Things You'll Need:
- Puerto Rico Board Game
- Strategic Analysis
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Step 1
Make your decisions based on comparative rather than absolute advantage. This means rather than choosing a role to give yourself and everyone else in the game 5 coins, it is generally better to give yourself 2 coins and everyone else nothing.
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Step 2
Understand what roles are likely to be picked, and take advantage of them. This comes partially from familiarity with the game, but partially from observing the boards of the other players. If someone has a really good empty building, they may choose Mayor to activate it. If you can build a good building before their turn, when they pick Mayor it will help you too.
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Step 3
Don't Lose. Sure, this sounds like stupid obvious advice, but it's actually about seeing the game from a different perspective. You can't just be looking for things that make you win; you also have to be watching out for ways you could lose or fall far behind, and make sure to avoid them. Don't become tied to a strategy that isn't working; if there is a chance other people can ruin your plans, they will probably try to, so don't give them the opportunity.
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Step 4
Go with the flow. If other people in your game rely on shipping, lots of shipping will happen, so you'd better be producing barrels so you can get points too. If nobody else in your game is shipping, you'll likely have to do all the work yourself, which is always a bad idea (see Step 5).
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Step 5
Make other people do your work for you. Generally speaking, when you need something, all you need is the role, not the privilege. If you need one person to activate your Factory, it doesn't matter whether you pick mayor or the person before you does. But if you let them pick it, you get to use your turn to do something else you want.
