LogFAQs > #962929814

58. Port Royal

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/156009/port-royal

Category: Player vs player
Key mechanics: Push-your-luck, set collection, tableau-building
Rules complexity (0 to 7): 3
Game length: 25-40 minutes
First played: 2016
Experience: 4-5 plays with 3-4 players, over 2 sessions
Previous ranks: N/A

In Port Royal, you're trying to get twelve VP by buying cards. Like so many other push-your-luck games, on your turn you start flipping from the deck. Stop, and you collect the coins (in the form of face-down cards that stay face-down) printed on all the ships revealed. But flip too many ships and you're toast. Your coins are used to purchase some cards from the draw, which can be added to your tableau for points and to give you economic advantages on future turns.

Like so many other push-your-luck games, Port Royal doesn't quite push my buttons that well. I do think the game is competently designed, but I just always seem to suck at these, and that might take away from my enjoyment. It's a little tough to watch an opponent build a huge tableau and a dozens cards on their turn, while I'm forced to bow out of the race early on my turn because I haven't accumulated enough cards with swords on them or whatever. This might be the type of game that you enjoy more as you develop better basic strategies; certainly there are games like that higher up on my list. Presumably if I were the one working the unstoppable engine, I'd be having more fun.

Notably, Port Royal is designed by Alexander Pfister. His other lighter card game Oh My Goods! is pretty comparable in complexity and playtime. He's also responsible for the clever little simultaneous action selection game Broom Service, and for one of my favorite eurogames that I didn't play this year, Great Western Trail. So if you've enjoyed his other work, it might be worth trying this one out, even if it isn't exactly my cup of tea.