3Puerto Rico is one of the world's most popular Euro-style games, beloved by many people around the world and experts on BoardGameGeek as well. So how can you get better at a game like this? Well, you'll need to maximize your use of each role. The first role you'll want to understand is the Settler role, which allows you (and everyone else) to add plantations to your board.Puerto Rico
A strategic mindset
- Reconsider your options to make sure that none of the other roles will advantage you more before picking Settler. Unlike Prospector, Builder, and Mayor, you don't automatically get a bonus of quantity just for picking Settler.Figure out whether you want to allow other players to get plantations. If you don't want to hand them the plantations on the board, don't pick Settler. Remember, with all roles except for Prospector, you're helping other players too.Consider whether you need a quarry and don't have a construction hut. If you really want a quarry -- which you generally do in the early game -- then taking Settler may make good sense. If you don't need a quarry (whether because it's late game or because it doesn't fit your strategy), or you have a manned construction hut, Settler may not be the role to take.Look at the spread of plantations available. If there's only one good plantation and three lame ones (e.g. one corn and three indigo), you may want to Settle to grab the corn and stick everyone else with the indigo. If there's plenty of good plantations for everyone, then wait for someone else to pick Settler, and you'll get a good plantation anyway without wasting a turn.Decide how well-deployed your people are. If you've got more people than you can use effectively, you may want to pick Settler (or Builder) to put those people to use. But if you're already short on people, having an extra unmanned plantation won't do you much good.Examine the playspaces of your opponents, and figure out how likely they are to pick Settler. If you want another plantation, but you're pretty sure the player to your left does too, you can probably use your turn doing something else. Conversely, if everyone else seems to have plenty of plantations while you focused on quarries, you may need to pick Settler yourself.Examine opposing players and figure out when Mayor and Craftsman are next likely to be picked. Settling right before a Craftsman phase does you no good if nobody has picked Mayor in between.Corner a market if possible. If you have the only tobacco plantation in the game, and a second tobacco plantation pops up, you should grab it. This will help keep your monopoly, which will advantage you in trading and shipping.
