The takeover rules are quite intimidating. But it never happens. Shit, I tried a 2-player game using the Rebel vs. Imperium setup that is designed to cause takeovers and it never happened. A great idea that never takes place and is way too convoluted to even bother with.

I love the game, but I'm a bit scared to add another expansion. You will NEVER be able to shuffle the damn thing.

TheDukester wrote:


I'm right there. My wife and I like to play San Juan, and it's easily my favorite casual Euro.

I wanted to like Puerto Rico, but I don't get enough game time to put the energy into figuring out the optimal way to play it. More importantly, I don't know anyone who ever plays it. After having it sit on the shelf for a few years, I traded it for BSG, which I've never played. I'm guessing it was a worthwhile trade. I do have a group who should take to BSG.

My list of Euro games is dwindling down to nearly nothing now, but I admit I'm playing more and enjoying what I play more. I think the only Euro that I don't intend to let go of (other than San Juan) is Tikal. Haven't played in a few years, but it's a gorgeous game and fun enough every once in awhile.

generalpf wrote:
"When I was playing with the second expansion we didn't even get out the cubes for it."
Same here (and I still laugh at the official "pale red" description). I haven't even punched out the goals, because what I liked was that everything (except VPs) was done with cards. The goals moved away from this and added extra randomness so I didn't think they added very much to the game.

I love the goals which is why I feel that Race should not be played without the first expansion. However, the 2nd one is meh and I have doubts about this next one.

yeah the goals are terrific. They add a ton to the game. Smart addition. The goals in Railroad Tycoon remind of them a bit. It's great for people that aren't good at strategizing and can take great pleasure in short term goals. (my wife for instance)

The only good game mentioned in this thread was Throneworld.

I got this for my birthday from a friend who knows I like board games and didn't have it.

I've played it twice with 3p, and have little desire to try again, but it's mostly there just to try to find out what I'm missing. I played RftG several dozen times before I played this, and I've never played San Juan - PR just feels like a less interesting version of Race that multiplies the game length by the number of people at the table.

Why is it so popular? Is it the "mama bear" of Euro games? Just heavy enough for the die-hard cube pushers, but easy enough to teach people who don't play many games?

Funny that this topic came up...last night I was hanging in Chicago with Jexik and we had this exact same conversation. I like the game OK, but it's not even close to El Grande as far as "fun level".

The strongest player is generally the one who has played it the most, and the only "fuck you" moves are looking at people's crops and deciding to load ships or sell to the trader in order to hose that player out. I'd rate it a 6/10 at best, and I freely admit that I like all games, although I like AT more.

For those interested in playing PR, but with a little more backstabbery...

We've come up with a Puerto Rico variant that makes it more interesting: Sabotage. I've put a D4 in the box and have put a "saboteur" card in the place of a Prospector. If you choose the saboteur, only you can play it, and you have to pay 5 gold. You may then pick a player and do one of the following:

1: Roll 1D4, destroying that many of the player's least valuable crops
2: Pay 5 more gold and destroy a small building
3: Pay 10 more gold and destroy a large building
4: Pay 3 gold per colonist and murder their colonists (must be in San Juan, not played to the tableau)

It makes the game far more interesting, and there's a body count. I love body counts.

superflytnt wrote:


What happens to the destroyed buildings? Do they go back up for sale or are they removed from the game?

I love this game. It's my favourite board game. I find it perfect for family gaming (very non-confrontational), and fun too.

I can completely understand why ATers might not like it. I feel lucky that I can enjoy this and also greatly enjoy Twilight Struggle and War of the Ring in a very different way.