Friday, September 01, 2006

Puerto Rico final, with comments

The following was written by John Weber, moderator of the Puerto Rico part of the World Board Gaming Championships. He was also a player. The text of this post comes from here. John's text is in italic. Mine is in plain text.

Four finalists: David Platnick, Chris Moffa, John Weber, Eric Freeman.

Bid for Seat Position: David bids 1.5 VP on #1 corn. Chris bids 1 VP on #2 corn. John bids 2 VP on #1 corn. Eric bids 0 VP on #1 indigo. David bids 0.5 VP on #1 indigo. Chris and John are skipped since their bids have not been topped. Eric bids 1.5 VP on #2 corn. Chris then bids 0 VP on #2 indigo to end the auction. The results and starting positions:

#1 indigo (bid of 0.5 VP): David Platnick
#2 indigo (bid of 0 VP): Chris Moffa
#3 corn (bid of 2 VP): John Weber
#4 corn (bid of 1.5 VP): Eric Freeman

Opening plantation draw: 2 indigo, 1 tobacco, 2 coffee.

I am assuming that the bidding took place before the opening plantation tiles were known, because no corn is horrible for second seat. And yet, he won. Without the 0.5 bid by David, first indigo player, he would only have tied. I'm betting David didn't feel very happy about that.

TURN 1. David is Governor.
1. David selects Settler and takes a quarry. Chris selects tobacco. John selects coffee. Eric selects indigo. Discards: indigo and coffee.
Redraw: 2 corn, 2 indigo, 1 sugar.
2. Chris selects Prospector, takes one doubloon.
3. John selects Builder, builds Small Market for free. Eric builds Small Market for 1. David and Chris pass.
4. Eric selects Mayor. Eric covers corn and Small Market. David covers quarry. Chris covers tobacco plantation. John covers corn. 4 colonists on ship.
End of turn: bonus doubloons on Craftsman, Captain and Trader.

Already we have some odd moves here. Chris takes Prospector, which leaves both Small Markets for the corn players. It's hard to see what this gains him. Even if it prevents John from obtaining a manned corn and Small Market, it doesn't prevent Eric. It allows him to build Tobacco Plant next round, however.

TURN 2. Chris is Governor.
1. Chris selects Builder and builds Tobacco storage for four. John passes. Eric builds Small Indigo plant for 1. David builds Small Indigo plant for free.
2. John selects Captain (1). No one can ship.
3. Eric selects Craftsman (1). Eric produces one corn. John produces one corn. No one else produces. Eric receives corn as extra.
4. David selects Trader (1). John declines to trade. Eric sells one corn for 1 (using Small Market).
End of turn: bonus doubloons on Settler, Mayor and Prospector.

John takes Captain rather than Trader, which would seem to make more sense. If he had taken Trader, Eric would have received 2 VP for his corn, rather than 1 VP and one GP.

TURN 3. John is Governor.
1. John selects Prospector (1) and takes 2 doubloons total.
2. Eric selects Mayor (1) and mans Small Indigo and indigo plantation. David removes from quarry and mans Small Indigo and indigo plantation. Chris mans Tobacco storage and John mans Small Market. 4 colonists on ship.
3. David selects Settler (1) and takes a quarry. Chris selects corn. John selects sugar. Eric selects corn. Discards: 2 indigo. New draw: one corn, one indigo, one sugar, one tobacco and one coffee.
4. Chris selects Craftsman. Chris produces one tobacco. John produces one corn. Eric produces one corn and one indigo. David produces one indigo. Chris receives tobacco as extra.
End of turn: bonus doubloons on Builder, Captain and Trader.
Shipping VPs: all players have 0 as no goods have been shipped yet.
Building VPs: David 1, Chris 3, John 1, Eric 2.
Doubloons: David 5 Chris 0 John 6 Eric 4.
Goods: David has 1 indigo, Chris has 2 tobacco, John has 2 corn, Eric has 1 indigo and 2 corn.

Chris starts off early on the tobacco, even though no one else is producing sugar. He risks having it shipped, leaving the early trading opportunities to sugar and coffee. As it works out, he counts on Eric trading.

TURN 4: Eric is Governor.
1. Eric selects Trader (1) ands sells indigo for 3 (using Small Market bonus and trader bonus) for 3. Chris sells tobacco for 3.
2. David selects Captain (1). David ships 1 indigo on 7 ship for 2 VP. Chris ships 1 tobacco on 6 ship for 1 VP. John ships 2 corn on 5 ship for 2 VP. Eric ships 2 corn for 2 VP.
3. Chris selects Builder (1). Chris builds Small Indigo for free. John builds Coffee roaster for 6. Eric builds Factory for 7. David passes (with 6 doubloons at this point).
4. John selects Mayor and mans Coffee roaster and plantation. Eric mans Factory. David mans quarry. Chris mans corn. 4 colonists on ship.
End of turn: bonus doubloons on Craftsman, Settler and Prospector.
Shipping VPs: David 2, Chris 1, John 2, Eric 2.
Building VPs: David 1, Chris 4, John 4, Eric 5.
Total VPs: David 3, Chris 5, John 6, Eric 7.
Doubloons: David 6, Chris 4, John 0, Eric 1.
Goods: No one has any.
Boats: 4 C on 5 ship, 1 T on 6 ship, 1 I on 7 ship.
Trading House: 1 corn, 1 indigo, 1 tobacco.

Chris gets the tobacco boat, too. Eric appears to have taken Factory more to prevent someone else from taking it, as he is only set to produce two goods right now. Eric couldn't have taken that Factory had John taken Trader on turn 2, by the way. John's coffee looks like it's in good shape, with no empty boats and no sugar on the way, yet.

TURN 5: David is Governor.
1. David selects Prospector (1) and takes 2 doubloons total.
2. Chris selects Settler (1) and takes a quarry. John selects corn. Eric selects sugar. David selects tobacco. Discards: indigo and coffee.
Redraw: 2 indigo, 2 sugar and 1 tobacco.
3. John selects Craftsman (1) and produces 1 corn and 1 coffee. Eric produces 1 corn and 1 indigo plus one doubloon (factory income). David produces 1 indigo. Chris produces 1 corn and 1 tobacco. John selects corn as extra.
4. Eric selects Builder. Eric builds Small Sugar mill for 1. David builds Hacienda for 1. Chris passes. John builds Small Indigo for 1.
End of turn: bonus doubloons on Mayor, Captain and Trader.
Shipping VPs: David 2, Chris 1, John 1, Eric 2.
Building VPs: David 2, Chris 4, John 5, Eric 6.
Total VPs: David 4, Chris 5, John 7, Eric 8.
Doubloons: David 7, Chris 5, John 0, Eric 1.
Goods: David has 1 indigo, Chris has 1 tobacco and 1 corn, John has 1 coffee and 2 corn, Eric has 1 indigo and 1 corn.
Boats: 4 C on 5 ship, 1 T on 6 ship, 1 I on 7 ship.
Trading House: 1 corn, 1 indigo, 1 tobacco.

John takes corn as extra, where I would have taken an extra coffee. His first coffee will trade, and then so will his second. He won't be able to ship his corn, anyway. David has taken too many early quarries, and his Hacienda on turn 5 may look desperate, but only three corn plantations have been turned up so far.

TURN 6: Chris is Governor.
1. Chris selects Mayor (1) and mans quarry and Indigo and indigo plantation, removing colonist from corn. John mans second corn. Eric mans Small sugar and sugar plantation, unmans Small Market. David mans Hacienda. 5 colonists on ship.
2. John selects Trader (1) and sells coffee for 6 (Small Market plus trader bonus). No one else can trade. Trading house clears.
3. Eric selects Captain (1) and ships 1 corn for 2 VP (corn ship fills). David ships 1 indigo for 1 VP. Chris ships tobacco for 1 VP. John cannot ship. Eric ships 1 indigo for 1 VP. Warehousing: John loses one corn.
4. David selects Settler. David uses Hacienda to select a corn, then selects a quarry. Chris selects sugar. John selects indigo. Eric selects tobacco. Discards: indigo and sugar. Redraw: 2 sugar and 3 tobacco.
End of turn: bonus doubloons on Builder, Craftsman and Prospector.
Shipping VPs: David 3, Chris 2, John 2, Eric 5.
Building VPs: David 2, Chris 4, John 5, Eric 6.
Total VPs; David 5, Chris 6, John 7, Eric 11.
Doubloons: David 7, Chris 6, John 7, Eric 2.
Goods: David and Eric have none, Chris and John each have 1 corn.
Boats: 5 ship is empty, 2 T on 6 ship, 3 I on 7 ship.
Trading House: empty

Hacienda sure pays off when you draw corn, and no other corn plantations flip up.

TURN 7: John is Governor.
1. John selects Builder (1). John builds Harbor for 7. Eric passes. David builds Small Sugar for 1. Chris builds Factory for 6.
2. Eric selects Prospector (1) and takes 2 doubloons total.
3. David selects Mayor and mans two more quarries and corn. Chris mans Factory. John mans Harbor, moves men off corn and Small Market to cover Indigo plant and indigo plantation. Eric mans Small Market. 5 colonists on ship.
4. Chris selects Settler and takes a quarry. John selects tobacco. Eric selects tobacco. David uses Hacienda to select corn and then selects a sugar. Discards: sugar and tobacco. Redraw: 2 corn, 1 tobacco, 2 coffee.
End of turn: bonus doubloons on Craftsman (1), Trader and Captain.
Shipping VPs: David 3, Chris 2, John 2, Eric 5.
Building VPs: David 3, Chris 7, John 8, Eric 6.
Total VPs; David 6, Chris 9, John 10, Eric 11.
Doubloons: David 6, Chris 0, John 1, Eric 4.
Goods: David and Eric have none, Chris and John each have 1 corn.
Boats: 5 ship is empty, 2 T on 6 ship, 3 I on 7 ship.
Trading House: empty

Chris's Factory is a natural. David now has quarries and corn, looking nice. Chris has a nicely balanced board, with quarry, goods, and Factory. John has a coffee monopoly and a Harbor. Eric has a sugar monopoly, but not for long.

TURN 8: Eric is Governor.
1. Eric selects Builder. Eric builds Small Warehouse for 2. David builds Tobacco storage for 2. Chris and John pass.
2. David selects Mayor. David mans sugar plantation and sugar mill, tobacco plantation and tobacco mill, removing from one quarry. Chris mans tobacco, indigo, one corn, one quarry in addition to his Factory. John mans Small Market. Eric mans second corn. 6 colonists on ship.
3. Chris selects Craftsman (2). Chris produces 1 tobacco, 1 indigo, 1 corn plus 2 doubloons (factory income). John produces one coffee, one indigo and one corn. Eric produces one sugar, one indigo and two corn plus 2 doubloons (factory income). David produces one tobacco, one sugar, one indigo and two corn. Chris selects 1 indigo as his extra.
4. John selects Trader (1). John sells one coffee for 6 doubloons (using Small Market plus trader bonus). Eric sells sugar for 3 (using Small Market). David sells tobacco for 3. Chris sells indigo for 1. Trading house clears.
End of turn: bonus doubloons on Captain (1), Settler and Prospector.
Shipping VPs: David 3, Chris 2, John 2, Eric 5.
Building VPs: David 6, Chris 7, John 8, Eric 7.
Total VPs; David 9, Chris 9, John 10, Eric 12.
Doubloons: David 7, Chris 5, John 8, Eric 7.
Goods: David has 1 sugar, 1 indigo, and 2 corn.. Chris has 1 tobacco, 1 indigo and 2 corn. John has 2 C and 1 I. Eric has 2C and 1 I.
Boats: 5 ship is empty, 2 T on 6 ship, 3 I on 7 ship.
Trading House: empty

TURN 9. David is Governor.
1. David selects Captain (2). David ships 2 corn for 3 VP. Chris ships 2 corn for 2 VP. John ships 1 corn for 2 VP, filling ship. Eric ships 1 indigo for 1 VP. David ships 1 indigo for 1 VP. Chris ships 1 indigo for 1 VP. John ships 1 indigo for 2 VP. Chris ships 1 tobacco for 1 VP. Warehousing: Eric loses 1 corn.
2. Chris selects Settler (1) and takes a quarry. John selects corn. Eric selects corn. David uses Hacienda to select corn and then selects a tobacco. Discards: 2 coffee. Redraw: 1 indigo, 3 sugar, 1 coffee.
3. John selects Builder. John builds Tobacco storage for 4. Eric passes. David builds Small Warehouse for 2. Chris builds Small Sugar mill for 1.
4. Eric selects Prospector (1) and takes 2 doubloons total.
End of turn: bonus doubloons on Craftsman, Mayor and Trader.
Shipping VPs: David 7, Chris 6, John 6, Eric 6.
Building VPs: David 7, Chris 8, John 11, Eric 7.
Total VPs; David 14, Chris 14, John 17, Eric 13.
Doubloons: David 7, Chris 5, John 4, Eric 9.
Goods: David has 1 sugar. Chris has none , and John and Eric each have 1 corn.
Boats: 5 ship is empty, 3 T on 6 ship, 7 ship is empty.
Trading House: empty

Three corns plantations in a row for Hacienda.

TURN 10. Chris is Governor.
1. Chris selects Mayor (1) and mans second quarry and Small Sugar and sugar plantation. John mans Tobacco storage and tobacco. Eric mans Small Warehouse. David switches colonists from Hacienda and corn to man two quarries and Small Warehouse. 8 colonists on ship.
2. John selects Builder and builds Small Sugar Mill for 1. Eric builds Harbor for 8. David builds Guild Hall for 7. Chris builds Large Indigo for 1.
3. Eric selects Trader (1) and sells corn for 2 (using Small Market and trader bonus). David sells sugar for 2. No one else trades.
4. David selects Prospector, takes one doubloon.
End of turn: bonus doubloons on Craftsman (1), Captain and Settler.
Shipping VPs: David 7, Chris 6, John 6, Eric 6.
Building VPs: David 11, Chris 10, John 12, Eric 10.
Total VPs; David 18 (not including GHall bonus yet), Chris 16, John 18, Eric 16.
Doubloons: David 3, Chris 5, John 3, Eric 4.
Goods: David, Chris and Eric have no goods. John has 1 corn.
Boats: 5 ship is empty, 3 T on 6 ship, 7 ship is empty.
Trading House: 1 sugar, 1 corn.

TURN 11. John is Governor.
1. John selects Captain (1) and ships 1 corn for 3 VP (harbor bonus) on 5 ship. No one else can ship.
2. Eric selects Settler (1) and selects coffee. David selects indigo. Chris selects sugar. John selects sugar. Discard: 1 sugar. Redraw: 2 coffee, 1 sugar, 2 indigo.
3. David selects Prospector, takes one doubloon.
4. Chris selects Mayor, mans third quarry, all plantations and one spot on Large Indigo and Tobacco mills. John mans Small Sugar and sugar plantation. Eric mans Harbor and third corn. David mans second Tobacco storage spot and second tobacco plantation; he covers all three corn but removes colonists from sugar plantation and Sugar Mill. 11 colonists on ship.
End of turn: bonus doubloons on Craftsman (2), Builder and Trader.
Shipping VPs: David 7, Chris 6, John 9, Eric 6.
Building VPs: David 11, Chris 10, John 12, Eric 10.
Total VPs; David 18 (not including GHall bonus yet), Chris 16, John 21, Eric 16.
Doubloons: David 4, Chris 5, John 4, Eric 5.
Goods: No players have any goods.
Boats: 1 C on 5 ship, 3 T on 6 ship, 7 ship is empty.
Trading House: 1 sugar, 1 corn.

TURN 12. Eric is Governor.
1. Eric selects Builder (1). Eric builds Coffee roaster for 5. David builds Large Indigo for 1. Chris builds Large Sugar for 2. John passes.
2. David selects Trader (1). No one can trade.
3. Chris selects Craftsman (3). Chris produces 1 tobacco, 1 sugar, 1 indigo, 1 corn and receives 3 doubloons (Factory income). John produces one coffee, one tobacco, one sugar, one indigo, and one corn. Eric produces 1 sugar, 1 indigo and 3 corn and receives 2 doubloons (Factory income). David produces 2 tobacco, one indigo and three corn. Chris selects sugar as his extra.
4. John selects Captain. John ships 1 sugar on 7 ship for 3 VP. Eric ships 3 corn for 4 VP. David ships 1 corn for 1 VP, filling corn boat. Chris ships 2 sugar for 2 VP. John ships one tobacco for 2 VP. Eric ships 1 sugar for 2 VP. David ships 2 tobacco for 2 VP, filling boat. Warehousing: John loses 1 indigo and 1 corn. Chris loses 1 indigo and 1 corn.
End of turn: bonus doubloons on Mayor, Settler and Prospector.
Shipping VPs: David 10, Chris 8, John 14, Eric 12.
Building VPs: David 13, Chris 12, John 12, Eric 13.
Total VPs; David 23 (not including GHall bonus yet), Chris 20, John 26, Eric 25.
Doubloons: David 4, Chris 9, John 4, Eric 3.
Goods: David has 1 indigo and 2 corn, Chris has 1 tobacco, John has one coffee, Eric has one indigo.
Boats: 5 ship and 6 ship are empty, 4 sugar on 7 ship.
Trading House: 1 sugar, 1 corn.

Chris gets a rich Craftsman.

TURN 13. David is Governor.
1. David selects Trader and trades indigo for 2 (trader bonus). Chris trades tobacco for 3. Trading house clears.
2. Chris selects Builder. Chris builds Fortress for 6. John and Eric pass. David builds Coffee roaster for 3.
3. John selects Prospector (1), takes two doubloons.
4. Eric selects Mayor (1), mans both spots on Coffee roaster and coffee and tobacco plantations. David mans Small Sugar Mill, sugar plantation and Guild Hall. Chris mans Fortress and Large Sugar mill. John mans 2 corn. 15 colonists on ship.
End of turn: bonus doubloons on Settler (1), Craftsman and Captain.
Shipping VPs: David 10, Chris 8, John 14, Eric 12.
Building VPs: David 16, Chris 16, John 12, Eric 13.
Total VPs; David 34 (includes 8 bonus for GHall), Chris 29 (includes 5 for Fortress), John 26, Eric 25.
Doubloons: David 3, Chris 6, John 6, Eric 4.
Goods: David has 2 corn, Chris has no goods, John has one coffee, Eric has one indigo.
Boats: 5 ship and 6 ship are empty, 4 sugar on 7 ship.
Trading House: empty.

TURN 14. Chris is Governor.
1. Chris selects Builder. Chris builds Residence for 6. John builds Large Indigo for 3. Eric builds Large Sugar for 4. David builds Large Sugar for 2.
2. John selects Captain (1). John ships 1 coffee on 5 ship for 3 VP. Eric ships 1 indigo on 6 ship for 2 VP. No one else can ship.
3. Eric selects Craftsman (1). Eric produces 1 coffee, 1 sugar, 1 indigo and 3 corn plus 3 doubloons (Factory income). David produces 2 tobacco, 1 sugar, 1 indigo, 3 corn. Chris produces 1 tobacco, 2 sugar, 1 indigo and 1 corn plus 3 doubloons (Factory income). John produces 1 coffee, 1 tobacco, 1 sugar, 1 indigo, 1 corn (last one in supply). Judging from what happened the rest of the game, Eric apparently forgot to claim his extra good, as at this point it was anticipated that David would select Mayor to end the game -- the logical choice would have been coffee, but it's pretty clear from the final tally that Eric had only one coffee heading into Turn 15.
4. David selects Trader. Dave trades tobacco for 4 (with trader bonus). Chris trades sugar for 2. John trades coffee for 5 (using Small Market). Eric trades corn for 1 (using Small Market).
End of turn: bonus doubloons on Settler (2), Mayor and Prospector.
Shipping VPs: David 10, Chris 8, John 17, Eric 14.
Building VPs: David 18, Chris 20 John 14, Eric 15.
Total VPs; David 38 (includes 10 bonus for GHall), Chris 33 (includes 5 bonus for Fortress), John 31, Eric 29.
Doubloons: David 5, Chris 5, John 9, Eric 5.
Goods: David has 1 tobacco, 1 sugar, 1 indigo and 5 corn, Chris has 1 tobacco, 1 sugar, 1 indigo and 1 corn. John has one tobacco, 1 sugar, 1 indigo and 1 corn, Eric has 1 coffee, 1 sugar, 1 indigo and 2 corn.
Boats: 1 coffee on 5 ship, 1 indigo on 6 ship, 4 sugar on 7 ship.
Trading House: empty.

Two big buildings in a row for Chris. John locks a coffee ship, but it's a little late. There has been little shipping, which helps whomever has the best building set.

TURN 15. John is Governor.
1. John selects Builder. John builds Customs House for 9. Eric builds Hospice for 4. David builds University for 5. Chris builds University for 5.
2. Eric selects Captain. Eric ships 1 sugar for 3 VP. David ships 1 sugar for 1 VP. Chris ships 1 sugar for 1 VP. John ships 1 indigo for 2 VP. Eric ships 1 indigo for 2 VP. David ships 1 indigo for 1 VP. Chris ships 1 indigo for 1 VP. Eric ships 1 coffee for 2 VP. Warehousing: Chris dumps 1 corn, John dumps 1 tobacco and 1 corn.
3. David selects Mayor, effectively ending the game this turn. All players man large buildings. Chris' colonist count is now at 20.
4. Chris selects Settler (3). Plantation choices at this point are irrelevant to the final scoring.

Final Scoring

Shipping VPs: David 12, Chris 10, John 19, Eric 21
Building VPs: David 21, Chris 23, John 18, Eric 17.
Bonus VPs: David 10 (for Guild Hall), Chris 10 (6 for Fortress, 4 for Residence), John 4 (Customs House), Eric none
Total VPs without handicaps from bids: David and Chris 43, John 41, Eric 38

Only 62 shipping points. City Hall was never built. Guild Hall provides as much bonus as Fortress and Residence combined, which shows just how unbalanced it is.

Chris's early tobacco trade and boat contributed to his clinching the game. It slowed down the VPs and played into a building strategy. David came close owing to three glorious corn picks with Hacienda, as well as also having a building strategy.

Final Adjusted VPs including handicaps from bids:

1. Chris Moffa 43
2. David Platnick 42.5
3. John Weber 39
4. Eric Freeman 36.5

Yehuda

No comments: