Price: Free
Rating: 7*
For the longest time I have been wanting a version of Puerto Rico for Android. I eventually stumbled upon this app, which is heavily, heavily inspired by Puerto Rico. It satisfies the itch and the production is good, but some of the small surface changes is enough to throw me off and now that there are websites where it can be played online, I prefer to play it there. Still, Puerto Rico is one of my Top 10 Games of All-Time and it's hard to argue against a digital version when it is free!
Perhaps in order to avoid accusations of plagiarism, most of the plantation and building names have been changed, as well as some of the roles. To me, this was very disorienting at first. In addition, the doubloon values have been multiplied by 5, so a building that cost $2 in Puerto Rico costs $10 in Isla Rica - also confusing. The components also do not match the physical game. Although the core game play is exactly the same, I found myself making many mistakes while playing because of these cosmetic changes. Still, the game works and is mechanically the same once you able to overcome the visuals.
For newcomers, there is a handy tutorial to teach you how to play. Pass-and-play is available as are three different AI difficulty levels that do provide some challenge. There are achievements to help create more replayability outside if the game itself. The game tracks a wide variety of statistics for people who like to analyze numbers, and it is not just win-loss numbers. For example, some of the interesting statistics that are tracked include how frequently roles are taken, where points, workers, and reals (doubloons!) are coming from, which resources are being produced the most, and which buildings are constructed the most.
I would prefer an official app with the correct terminology and the components I am accustomed to. With the game available to play on BoardGameArena, that is my preferred digital playground as well. But for offline or local play, this is a great option, or the only option, that is well done. Again, some points were docked for the modifications, which may have been necessary, but aside from that it is the Puerto Rico I know and love underneath.
Perhaps in order to avoid accusations of plagiarism, most of the plantation and building names have been changed, as well as some of the roles. To me, this was very disorienting at first. In addition, the doubloon values have been multiplied by 5, so a building that cost $2 in Puerto Rico costs $10 in Isla Rica - also confusing. The components also do not match the physical game. Although the core game play is exactly the same, I found myself making many mistakes while playing because of these cosmetic changes. Still, the game works and is mechanically the same once you able to overcome the visuals.
For newcomers, there is a handy tutorial to teach you how to play. Pass-and-play is available as are three different AI difficulty levels that do provide some challenge. There are achievements to help create more replayability outside if the game itself. The game tracks a wide variety of statistics for people who like to analyze numbers, and it is not just win-loss numbers. For example, some of the interesting statistics that are tracked include how frequently roles are taken, where points, workers, and reals (doubloons!) are coming from, which resources are being produced the most, and which buildings are constructed the most.
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