For the first time in the series, naval battles will be turn-based, with up to 8 ships battling at one time and tactical captain maneuvers that can turn the tide in even the most hopeless of situations for a glorious victory. Port Royal ended up being a pretty fun and well designed card game. It’s easy to learn rules and overall light complexity help make its way to my gaming table quite often. I enjoyed how there are many ways to approach victory and how each player can stay invested in the game even when it’s not their turn. The active player must first draw a card from the draw pile to put into the middle of the table - this will form the harbor display. Now he has to decide if he wants to draw another card or stop. He can continue to make this decision until he stops voluntarily or 2 identically colored ships are in the harbor display (see below) which would force him to forfeit the rest of his turn. Should he stop, the 2nd phase begins. If the active player draws two of the same color pirate ship play halts immediately and proceeds to the next player’s turn. In the below example the current player has drawn two yellow ships and must end their turn.

Additionally, the amount of Swords they give you, must be equal to or higher than the Swords depicted on the Ship. If this is the case you may put the Ship into the discard pile instead of the harbor display - otherwise it cannot be repelled and has to go into the harbor display. Now the other players may take a card, if able. Alex wishes to take 1 of the Ships that are left. He gives Andrea 1 coin for compensation, chooses 1 Ship, puts it onto the discard pile and takes the appropriate amount of coins. After the rest of the players also had a chance to take 1 card, the leftovers are discarded. If that happens the player has to discard all of the harbor display (remember to keep Expeditions separate!) and he is forced to forfeit the rest of his turn. Phase 2: Trade & Hire will not take place, but all players with a Jester in their personal display gain 1 coin. I bought this game and both the currently available expansions at the same time. Then, I immediately mixed them together so they fit in one box. So in this review, I will include all 3. As noted above, there are 4 types of cards you can draw. If you draw a person card, it gets added to the display. If you draw a tax card, apply the effects and discard it. An expedition card gets set off to the side, waiting to be fulfilled.The player has a Priest and Jester and meets the requirements for this contract. They put a cube on the card to show this and will draw 4 Gold as the reward. Not surprised by the EPIC exclusivity on PC. Wouldn't be surprised if the wanted to avoid people bashing their game on forums or reviewing it after release.

Try to extend your influence and you might even be able to answer the call of one of the prestigious expeditions. The rest of the game round will be played to its completion, i.e. game play will continue until the player sitting to the right of start player will have been the active player.

Spellings

The person cards display various people who live and work around the harbor: sailors, admirals, priests, traders, and “mademoiselles”. These cards are available to be hired by players, and when hired will be placed in front of you for the remainder of the game (except in a few cases). McNamara, Tom (September 2003). "Port Royale". PC Gamer. Vol.10, no.9. Imagine Media. p.77. Archived from the original on October 18, 2006. When expedition cards are drawn, they’re immediately placed to the side in view of all players. When a player hires a person who allows them to fulfill an expedition card, they discard the person cards and place the expedition card in front of them. Just like person cards, the expedition card features points, benefits, and cost. The benefit is received immediately when a player takes an expedition card. Tax Increases Expedition cards offer players another path to victory, allowing them to collect sets of person cards which feature anchors, crosses, or cabins.

Make no mistake, Port Royal starts off sort of slow, and because you’re learning the distribution of cards you’re going to bust…a lot. In my first few plays my game group and I sort of glanced around the table wondering if there really was a game here. But within 15-20 minutes we had gotten the hang of it and were racing towards the finish. Just make you give yourselves enough time to get a feel for the game. This makes the game a little more engaging but can be a distraction for some. I do enjoy the purity of the base game. But sometimes it is nice to have this added focus and goal. It feels different enough to warrant having this expansion, despite it not being a must use expansion. And it is simple enough to bring in and out of play without adding too much complication of confusion for new players to be interchangeable in this way. You think you know me? You will try to gain gold coins with which you will hire various persons who will give you permanent abilities to aid you. They, as well as Expeditions, will also yield you victory points which will bring you victory in a game of Port Royal. The merchant players in Port Royal, which won the Austrian Game Designers Competition under the title Händler der Karibik, are trying to earn as much as they can out of the Caribbean Sea, but if they set their goals too high, they might take home nothing for the day. Winner of the game will be the player who was able to acquire the most victory points and at least 1 Expedition. Tie braking stays the same.Choose from four colonial powerhouses: England, France, Spain and the Netherlands, each providing different benefits and unique gameplay styles Ah come on... they won't notice or care... throw in some customization for the ship. Let them create their own flag. It'll be fine" The aim is becoming Governor. To achieve this, trading and completing missions (finding the player character's captured mother and sister or a buried treasure) is required.