Puerto Rico, as part of the Alea Revised Big Box Series, is a redesigned version of the classic game from 2002, similar to the 2011 Anniversary Edition of Puerto Rico.
"Our goal for Puerto Rico 1897 was to offer a new play experience that is now more inclusive and welcoming, so that it can be enjoyed by more people for years to come... Puerto Rico's acclaimed game mechanics remain unchanged. We've updated thematic elements throughout the game to appropriately and respectfully represent Puerto Rico during that time period."
- Cassidy Werner, Head of Games at Ravensburger North America
The box contains all official expansions and promos that have been released up to this point.
About the game:
Puerto Rico 1897 takes place the year after Puerto Rico achieved political autonomy and separated itself from the colonial Spanish government. You will take on the role of an independent Puerto Rican farmer in this new era and compete against others to hire workers to grow, sell, and trade valuable crops. You will also be in charge of resurrecting parts of the country as you attempt to build vital city infrastructure. Your goal throughout the game is to acquire more wealth and prestige than your opponents and become the most prosperous farmer across the country.
Each player uses a separate small board with spaces for city buildings, plantations, and resources. Shared between the players are three ships, a trading house, and a supply of resources and doubloons.
The resource cycle of the game is that players grow crops which they exchange for points or doubloons. Doubloons can then be used to buy buildings, which allow players to produce more crops or give them other abilities. Buildings and plantations do not work unless they are staffed by workers.
During each round, players take turns selecting a role card from those on the table (such as "Trader" or "Builder"). When a role is chosen, every player gets to take the action appropriate to that role. The player that selected the role also receives a small privilege for doing so - for example, choosing the "Builder" role allows all players to construct a building, but the player who chose the role may do so at a discount on that turn. Unused roles gain a doubloon bonus at the end of each turn, so the next player who chooses that role gets to keep any doubloon bonus associated with it. This encourages players to make use of all the roles throughout a typical course of a game.
