Puerto Rico — How to play
Build an economy, earn points
Win with the most VP: ship goods and develop your city. Coins pay for buildings; goods can be sold for coins or shipped for points.
How a round works
The Governor chooses an available role and takes its coins. That role becomes the next phase; there is no fixed role order. The chooser acts first and gets the privilege (for example, Builder: −1 coin), then everyone follows clockwise with the same action. After the phase, the next player chooses a different role. Repeat until everyone has chosen once. Used roles stay unavailable this round.
2 players: After each phase, alternate choosing different roles until you have each chosen three. Used roles stay unavailable this round.
Add 1 coin to each unchosen role, return the chosen roles, and pass the Governor to the next player. The Smuggler never accumulates coins.
Actions and privileges are optional, except mandatory shipping. Smuggler and Adventurer, when present, only let their chooser act.
- Planter: Take 1 estate from the face-up offer. Privilege: You may take a quarry instead.
- Recruiter: Take the register’s workers one at a time in turn order. Then reassign all your workers / citizens. Privilege: Before sharing, take up to 1 worker extra from the supply.
- Builder: Buy up to 1 building. Occupied quarries give a discount, up to the building’s limit. Privilege: Pay 1 coin less.
- Craftsman: Produce with occupied estates and matching production buildings. corn needs only an occupied estate. Privilege: After everyone produces, take 1 good extra of a type you produced, if available.
- Trader: Sell up to 1 good for coins. The trading house holds 4 goods, all different. Privilege: +1 coin for your sale.
- Captain: Take turns loading one type of good for 1 victory point per good. Shipping is mandatory when possible. Keep your allowed storage (1 good by default), then discard the rest. Privilege: +1 victory point for your first shipment.
- Adventurer: Gain 1 coin, plus the coins on this role.
- Smuggler: Choose one: raid a ship, plunder the trading house, poach surplus workers, or capture a role. Privilege: A captured role pays 3 coins if another player chooses it; otherwise you play it at round end. Someone else must choose Smuggler before you can choose it again.
From an estate to a good
Plantations and production buildings stay on your board. The Craftsman phase adds the goods produced to your stock.
1 occupied plantation + 1 occupied production slot → 1 good. Corn needs only an occupied plantation.
Rearrange all your workers during Recruiter. Occupied quarries discount construction, within the building’s limit.
Sell for coins, ship for points
Trader → coins: Sell 1 good per player. The market has 4 spaces, normally 1 good per type. It empties at phase end only if full.
Captain → VP: Take turns loading one type for 1 victory point per good. Loading is mandatory when possible: use the ship accepting the most of your chosen type. Repeat until nobody can load. One type per ship; no type on two public ships. After loading, keep 1 good in total (more with storage buildings) and discard the rest. Full ships then empty; the others keep their cargo.
Additional mechanics
Citizens fill worker slots and score 1 victory point each. Some building effects depend on whether a worker or citizen occupies them.
The first player to fulfill each shared objective earns its reward automatically. These crates mark the objective and cannot be produced until it is completed. They then return to the common supply, separately from the winner’s reward.
Complete your four secret objectives at any point. Completed cards are revealed and score at game end without taking VP tokens.
End of the game
A full city (12 spaces) or an empty VP token supply triggers the end of the game. Finish the current round’s remaining role phases, then count points. With Citizens, worker shortage does not end the game.
Score your VP tokens, printed building points (even if empty), and occupied buildings’ endgame bonuses. Ties: most coins + remaining goods. Add 1 victory point per citizen you own.
Puertoma
Puertoma uses its own estate slots, permanent workers, building levels and unlocked abilities. Uncompleted human Achievements score for every Puertoma; completed ones score no points for humans.