How to Play Puerto Rico 1897: Special Edition

Goal of the Game

In Puerto Rico 1897: Special Edition, players compete to become the most prosperous farmers on the island, accumulating Victory Points (VP) through farming, production, trading, and building structures. The game is set in 1897, following the end of the colonial era, where players manage properties, recruit workers, and trade goods such as corn, fruit, sugar, tobacco, and coffee.

Winning Condition: The game ends when one of three conditions is met (lack of workers, all building spaces occupied, or VP tokens exhausted). The player with the most VP at the end of the game wins; in the event of a tie, coins and crates are also considered.

Setup

1. Place the Main Board in the center and organize the resource, building, and VP trays nearby.
2. Position the Employment Agency and the Trading House in their designated spaces.
3. Prepare the Cargo Ships with decks appropriate to the number of players (4/5/6 spaces for 3/4/5 players).
4. Distribute:
   • 1 Player Board and 1 Player Portrait for each player.
   • 2/3/4 Coins (one less than the number of players).
   • Initial Property Tokens (fruit for the first players, corn for the last).
5. The player with the Governor Marker starts the game.

Gameplay Flow

The game is divided into rounds, where each player chooses one Role at a time (in clockwise order). In each round:

1. The Governor chooses an available Role, performs its action, and uses its Advantage.
2. The other players perform the action of the chosen Role (without the Advantage).
3. Repeat until all Roles have been chosen.
4. Add 1 Coin to each unused Role, return the tokens to the board, and pass the Governor Marker.

Actions and How to Play

Available Roles:

• Planter: Take a Property Token or a Quarry (Advantage: choose the quarry).
• Recruiter: Acquire Workers from the Employment Agency (Advantage: +1 worker from the General Reserve).
• Builder: Builds a Building (Advantage: 1 Coin discount).
• Producer: Produces Crates according to occupied properties (Advantage: +1 crate of a produced type).
• Trader: Sells a Product at the Trading House (Advantage: +1 Coin).
• Captain: Sends Products to ships (mandatory; Advantage: +1 VP if carrying something).
• Adventurer: Gains 1 Coin (no action for other players).

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends when:

• There are not enough Workers to fill the Employment Agency.
• A player occupies all 12 Building spaces.
• The VP tokens run out (at the end of the Captain phase).

Scoring: Sum the VP from tokens, buildings (occupied or not), and expanded building bonuses. In case of a tie, count coins and crates.

Tips for Winning

1. Prioritize versatile buildings: The Warehouse and the Port help accumulate VP during the Captain phase.
2. Monopolize valuable products: Coffee and tobacco yield more coins when sold, but require specific production buildings.
3. Use Quarries to save: They reduce construction costs, especially for expensive buildings.

Consult the manual for details on expansions and specific buildings.