As an episode of Board Games with Scott, I spent 35 minutes teaching, lightly reviewing, and presenting a few basic strategies for Puerto Rico.



You can enjoy this video exploration and review over at
http://www.boardgameswithscott.com/?p=80


(New)
You can also watch it right here through Vimeo:

That was a great review. I haven't played PR for a while...now I feel like getting it to the table again soon!

Yaaay! Great episode, thanks!

I thought the review was not that good compared to Scott's standards. I felt the whole rule explanations were all over the place sometimes losing any logical order. Maybe it's because I have too high expectations of Scott but I felt a bit disappointed this time.

Anyway, if I was to complain about one thing that could have been corrected easily, then it would be the description of the game currency. At the begining, Scott first introduces viewers to the Puerto Rico currency as "gold" and repeats that several times. Then at some point during the middle, he decides to stop using "gold" but use "dubloon" instead (without mentioning that it is supposingly the same thing). Then at the end he actually says "buck" one or two times. A person without Puerto Rico experience would get at least a bit confused during the first time he watched it.

Anyway, I love Scott's reviews and I don't mind if one every now and then is sub-par than the rest! Thanks for the reviews and keep'em coming Scott!

I tried a different structure this time in order to better lay the groundwork for the game. The way I typically present games would get to the goal of the game last, but with PR, when you teach it this way, people tend to get too focused on money and forget that the goal is VP.

So, I did what in educational theory is known as a scaffolding approach. I started the description from the end and worked backwards in order to build a scaffold.

Once I reached the beginning, I then went back forward through the game, but now the viewers had a scaffold upon which to hang those rules.


I have tried to teach this before in the traditional manner, and I learn that it doesn't work well unless it can be couched in the playing of the game. So, I tried something very different.


The problem with using a different teaching method is that people with one learning style aren't served as well. People who don't learn through mental frameworks/scaffolds would find it difficult.


I'm curious - Did you already know the game before watching the video?

I did more beta testing than usual on this one and sent it out to a number of people who didn't know the game, as I wanted to test out how this method worked with new people. I wonder if you already know the game, then you might expect to see the rules in a certain order. If you are new, then you get only the information I present about the game, so you wouldn't know that things are out of an expected order.



Well, it's corrected easily only if it's not a habit. One of my bad habits in games is that I don't recognize the in-game currency, and tend to call everything "bucks" (just like I call any sort of miniature a "doll"). I try to catch myself, but as you see, I don't do a good job. This is a pretty common pattern in my videos; I slip on calling the game currency by the correct name.

    Your color correction seems much more muddy in this episode. Did you change your setup?

    Or is your copy of PR left out in the sun on a regular basis?

             Sag.

scott!
thanks for this review!
i will now be able to teach my girlfriend how to play with out freaking out in the process.

i really dig the way you structured the whole deal. ive played maybe ten times, and read the instructions close to 20, and have had a heck of a time trying to get the ideas of the game across. but it is now going to be easier for me to relay the info of the game to others.

i will just follow the steps of the game the way you laid them out, then i will show them the video you made!

sweet!

scott for bgg president!

thanks for the great review Scott. I liked the way you organized this, considering how non-linear the gameplay is. For someone like me who is slightly familiar with the game, but with many questions, I feel much more well informed. I also feel confident enough to pick it up and give it a play.

One question, how well do you feel it plays 2-player. We love San Juan but would like to try a meatier version. Do the variants make it worthwhile?

Thanks,

Jugg

That review was excellent! I am terrible at explaining games, especially to my girlfriend who has little experience with them. I have been trying to get her into Puerto Rico and with this latest episode I'll be able to sit her down and have it explained to her by the master. Thanks so much!

Corey

P.S. This is my second favorite episode, the first being your fantastic explanation of Die Macher. Without such a resource, my friends and I would have spent days reading through the rules and still not grasping it. You are truly as asset to gamers everywhere, thank you Scott.

If you want a meatier version of San Juan for 2 players, try Race for the Galaxy. More complicated, more strategies, and fine for 2 players.

I truly love playing PR 2 players as follows:

Each player take 2 boards.

Play as a 4-player game, alternating boards and players, so:
- Player 1, board 1
- Player 2, board 1
- Player 1, board 2
- Player 2, board 2.

Score both boards separately, and your final score is that of the weaker board.


That's it. It's neat, as you have to run two different strategies and you can't let one overpower the other, as you only score for the weaker board.

Great video as always Scott. Kudos to you for taking on the mighty Puerto Rico, I personally felt that you did a fantastic job.

Excellent review, as always. Made me want to play PR again!

Thanks,
jrbentley

Hi Scott. To answer your question, yes I know the rules of the game eventhough my playing experience is really minimal. And I believe maybe you are right, sometimes when we know something we expect it to be presented in a specific set way. Maybe that's was the whole reason that I felt like that, because I know the rules superficially but have not experienced the game enough to have a good solid grasp of them.

Anyway, I hope you got something possitive out of my criticism as my intentions were good and noble! I love your reviews and that's why I have so high expectations of them!

Thanks for mentioning San Juan, made me get it back off the shelve!

Thank you for the great review, I felt that it was very good with great detail. Gave me an excellent idea of what to expect from the game.

Thanks for the vid.. good stuff

Thanks for tackling this giant. One day after watching the video or playing the game enough times, the game will click and be awesome for me. Otherwise I have trouble understanding why it's #1.

Sonja,

did you try the software version where you can play with computer equivalents? The link to it flows somewhere over here...

My experience of PR is solely based on that (10 or so games till now), no live one yet. But I must say I like the game and understand it now after the tries. It clicks after a few plays.

Of course no strategy-building just yet, but who knows?

Found it:

http://www.markblanco.com/pagesv2/prgame.html

Got to disagree with you here. I had never played Puerto Rico upon first watching this review, which prompted me to try the game. (I'd seen it played in earlier years at game nights but never actually paid attention to it or played it). When I sat down to play for the first time, I basically knew how to already thanks to Scott's explanation.

Scott: Keep up the good work! Your review is what got me to try and eventually buy the game. Now it's one of my favorites. Thanks.

Having not played PR (yet), I found watching your video (a couple of times) in addition to reading through the rules extremely helpful (at least in theory as I have yet to get my copy - it's in the mail).

Your videos are one of the most useful things I have found on BGG (Okay, there are alot of useful things on BGG... Universal Head game aids, both positive & negative reviews, Geeklists, etc., etc.). It is so nice to be able to see how a game is played and explained by someone who is able to explain it well. Unfortunately, far too often, rule explanations within our game group become bogged down by the trivial or by huge gaping holes from that massively important forgotten rule. Thank you so much for your efforts.