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How to Play Puerto Rico Online

By the Tavernly team ·

To learn how to play Puerto Rico online, start with the rules below. It is a 2002 role-picking game by Andreas Seyfarth for 2 to 5 players. You can play it on Board Game Arena, and we make Quaymoor on Tavernly, a free browser alternative.

The short answer

  • Puerto Rico: Board Game Arena has free tables.
  • Our game: Quaymoor on Tavernly lets you play with friends or bots.
  • Learning: Board Game Arena has a tutorial; Quaymoor has coached games.

Which way is right for you?

Choose your table by who you want to play with and how you want to learn.

You want to… Choose
Play Puerto Rico in your browser Board Game Arena
Play without creating an account Quaymoor on Tavernly
Choose computer opponents Quaymoor on Tavernly
Learn during a game Quaymoor on Tavernly
Take turns at your own pace Board Game Arena, or Quaymoor on Tavernly (At your pace)

Board Game Arena: Puerto Rico in your browser (free account)

Board Game Arena (BGA) lets a free account open or join Puerto Rico tables. Premium is not required for this game. The listing includes real-time and turn-based play, so you can choose your pace.

You need: a browser and a free Board Game Arena account.

  1. Sign in. Use your free account before joining a table.
  2. Open the Puerto Rico page. Visit Board Game Arena for the game listing.
  3. Join or open a table. You can join someone else's game or open one for your group.
  4. Invite friends. Send them to your table.
  5. Take the tutorial. Use this option if you want to learn before joining your friends.

We found no Puerto Rico app or Steam listing.

A Puerto Rico alternative: Quaymoor on Tavernly

Quaymoor on Tavernly: play it free in your browser.

A Puerto Rico alternative, Quaymoor on Tavernly is our free browser game. You grow goods, build the high street and ship by barge. You can start without an account.

You need: a browser.

  1. Open the game page. Visit Quaymoor on Tavernly.
The Quaymoor game page: play against bots, with friends, at your pace, or learn by playing.
The Quaymoor page has one card for each way to start.

Play against bots

  1. Set Opponents. Choose 1, 2, 3 or 4.
  2. Set Bots. Choose Easy, Medium or Hard.
  3. Press Play now.

Play with friends

  1. Press Start now. Use the With friends card.
  2. Choose seats. Use Seats at the table.
  3. Press Start a private table.
  4. Use Share invite. Send friends the waiting room link.
A Quaymoor private table with an invite link and three empty seats that bots will take.
The waiting room of a private table, with the invite link.

Play at your own pace

  1. Press Find players. Use the At your pace card.
  2. Take your turn when you like. A notification tells you when it is your turn.

Learn by playing

  1. Press Learn by playing. Each lesson seats you against a bot.
  2. Pick Surveyor when the coach asks. You start as Warden.
  3. Take the clay plot.

The three lessons are Your first round, Make and ship, and Build and score. The first has 10 steps.

Read the table

Pass (Space) lets you decline an optional action. My mat (H) and Market (A) switch views. Each decision has a 90-second timer.

Learn the rules of Puerto Rico in Quaymoor

  1. Pick a role. Starting with the Warden (the first player) and going left, choose an open role and collect its coins. With two players, you each pick three roles per round.
The Quaymoor table in round 1: seven role cards, face-up plots, the market hall and three barges.
Round 1. A bot picked the Surveyor, and now you may take a plot.
  1. Everyone acts. After each pick, players take that role's action, starting with the picker. Actions are optional except loading a barge.
  2. Take plots with Surveyor. You may take one face-up plot, a land tile, for your holding. The holding has 12 spaces. The picker may take a stone pit instead.
  3. Staff with apprentices during Mayor. The picker takes one apprentice first; distribute the apprentice barge one by one, starting with that player. An apprentice is your worker. Staff plots and buildings to make them work; apprentices cannot wait in the lodge beside empty slots.
  4. Build with Builder. You may buy one building you don't own; the picker pays one coin less. Working stone pits each cut one coin, up to the price-column limit.
  5. Make goods with Craftsman. Each working clay plot produces one; other goods need matching working plots and workshops, using the smaller count. The picker makes one extra good.
  6. Sell with Trader. You may sell one good into the four-space market hall, which accepts each kind once. The picker earns one extra coin; a full hall empties.
  7. Ship with Captain. Load in turns, picker first, for one seal (a point) per good; the picker gets one extra seal once. You must load when possible; each barge holds one kind, and each kind uses only one barge.
  8. Take a coin with Pedlar. Only the picker acts.
  9. End the round. Each unchosen role gains one coin. Return the cards and move the Warden one seat left.
  10. End the game and count. Finish the round when seals run out, the apprentice barge cannot refill, or someone's high street fills its 12th space. Add seals, building points and staffed large-building bonuses; most points wins.

For a tie, add your coins and goods. The larger sum wins; equal sums share the win.

Sale prices before the Trader bonus:

Good Coins
Clay 0
Flax 1
Wool 2
Honey 3
Amber 4

Tips and warnings

  • Check staffing before making goods. A plot alone won't produce flax, wool, honey or amber. Match your apprentices to the goods you want.
  • Plan for storage. Full barges empty after shipping. You then keep only one good unless a Small Warehouse or Large Warehouse lets you keep more.
  • Leave room for large buildings. They cost 10 coins, give four building points and occupy two high street spaces.
  • Read before choosing. Point at a role card, plot or building, or hold a finger on it, to read its effect.
  • Use the keys. Tab moves through lit targets and Enter chooses. Press ? for the full list.

Warning: If Quaymoor's decision timer expires, the table plays a safe move for you and spends nothing.

Questions people ask

Can I play Puerto Rico online for free?

Yes, Board Game Arena's Puerto Rico listing allows free accounts to host as well as join, without Premium. Quaymoor on Tavernly, our browser game, is also free.

Do I need to download anything?

You can use Board Game Arena or Quaymoor on Tavernly through a browser without installing a game. For Quaymoor, start from its game page and choose how you want to play. The browser route also gives you access to its coached lessons.

Can I play alone?

Yes, you can play Quaymoor on Tavernly against bots. On the game page, choose Opponents 1 to 4 and a bot level. Bots fill the other seats and are marked "bot".

Can I play with friends?

You can invite friends to Board Game Arena or create a private table in Quaymoor on Tavernly. Quaymoor also lets you reserve a table for later. Its waiting room has a table code, and bots take any seats that remain empty when you start.

Can I play on my phone?

Quaymoor on Tavernly runs in a phone browser; there is no Quaymoor app. For turns between visits, choose the At your pace card on the game page. You play when you like, and a notification tells you when it is your turn.

How many players can play?

Board Game Arena lists Puerto Rico for 2, 3, 4 or 5 players. Quaymoor on Tavernly also supports two to five seats. Before inviting your group, choose your private table's size based on how many people you expect to join.

How long does a game take?

Board Game Arena lists an average of 25 minutes for Puerto Rico. Our Quaymoor on Tavernly page says about 90 minutes for our version of the rules.

Sources

Quaymoor is not affiliated with or endorsed by the owner of Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is a trademark of its owner. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. If you want the physical game, here is Puerto Rico on Amazon.