

Game flow Round and round we go

In the board game Puerto Rico, players assume the roles of colonial governors on the island of Puerto Rico. The aim is to earn the most victory points by shipping goods to Europe and by constructing buildings. Each player uses a separate small board with spaces for city buildings, plantations, and resources.

Each game round consists of several turns, where each player can choose one role from the available roles but no two players can choose the same role in the same round. The roles include settler, mayor, builder, craftsman, trader, prospector, and captain. The roles not selected in a round also gain a coin bonus to incentivize their selection in the next round.

Settler Phase: During this phase, players add a new plantation to their island. The player who chose the settler role has the additional option of acquiring a quarry instead of a plantation.
Mayor Phase: In the mayor phase, players add colonists to their island and assign them to their buildings and plantations. The player who chose the mayor role receives an extra colonist.
Builder Phase: Here, players pay to construct buildings in the city. The buildings provide either a one-time effect, ongoing benefit, or end-game victory points. The player who chose the builder role pays one less resource than usual for the building.
Craftsman Phase: In the craftsman phase, players produce goods. Each colonist on a plantation that matches a good and a colonist in a corresponding production building will produce one good. The player who chose the craftsman role gets one additional good of a type they produced.
Trader Phase: In the trader phase, players sell goods for doubloons. The player who chose the trader role gets an extra doubloon when selling a good.
Captain Phase: During the captain phase, players ship goods to the Old World for victory points. The player who chose the captain role earns an extra victory point for the first shipment they make.
Prospector Phase: The player who chose the prospector role simply gains a doubloon. No other players take an action during this phase.

The game ends when either the colonists, victory points, or buildings run out. Players then add up their victory points from buildings and shipments, with the highest total winning the game.

Players'turn One turn to rule them all

In the popular board game Puerto Rico, each player’s turn is structured around selecting a role and performing the associated action. The player’s choices have significant strategic implications and can greatly impact the course of the game.

1. Role Selection

Each round begins with players selecting a role from the available options. The roles include: Settler, Mayor, Builder, Craftsman, Trader, Captain, and Prospector.

Settler: Allows the player to pick up a plantation tile from the face-up options. This can allow the player to grow more crops on their island. An optional action when choosing the Settler role is to select a quarry instead of a plantation, which can help lower the cost of building later on.
Mayor: This role allows the player to add more colonists to their island, filling up buildings and plantations. The active player also gets an extra colonist. Colonists are vital for the function of buildings and production of goods.
Builder: The Builder allows players to construct buildings on their island. These buildings can provide a variety of benefits, including the production of goods, special abilities, or victory points. The player who chooses the Builder role gets a discount on the cost.
Craftsman: This role lets players produce goods from their plantations. The player who chooses the Craftsman role gets to produce an extra good of their choice.
Trader: The Trader allows players to sell goods for doubloons. The player who chooses the Trader role gets an extra doubloon when selling their goods.
Captain: The Captain lets players ship goods for victory points. The player who chooses the Captain role gets an extra victory point.
Prospector: This role, while not providing an action, grants the player an extra doubloon.

2. Role Actions

Once a role has been selected, all players get to perform the associated action, with the player who chose the role receiving a small bonus or privilege.

3. Strategic Choices

Players must carefully consider which roles to select based on their current resources, potential future actions, and the actions of their opponents. For example, if a player has a lot of goods and notices that their opponents do not, they might choose the Trader role to capitalize on this advantage. Alternatively, if a player sees that their opponents have a lot of goods, they might choose the Captain role to force their opponents to ship their goods, potentially causing them to lose some.

Similarly, players need to consider their building strategy. Some buildings provide immediate benefits or bonuses during the game, while others provide more victory points at the end of the game. Balancing short-term gains with long-term rewards is a key strategic element of Puerto Rico.

End of the game All good games must come to an end

The game of ‘Puerto Rico’ ends when one of the three end conditions is met. These conditions are:

The governor triggers the final round: If the governor (the player who starts a round) takes the last role tile, this indicates the final round of the game. Each player, including the governor, gets one last turn before the game ends.
City spaces are filled: If a player fills up the 12 city spaces in his province, the game ends after the current round is completed.
The supply of colonists runs out: If there are not enough colonists to refill the colonist ship during the colonist phase, the game ends after the current round is completed.

Before final scoring, players must take the following actions:

Unload all goods: Players must unload all goods from their ships. This includes both free and occupied cargo holds. These goods do not score any points.
Return colonists: Players must return all colonists from their island to the general supply. Only colonists in the players’ buildings will be counted for scoring.
Count victory points: Players count the number of victory points they have from their victory point chips, occupied large buildings, and bonuses from occupied large buildings. The player with the most victory points wins the game. If there is a tie, the player with the most doubloons plus the value of unsold goods wins.

Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?

In the board game ‘Puerto Rico’, each player accumulates victory points (VPs) during the course of the game through a variety of means. The primary ways to score points are through the construction of buildings, the shipment of goods, and the occupation of colonists. The player with the most VPs at the end of the game is the winner.

Scoring Through Buildings:

Each building in a player’s city grid has a certain number of victory points. This number is indicated on the building card itself and is awarded to the player at the end of the game.
There are also ‘violet’ buildings which provide bonus points at the end of the game, based on certain conditions. For example, the ‘Guild Hall’ awards 2 VPs for each large production building on the player’s city. The conditions for bonus points are clearly indicated on each violet building card.

Scoring Through Goods Shipment:

Players earn VPs by shipping goods during the Captain phase. Each barrel of goods shipped earns the player one VP. These VPs are taken in the form of VP chips which are kept hidden from other players until the end of the game.

Scoring Through Colonists:

The ‘Residence’ building provides bonus points based on the number of colonists in the player’s city. The more colonists a player has, the more points this building will award at the end of the game.

At the end of the game, players add up the VPs from their buildings, their VP chips, and any additional points from violet buildings. The player with the most total points is the winner.

In the event of a tie, the player with the most leftover goods and doubloons (combined) is the winner. If there is still a tie, the player who is earlier in the turn order wins.

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

Puerto Rico is a popular strategy board game that has some special rules and exceptions that are crucial to gameplay. Here are some of them:

Special Buildings:

University: This building allows the player to receive a colonist from the supply and place it in the city when the player chooses the Builder role. However, the colonist does not come from the colonist ship.
Fortress: This building gives the player one victory point for every 3 colonists in his city at the end of the game. The player must have at least 3 colonists in his city in order to score points from the Fortress.
Residence: This building gives the player one victory point for every violet building in his city that is not occupied by a colonist at the end of the game.

Colonist Phase Exceptions:

The colonist ship is refilled at the end of the colonist phase, not at the beginning. This means that there may be more colonists on the ship than the number of players, especially in the later rounds of the game.
A player cannot place a colonist in a building that is already occupied, even if the building can accommodate more than one colonist.

Trading House Rules:

Only one type of good can be sold in the trading house at any given time. If a player sells a good, no other player can sell the same type of good until the trading house is cleared.
The trading house is cleared when it is full, not when it is empty. This means that a player cannot sell a good if the trading house is full, even if the player has a market stand or small market.

End Game Conditions:

The game ends at the end of the round in which at least one player has filled his city with buildings.
The game also ends if there are not enough colonists in the supply to refill the colonist ship at the end of a colonist phase.
Finally, the game can end if there are not enough victory point chips in the supply to complete a mayor phase.

Understanding these special rules and exceptions is key to mastering the game of Puerto Rico.

Tips and tricks Play smarter, not harder!

Puerto Rico is a popular strategy board game where players assume roles of colonial governors on the island of Puerto Rico. The goal is to earn the most victory points by shipping goods and constructing buildings. Below are some advanced strategies, beginner tips, common mistakes to avoid, and ways to optimize gameplay.

Advanced Strategies

Role Selection: Always aim to make the most of the role you select. For example, if you choose the Mayor, ensure you have enough colonists to fill all the roles in your buildings.
Building Strategy: Try to focus on building large buildings as they provide more victory points. However, don’t neglect small buildings as they can provide helpful benefits throughout the game.
Plantation Diversification: It’s beneficial to have a variety of goods. This strategy will make you less vulnerable to market fluctuations and more flexible during the Captain phase.

Beginner Tips

Focus on Plantations: In the early stages of the game, focus on building plantations. This will provide the foundation for your economy.
Use The Craftsman Wisely: Use the Craftsman role only when you can produce more goods than your opponents. This will prevent them from gaining an advantage.
Keep an Eye on Your Opponents: Pay attention to what your opponents are doing. This can give you an idea of what roles they might choose, allowing you to plan your moves accordingly.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Ignoring the Harbor: The Harbor can be a game changer as it provides an extra victory point for each shipment. Not utilizing this building can be a big mistake.
Not Diversifying: Focusing solely on one type of good can leave you vulnerable. If the demand for that good drops, you could be left with a surplus of useless resources.
Overlooking the Power of Roles: Each role has its own unique benefit. Ignoring these benefits and choosing roles at random can put you at a disadvantage.

Ways to Optimize Gameplay

Plan Ahead: Always have a plan for your turns. Think about what roles you will choose and what buildings you plan to construct.
Manage Your Resources: Keep track of your resources and make sure you’re using them effectively. This includes managing your colonists, plantations, and goods.
Adapt to the Game: Be flexible and ready to change your strategy based on the state of the game. If a certain good is in high demand, consider switching your focus to producing that good.