Puerto Rico

T'other week was another board game night for me; which translates as I wasn't able to arrange a game.

It was one of the regular club favourites on this occasion for me, Puerto Rico; a classic Eurogame:

It is a relatively simple building and trading game, where you develop your little colony into a successful trading port and it's attendant estates.

As with many of these games, there is no recourse to dice, and the truly random factors are minimised.  Rather there are limited resources available and many things can only be constructed a set number of times; it is all about having a clear strategy from the start and not being confused by the actions of others.

It's not the most interactive of this sort of game, as players don't trade with one another, but it is for that perhaps a little easier to pick up first time.  I made a respectable third out of five players on a strategy of growing and trading high value goods, Coffee and Sugar, through my own markets and shipping.  This is not one I'd recommend for all the family, but will entertain the older members who like to be intellectually taxed a little.

Real figure games have been thin on the ground, with my being out of town rather a lot, but I hope to get some toy soldiers in action again soon.