It's Been a Long Time Coming: Puerto Rico with Rachel and Nadine

Our first game since last July.

We played with:

• Assembly Line 1/1: When occupied, all of your production buildings may hold an additional colonist (and thus produce an additional good when matched to an additional manned plantation.
• Hacienda
• Small Fashion District 2/1: Trade indigo at +2 doubloon.
• Small Warehouse
• Hospice: When you buy Hospice, you may move one of your colonists onto it.
• Large Market
• Trading House
• Discretionary Hold 6/3: a) May store an additional three barrels. b) At the end of the Captain phase, may add a barrel of any type to the "Hold" of every full ship for 1 VP each. If two players have DH, alternate adding barrels to full ships. Each ship's Hold can store only a single barrel.
• Large General Workhouse 7/3 (2 circles): Produce any types of goods with matching plantations. This building is usually 8/3, but wasn't getting enough action, so I moved it down to 7/3.
• Factory 8/3: Usually 7/3.
• Large Business 8/3: a) -1 building cost. b) +1 VP on first shipment during each Captain phase.
• Wharf
• Cathedral 10/4: +1 VP/3 red building points.
• Fairgrounds 10/4: +0/1/2/3/5/7 VP for 1/2/3/4/5/6 different plantation types (including quarries).
• Fortress
• Custom's House
• City Hall

Looking at the tableau, the buildings in the 3's column, which is usually where the power buildings sit, all looked to be about 1/2 a doubloon more than we really wanted to spend for them. Only one of the buildings was bought in the game.

Rachel on my right had an early tobacco and a Small Fashion District. She maintained a tobacco monopoly and was able to trade both good several times, as well as keep a tobacco boat going most of the time. She also took Discretionary Hold, which ended up being the sought after power building. And she won with two large buildings and 20 shipping points.

Nadine on my left had a coffee monopoly and the other Discretionary Hold. And she also ended with two large buildings, and 27 shipping points.

Meanwhile, I should have taken a tobacco to compete with Rachel on  my left, but somehow I never did. In fact , on the very first round I could have taken a coffee instead of a second corn, and that was the root of all of my problems. I also never took Large Market. I eventually took a Large Business and a few quarries, but it was too late to help much. I ended with 22 shipping points.