How to Play Puerto Rico: Your Definitive Guide to Colonial Prosperity!

Welcome, fellow gamers, to the sun-drenched shores of Puerto Rico! Get ready to dive into a classic Eurogame where strategic role selection, resource management, and a dash of colonial ambition will pave your path to victory. As senior editor here at BoardGameBot, I'm thrilled to walk you through the ins and outs of this fantastic game. Let's get started!

Objective of the Game

In Puerto Rico, you are a colonial governor striving to build the most prosperous and prestigious island in the New World. Your ultimate goal is to accumulate the most Victory Points (VPs) by developing your plantations, constructing valuable buildings, and shipping goods back to the Old World. Will you focus on a robust production engine, a powerful building strategy, or a flexible trading empire? The choice is yours, but only one governor will reign supreme!

Preparation (Setup)

Alright, let's get this island paradise ready for action! Here's how to set up your game of Puerto Rico:

1. Place all the buildings on their designated spaces on the game board.
2. Place all the doubloons on the bank space on the game board.
3. Each player takes their individual player board and their initial money (doubloons), placing it face up on their windrose. The amount of initial money varies by player count:
   • 3 Players: 2 doubloons
   • 4 Players: 3 doubloons
   • 5 Players: 4 doubloons
4. A random player is chosen as the first player and takes the Governor card.
5. All players take their initial plantation tile and place it face up on any of their 12 island spaces. The initial plantation type also varies by player count and turn order:
   • 3 Players: 1st player indigo, 2nd indigo, 3rd corn.
   • 4 Players: 1st player indigo, 2nd indigo, 3rd and 4th corn.
   • 5 Players: 1st player indigo, 2nd and 3rd indigo, 4th and 5th corn.
6. Place all 8 quarry tiles face up beside the board.
7. Shuffle the remaining plantation tiles and place them face down in 5 stacks. Then, take a certain number of tiles from these stacks and place them face up next to the quarry tiles. This number depends on player count:
   • 3 Players: 4 tiles face up.
   • 4 Players: 5 tiles face up.
   • 5 Players: 6 tiles face up.
8. Place the victory point chips, the role cards, 3 cargo ships, all the goods in 5 piles, the trading house, the colonist ship, and the colonist markers by the game board. The specific setup for some of these components depends on the number of players:
   • 3 Players: 75 VP pool, 55 colonists, 6 role cards (all except both prospectors), cargo ships with 4, 5, and 6 spaces, colonist ship with 3 colonists.
   • 4 Players: 100 VP pool, 75 colonists, 7 role cards (all except one prospector), cargo ships with 5, 6, and 7 spaces, colonist ship with 4 colonists.
   • 5 Players: All 122 VP, 95 colonists, all 8 role cards, cargo ships with 6, 7, and 8 spaces, colonist ship with 5 colonists.
9. Optional Balancing Rule: Any player who starts with a corn plantation begins with 1 less doubloon.

The Game Turn

A round in Puerto Rico is all about choosing roles and executing actions. Here's how it flows:

1. Choose a Role

The player holding the Governor card starts the round by selecting one of the available role cards. Each role comes with a powerful action and a special privilege:

• The player who chooses the role benefits from both the privilege and the action.
• Then, all other players, in clockwise order, get to perform the action once.
• After everyone has performed the action, the player to the left of the current role-chooser selects one of the remaining role cards, and so on.
• This continues until all players have chosen a role card and taken their actions.
• Important Notes:
  • If a role card has doubloons on it (from previous rounds), the player who takes that card also collects those doubloons.
  • Players must always take a role card, but they can choose not to perform the action or use the privilege themselves.
  • All actions are optional, except for the Captain's action (you must load goods if possible).

Let's break down each role:

The Roles Explained

• Settler
  • Action: Take 1 face-up plantation tile and place it on an empty island space on your player board. Plantations can be moved on island spaces without penalty, but not removed.
  • Privilege: You may take a quarry tile (if available) instead of a face-up plantation tile.
  • Finally: The Settler player puts any untaken face-up plantation tiles onto a discard stack and draws new tiles (one more than the number of players) from the face-down stacks to replace them. If needed, shuffle discarded tiles to form new stacks.
• Mayor
  • Action: Take 1 colonist from the colonist ship, one at a time, clockwise starting with the Mayor, until none remain. You then place your new colonist(s), along with any colonists you acquired from earlier rounds (stored in San Juan), onto any empty circles on the tiles on your player board. Colonists must be placed on empty circles if possible. Any colonists that cannot be placed are stored in San Juan. When at least 1 colonist is on a tile, it is considered occupied and can produce raw materials.
  • Privilege: Take 1 additional colonist from the colonist supply (if available).
  • Finally: The Mayor places new colonists on the ship; one for each empty circle on the buildings on the player boards of all players (with a minimum equal to the number of players).
• Builder
  • Action: Build 1 building and place it on an empty city space (or 2 spaces for a large building). Pay the cost in doubloons to the bank. No player may build more than 1 building per round. Each occupied quarry reduces the cost for building by 1 doubloon, subject to limits shown on the game board (e.g., buildings in the first column can reduce their cost by a maximum of 1). The cost of a building cannot be reduced below 0 doubloons.
  • Privilege: Your building costs 1 doubloon less to build.
• Craftsman
  • Action: Take goods from the supply according to your production ability and place them on your windrose. Production buildings, along with occupied plantations, are required to produce goods. The number of circles on a production building shows the maximum number of goods it can produce when those circles have colonists. You must also have sufficient occupied plantations of the appropriate good. Corn does not require a production building and comes directly from the plantation.
  • Privilege: After all goods have been taken, take 1 additional good of a type you have produced (only if you have produced goods).
• Trader
  • Action: Sell 1 good to the trading house for the amount of doubloons from the bank shown. Only different kinds of goods may be sold to the trading house. Trading ends when all players have had one turn to sell or the trading house is full.
  • Privilege: Receive +1 doubloon from your sale.
  • Finally: The Trader empties the trading house if it is full by placing the goods back into the supply piles.
• Captain
  • Action: Load goods onto the cargo ships. Players must load goods, continuing clockwise until all possible goods have been loaded. Players may get several turns, and each turn they must pick 1 kind of good to load. All goods must be of the same kind inside an individual ship, and each of the 3 ships must carry different goods. If you have several possible kinds to load, choose any kind. Of your chosen good, load the maximum amount possible. If several ships are empty, use any ship that will hold all of your goods (use the largest ship if goods exceed ship capacities). Earn 1 VP for each barrel loaded.
  • Privilege: Receive +1 VP in total if you loaded any goods.
  • Finally: When no more goods can be loaded, if players have leftover goods, each player may store 1 excess good on their windrose. Remaining goods must be stored in warehouses or returned to the supply. The Captain then unloads all full ships by placing their goods back into the supply piles.
• Prospector
  • Action: There is no action for any player.
  • Privilege: Receive 1 doubloon from the bank.

2. Reset the Roles

After all players have taken their roles and actions:

• Place 1 doubloon on each of the 3 role cards that were not chosen this round.
• Return all role cards to their starting positions.
• The player to the left of the current Governor takes the Governor card and becomes the Governor for the next round.

Players keep their VP chips face down on their windrose, keeping their total secret. You can convert 5 of your value 1 chips for a single value 5 chip at any time.

End of Game and Scoring

The game of Puerto Rico ends at the end of the round when one of the following conditions is met:

• At the end of the Mayor phase, there are not enough colonists to fill the colonist ship.
• During the Builder phase, a player builds on their 12th city space.
• During the Captain phase, the last of the victory point chips is used.

Once the game end condition is triggered, finish the current round. Then, it's time for final scoring!

Victory Points are Scored:

Each player adds together:

1. The value of their VP chips.
2. The VP value of their buildings (occupied or empty).
3. The extra VPs from their occupied large buildings.

The player with the most VPs is the winner! In case of a tie, the player with the most doubloons and goods (counting 1 good as 1 doubloon) is the winner.

Dicas para Vencer (Tips for Winning)

New to the shores of Puerto Rico? Here are a few pointers to get you started on the path to prosperity:

1. Colonists are King (or Queen!): Occupying your plantations and production buildings with colonists is crucial for generating goods and activating special building abilities. Don't underestimate the power of the Mayor role, especially early on, to get your engine running. Remember, an unoccupied building or plantation is just wasted space!
2. Diversify Your Economy (or Specialize Wisely): While it might be tempting to go all-in on one type of good, having a variety can be beneficial. The Trader role rewards selling different goods, and the Factory building gives doubloons for producing multiple kinds. However, don't spread yourself too thin; sometimes focusing on a few key goods with strong production can be more efficient.
3. Buildings are Your Legacy: Buildings provide VPs and powerful abilities that can shape your entire strategy. Pay attention to the costs and benefits. Quarries are fantastic for reducing building costs, especially for expensive structures. Also, consider the end-game VP bonuses from large violet buildings like the Residence or Guild Hall – they can be game-changers if you plan for them!

Now you're ready to set sail and conquer Puerto Rico! May your plantations flourish and your ships be ever full. Good luck, Governor!