Don’t Forget To Snap Up alea’s New Puerto Rico 1897

October 7, 2022 by brennon

alea are now showing off their revamped and updated version of Puerto Rico. With unchanged rules, Puerto Rico 1897 is a great way to dive deep into the mechanics of this classic board game but with a new outlook and graphic design which does justice to those living in the country.

Puerto Rico 1897 // alea

Puerto Rico isn't one of my favourite board games but it is an undeniable classic. It did, however, have issues with the portrayal of the Puerto Ricans during the period and the way that it explored colonialist themes. Well, the new edition of the game, Puerto Rico 1897, gives you the same interesting puzzle to solve but from a much more interesting historical perspective.

"The year is 1897. Puerto Rico is trying to transform itself for the modern world and leave the era of traditional colonialism behind. As an independent Puerto Rican farmer in this new era, you will compete to hire workers, grow sugar and tobacco, sell valuable commodities, and build vital urban infrastructure. Whoever can accumulate more prestige than the other farmers wins."

Switching to the time period when Puerto Rico gained its independence, the focus shifts towards just how these farmers, traders and businessmen (and women!) went about building up their economy.

Puerto Rico 1897 Components // alea

I really like the refresh of the graphics and the setting so that it reflects something a little different from the norm. We have enough board games about colonial trading in far-flung places so it's good to have a game which gets you thinking about a different culture and how it thrived.

The upgrade to the components is also a massive plus as the older version of Puerto Rico sure was a beige pile of...beige. Whilst mechanically the game isn't any different (I have my own issues there!), it's nice to see it revisited and I might give it some more of my time soon.

What do you make of the revamped edition?