PUERTO RICO

Many game designers covet appearing in BoardGameGeek’s top 100, with the ultimate goal of holding onto the top spot being the most desirable. So you can imagine how well loved Puerto Rico was given it held the number one spot for five years.

The game may look dated now with its terracotta colour palette and colonialism theme (the latter of which has been critiqued throughout the game’s history, especially for how it “ignores” the role of slavery for actual plantations in Puerto Rico) but it helped raise attention to many influential mechanics, as well as being one of the first big Eurogame smash hits.

Brought to us by award-winning designer Andreas Seyfarth, Puerto Rico in play is straightforward – each turns players choose from one of the available action markers.

If you take an action then all players will get to use it, but you’ll get priority as well as a special bonus for choosing (for example, choosing the Trader action lets everyone sell a good, but you’ll get to sell first and also gain one doubloon more for trading). These actions will let you grow plantations, construct buildings and trade goods for points or money.

Puerto Rico built upon the non-confrontational nature of

Catan and empowered it with a solid economic structure. Whilst you couldn’t directly interact with opponents, experienced players can orchestrate moves to ensure that they were the only ones getting a great benefit, even capable of ruining entire turns for them.

It wouldn’t be until the release of Agricola in 2008 that we would see this game dethroned, but in terms of influences we see the action choice system used again in Race for the Galaxy and Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition, whilst the whole game system was reinvented into a minimalist card game called

San Juan. Even if you’ve never played this classic, you’ve certainly benefited from its existence and influence!