It isn’t surprising that Puerto Rico is one of the most popular and renowned games in history. The amount of thought, developed theme, possible strategy, and overall complexity is astounding. It makes me think about the designer, Andreas Seyfarth, and how on earth one can come up with a game that is so perfectly balanced. The game can start off pretty methodical, but then one will realize that with all the complex mechanics, there are allow so many opportunities to advance or be hurt by not knowing which actions to take. It is important to know the rules, but to actually be able to play well with a complete understanding is another thing. I found myself making moves with my own benefit in mind, but I ended up helping my opponent more and vice versa. If an opponent has no doubloons, it would be advantageous to pick the builder role because they would not be able to build anything anyway. To know the perfect strategy is possible, but in the end it could have played out better. Because of this, Puerto Rico has sparked tournament level play, and is treated in a way that chess is. Opening moves and every other move after that are subject to deep analysis. I felt after every move I made that my opponent (Ryan) was one step ahead of me into setting up his future strategy. Ryan had played multiple games before me so he had a better idea of what to do to win, while I was going with the flow and not taking a long term strategy. I had the idea that because coffee is worth more for a trade, that I would initially save up for the coffee roaster building, which is costly. But I should have just used less money to buy a sugar storage in order to start producing sugar. It’s not hard to realize but it takes a more than two games to figure out and get in the groove of Puerto Rico. It also would have been easier to play in the IRL club and have a discussion of why to make a certain move over another.
I agree with your assessment of Puerto Rico when you say, “the amount of thought, developed theme, possible strategy, and overall complexity is astounding.” Now that I think about it, Andreas Seyfarth definitely invested an enormous amount of his time into creating this game. The game does seem quite overwhelming at first and I also found myself playing somewhat one-dimensionally because I did not consider the fact that I was helping my opponents. I agree that the players I played against were a few steps ahead of me the whole time and by the time I realized, it was too late. My strategy was similar because I tried to produce the more expensive goods too, such as coffee and tobacco.
I also concur when you relate the game to chess. Puerto Rico is similar to chess due to its difficulty and complicated strategy. The game unquestionably requires a great deal of practice in order to master it. I certainly improved when I played it a second time, but not nearly enough to turn myself into more than just an average player. Although you did not go into much detail regarding the game, I thoroughly enjoyed the “building your own island” concept. I felt that it was awesome how players can create an island and make all the decisions about what they will produce and what buildings they want to build. Overall, it appears that you enjoyed the game and I know I did as well. I did play the game at IRL Club and it absolutely made the game much easier to grasp.
Reply
Chris Barkas
9/22/2014 03:42:19 am
I agree with most of your analysis of Puerto Rico. This complex game must have taken years to complete without it becoming too difficult or overpowered in different aspect. It is no wonder that this game is highly sought after and still diligently played long after it has been created. I can now understand why it is still played in tournaments, as it can never be played the same twice. It is very easy to accidently end up helping your opponent by making (or not making) certain moves or choosing different roles in the game, especially if you are a new player. For example if you choose the Captain role, and the other players end up receiving more victory points than yourself. I do not agree with your statement that, “to know the perfect strategy is possible,” because different advantages and disadvantages can occur no matter what roles are picked, buildings bought, or colonists placed. There are millions of millions of outcomes for each short game played or Puerto Rico, and to know the “perfect strategy” is, in my opinion, impossible. Like you say, to play this game online as opposed to in person is quite a disadvantage when learning how to play this complex game. I had some help from a friendly opponent the first time I played that gave resourceful insight that helped me to come in third out of fourth places! This game cannot be entirely understood with even two or four games of experience. Many gameplays are needed to start developing strategy and control over the board.
Reply
Leave a Reply.
Author
Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.