More (fun and) games with John and Tim (2/3)

John insisted on playing Puerto Rico for several days now, even though Tim insisted on playing Settlers Expansion. Solution: we play both, and I get insomnia. First up, Puerto Rico. In this game, Tim and I produced a lot, and shipped a bit, but not much, since John certainly wasn't going to Captain nor Craftsman. Somehow each time John produced something, either they go to waste because no ship can take them, or he couldn't sell to the trading house since it was already there or full. But what John lacked in goods and shipping, he gained in buildings, tons of them. Eventually he ended the game by occupying all the building space that he got. Even being low on shipping, he still came remarkably close to winning...but Tim snagged the victory this time.

Final scores (VP chips + building VPs + large building bonus VPs):

John: 1 + 23 + 13 = 37.
Tim: 16 + 16 + 7 = 39.
Me: 13 + 15 + 6 = 34.

Tuesday evening with John and Tim (2/2)

Second game of Puerto Rico. This is one where no one wanted to end the game, since none of us knew if we would win or not. And when it ended, all three game-ending conditions were met, each occurring during one player's turn. How nice is that? John won this one, but later I found a rule that we played wrong, which would have given Tim the win...heh. The rule that we played wrong was the Mayor phase...apparently in addition to placing the new colonists on the board, you can switch around the current colonists as well. Since we didn't allow this, one of Tim's large buildings went unoccupied, losing him about 4 or 5 points, which would have been enough to win.

Final scores (VP chips + building VPs + large building VPs):

Me: 26 + 19 + 15 = 60
Tim: 30 + 25 + 7 = 62
John: 37 + 19 + 9 = 65

Very first game of Puerto Rico

Somehow John and Tim were interested enough to play Puerto Rico that we actually tried it, with Li Zhen coming along for the ride as well. So, for the first time since I bought this game back in February, we played it, which means I no longer have any unplayed boardgames!

To start, I have to explain the rules. And with John and Tim, it's always chaotic with the rules. Seriously. And this game is not easy to explain, either, especially with all the buildings, which really made the game quite overwhelming. The game starts...and we still couldn't figure out exactly what's going on with this game. It's just a weird game, I'd have to say. Sure I can see how the mechanics work and stuff, but I simply could not understand how they work together, and if there's any strategy at all...

In any case, Li Zhen and I went for the production strategy, producing a variety of different crops whenever craftsman phase comes. John and Tim went for the building strategy, buying a ton of buildings while not really producing much at all. One thing I forgot was that buying buildings gives victory points, so that's probably my downfall. Even though I accumulated lots of victory points from the deliveries, I lack the points from the other things. In any case, the game ended amidst a lot of confusion, and of course John won with Li Zhen close behind. So now John likes this game...boo...heh.

Final scores: (VP chips + building VPs + large building VPs)

Tim: 15 + 14 + 0 = 29
John: 20 + 17 + 4 = 41
Me: 25 + 12 + 0 = 37
Li Zhen: 17 + 17 + 5 = 39.