Puerto Rico is Toxic & More Reasons To Play It

This is the second in a series where I go back to games I have missed while focusing on the hotness in an attempt to unearth games I love. In this episode I dive into The former #1 game in the world to see if there is anything redeeming in this 20+ year old design.

#boardgamegeek #tabletopgames

00:00 Intro
01:40 Simple Rules
05:11 Toxicity is King
13:07 The Meta Game
18:05 Don't Watch This (Cardboard Club Only)

[TabletopTurtle]

You trying to click-bait me, bro? I'll allow it.

[riogakun]

As someone who watches tons of board game related videos from a lot of different content creators, I must say, the way you make your videos is very informative and engaging, not to mention entertaining. This was a great video.

[Triston_Yocom]

I’m glad you brought this game to my attention, I was ignoring it for a couple of years since I wasn’t a fan of its art but found out it’s a super fun game! I’m excited for the upcoming Awaken Realms edition.

[chaps]

Keep these coming. Love your insight, class, sarcasm, and quality. Outstanding

[CardboardHunter]

I don’t think “toxicity” is how I would describe take that / confrontational euros but I’m happy you got your first taste of German euros (one of us lol). I wouldn’t call Puerto Rico a true German euro but it deff takes a lot of influence from that genre for a hybrid style euro. Some German euros I highly recommend checking out are Santiago, Shark, Tigris & Euphrates, Chinatown, and of course every Splotter game, especially Food Chain Magnate, Bus, The Great Zimbabwe, etc.

[Naledgeizpwr]

My family is from Puerto Rico, so I remember being very excited that one of the hottest games at the time was about Puerto Rico, then I played it... mechanically it was very interesting. It one of the first games I played with individual player boards, there were certainly earlier designs with this feature, but most of what I had played at the time were games with central boards or play areas. The setting though was pretty tough for me to swallow at the time. It bothers me less now, probably because I am just so used to it, and I even still own San Juan as well as other Andreas Seyfarth designs. But let’s just say my family was not too thrilled the first time we got it to the table. My feelings toward Puerto Rico the game mirrors the feelings that many of the Puerto Rican’s I know have about the island itself... complicated. It is a great design, and I still think people should play it, but we should also continue to encourage publishers to be thoughtful and well researched when choosing their settings and themes.

[s.d.d.]

Puerto Rico is a great game and still holds its own after so many years. It's indeed a "German" euro, meaning a game with simple rules, basic components, high interaction, yet very deep.
How many pages does the manual take? 4? 5? How long does it take to teach it? 10 minutes? Games like that (simple rules, quick to teach, hard to master) were common some time ago. Now they are becoming rarer...

[_The_Rake]

First time coming to your channel. You did an excellent job. I'll definitely be checking out your other video.

[MarkBlasco]

Puerto Rico is one of the most interactive games I've ever played where you don't directly do things to other players. If you are not paying close attention to what the other players are doing, you won't do well. Those few small little restrictions on the actions completely change the game. If everyone could ship anything, or trade anything, the game would be fairly boring. It's one of those rare games where you sit there, absolutely silent, heart racing, hoping that no one notices the thing you desperately need before your turn comes around again. Despite the theme, it's definitely a game that's worth trying for people who like interaction and tension in their euro games.

[Exozik]

Man, I didn't knew my favorite game was already out and I wasn't aware of it.

[stormburns]

I might just try Puerto Rico 1897 now one day 😂 brought you A game on this video as always. Looking forward to the next games on the list. Barrage has been a hit!

[ImpossibleWhopper]

This is my top game. I have no words how good this game is. I don’t win that often but the meta game and toxicity is highly addictive.

[WatchersPod]

Even going by calling high interaction/conflict game as “toxic”, this game is not toxic.

I sold it for not having enough interaction.

[refreshdaemon]

I used to play this all the time back in the day and now I want to play it again. The evil grimace you get when ganging up with the other players to brutalize the leader was so satisfying it was guilt-inducing.

[FissinChips]

Thanks for the overview of this classic game I have never played. :)

[Frodo-]

This was my entry into Euro games, and learing how a machanically well desiged gsme can be so much fun even with the nasty plays you can make to block other players.

[masterofnone-x]

Wow! Perfect timing for the deluxe version that's being release.

Gamefound has a Special Edition for this game right now!

The Merchant's Pledge is $146.00

[rolling.reggie]

I’ve only played this once and I have the 1897 version. It is so awesome and this has just motivated me more to get it to the table. I really wish it had a solo mode because my wife is not into it lol

[Bob_Co]

This is a game where seats around the table really matter. The player to the left of the most inexperienced has a massive leg up. In other words it is arguably more important that the person to your right is the worst player than you being the best player to have the best chance to win.

[davidp]

This game is won and lost by choosing actions that benefit you more than the other players. It's not toxic.