Microteach: Puerto Rico

What follows assumes

• you know Puerto Rico,
• what a microteach is,
• the game is already set up on the table,
• the governor is in front of the teacher,
• quarries are hidden from view (simplify, enhance), and
• 2 crops and 2 different buildings seeded to each player board all manned with colonists (enhance).

Microteach

The object is to get the most points. That is driven by how players use these roles (point out the array). Each one serves a purpose in the game and a player, on his turn, may only choose one (take the settler and place it in front of oneself). He performs its desired effect and then, in turn order, so does everyone else. The difference is he, and no one else, earns a distinct privilege, or bonus, for having chosen the role.

These roles permit players to sow plantations (point to the settler, now just in front of you, then pick up and place crops to each player board) and produce goods (place the craftsman before the next player, then place the various goods appropriately to player boards). Note, however, that only manned plantations produce. (Having added some unmanned ones, point out the difference.)

One can see the goods have different values when traded (point to the trader, move a few different colored goods and announce and distribute the pay outs calling attention to the ranking, corn to coffee). Conversely, when goods are shipped (place the captain in front of the next player) every good earns 1 point, regardless of its trading house value, when placed on a boat (rotate around placing goods to boats, and doling out point chits). Note that once the first crop is placed on a ship other types cannot be added to it.

The builder allows player to spend money buying and placing new buildings (show the stock and point out the cost, then pay for and place a few in turn order). Just like plantations, buildings can only be used if they’re manned. They allow the owning player to break the rules in some way or, for these big buildings (point them out), earn special end game points. The mayor recruits colonists and allows one to man crops and/or buildings. (Take it and place colonist chits around the board until they deplete.)

Finally, one can always grab the prospector if he needs money (take a coin after grabbing it and placing it in front of oneself). After everyone has had an opportunity to take a role (ensure each player has one in front of him), whatever roles are left are incentivized (drop a coin onto each). The first player marker, called the governor, is passed clockwise (pass it) and that player begins the next round.

This repeats until the money (point to the pile), colonists (point), or VP chits (point) are depleted. Then whoever has the most points, these chits (pick up and drop some of those now in front of you), plus the value of his buildings (point out the printed points of the building in front of you), plus any end game bonuses (place a big building on one’s player board and man it) from these (point to one) big buildings wins.

In accordance with Rule #1, it connects

• the means (how role choice enables planting, producing, shipping, selling, building) and
• the ends (points come from shipping chits, buildings and end-game, big-building bonuses).

Glaring omissions

• That players start with much less.
• That none of the role privileges were explained.
• That none of the building abilities were explained.
• That ships and the trading house empty at the end of their respective phases if filled.
• That quarries provide building discounts.
• That unshipped goods are tossed.

Commentary

Elucidation is mostly improvisation. One won’t always have properly pre-situated things to enhance his explanation. While giving it a minute’s thought and preparation before starting is a good habit to get into, don’t sweat forgetting to. Just set up the needed situation and keep things moving.

This explanation followed the rule of ordering. It demoed settling first, then producing, then shipping and selling, because of the natural order of conducting business. One needs plantations to produce, needs goods to sell or ship, and so on. Understanding this, one might arrange the roles (enhance) as dominoes to fall in an appropriate order.

The overview repeatedly offers the direction “point,” to the elucidater, as a sort of shorthand for “draw attention to.” It may or may not entail pointing. One could pick up and drop chits, or move an place them as one would and so on. The simplified “point” just means make good use of your props. Make sure they’re involved.

Notice also that when terms are mentioned, the elucidater is in action touching the appropriate thing. For example, he says “goods” while moving goods. He says “colonists” while moving colonists and so on. He doesn’t initially showcase and name the components. Their names are revealed as actions are played out during the overview and ensuing explanation.

Starting players with the extras (buildings, crops) was meant to facilitate portions of the explanation. Remember, the starting situation is meant to enhance what the explanation is able to cover more than mirror a real, initial setup.

Although no building abilities or role privileges were described (simplify), one might’ve paused to explain just one. But it can certainly come in a later pass too.

Incentivizing the roles which weren’t picked might’ve been omitted from the overview (simplify) except that with money sources being so limited (prospector, trader) it seemed useful to alleviate that concern and show another source of income. Remember, question avoidance is a big reason for simplifying.

Overviews sometimes mentioned certain things, like quarries, be hidden from view (simplify, enhance). This is not an absolute if one doesn’t feel his audience is going to be distracted by the lack of mention of something left sitting out. It’s an optional practice meant to manage distractions.

The most typical start to an overview is “the object is to get the most points.” There’s nothing unusual about it and no reason to start elsewhere or creatively rephrase it (scratch), if that’s the kind of game it is.

This overview might read like it’s not doable in 2 minutes. Save interruptions, it should be or, if it does go over, it won’t be by much.

That said, covering all the roles in a quick fly by felt doable. Still, had one been inclined to simplify further, it might’ve looked more like this:

That is driven by how players use these roles (point out the array). Some roles allow you to sow plantations to this area of your board (place a plantation), some build buildings to this area of your board (place a building). Both need manning (place colonists on each) before they’re operational. If you have the right facilities, you can produce goods (take some and add them to your board), ship goods for point (place one on a ship, take and show a VP chit), trade them for cash (place one at the trader, take and show the cash). In the end, whoever has the most points from shipping (pick up and drop a small pile of VP chits on your board) and from buildings (point out the VPs on them) wins.

That just goes to show the simplification dial can be set on low or high. There’s not one way to do it. What is important is it lays out the means and ends (scratch) in 2 minutes or less, as it did, in both instances.