Port Royal - General game info
Port Royal
2-5 players, 20-50 minutes, 8 years and older
AuthorAlexander Pfister (prpr)
IllustratorKlemens Franz
Published byPegasus
Online since 2014-10-19
Developed byAdrian Kügel (ak15)
Boardgamegeek156009
Yucata.de owns a license for the online version of this game. A big "thank you" to the copyright owners (publisher and/or author and illustrator) who make it possible to have this game for free online here!
Note: This online implementation uses slightly changed rules!
Port Royal - Rules
Rules of the Expansion
PortRoyalLogo

INTRODUCTION

In the harbor of Port Royal life is bustling and you hope to make the deal of your life. But don’t risk too much or your cargo holds will be empty. Don’t forget to reinvest your profit to gain the favor of Governors and Admirals and to hire various other persons that can further your goals. Try to extend your influence and you might even be able to answer the call of one of the prestigious expeditions.

CONTENTS

120 Cards, comprised of:

60 Persons (some of which are identical in all but hire costs and victory points provided), comprised of
Trader1 Trader2 Trader2 Trader3 Trader4 Trader5 Trader5
Settler Captain Priest JackOfAllTrades
Sailor1 Sailor2 Sailor3
Pirate1 Pirate2 Pirate3
10
Traders
5
Settlers
5
Captains
5
Priests
3
Jack of all Trades
10
Sailors
3
Pirates
Mademoiselle1 Mademoiselle2
Jester1 Jester2 Jester3
Admiral1 Admiral2 Admiral3
Governor
4
Mademoiselles
5
Jesters
6
Admirals
4
Governors
6 Expeditions
Expedition1 Expedition2 Expedition3 Expedition4 Expedition5 Expedition6

The expedition card requiring 3 different symbols is only used in a game with 5 players.

50 Ships, 10 of each color 4 Tax Increases
YellowShip Yellow Pinnace
4x 1 Sword
3x 2 Sword
3x 4 Sword
BlueShip Blue Flute
4x 1 Sword
3x 2 Sword
3x 5 Sword
GreenShip Green Skiff
4x 1 Sword
3x 3 Sword
3x 5 Sword
RedShip Red Frigate
3x 1 Sword
3x 3 Sword
2x 6 Sword
2x Skull
BlackShip Black Galleon
3x 2 Sword
3x 4 Sword
2x 7 Sword
2x Skull
Taxes1 Taxes2

SETUP

If you play with fewer than 5 players, first remove the special Expedition that is only needed for 5 players and put it back in the box. You can easily tell it apart, because it is the only card without a gold coin on its backside. If you are playing with 5 players, put this card in the middle of the table instead. Now shuffle all remaining cards and set them face down on the table. This is the draw pile.

Leave a little space next to it for an open discard pile. Each player now starts with 3 coins that are dealt from the draw pile to each player as face down cards into their personal display, with only the golden coins showing.

Important note regarding the cards:

The fronts of the cards are showing various Ships, Persons, Tax Increases and Expeditions. The back of every card features a golden coin. Every time a player gains coins, draw the appropriate number of cards from the draw pile and put them face down and with every coin visible into your display without ever looking at the front. For every card, a player owns 1 coin.

GOAL OF THE GAME

You will try to gain gold coins with which you will hire various persons who will give you permanent abilities to aid you. They, as well as Expeditions, will also yield you victory points which will bring you victory in a game of Port Royal.

FLOW OF PLAY

The following rule changes apply at Yucata:
  • The starting player is chosen randomly.
  • If the draw pile and the discard pile are empty, no more coins are paid.
  • If there are no cards left in the draw pile and the discard pile and this happens in the Discover phase, an additional card tax increase is revealed.
  • If during the phase Discover the draw pile has to be shuffled a second time (because there are only ships left in the discard pile which have been repelled by the active player), an additional card tax increase is revealed.
The last two rule changes ar needed to prevent that a game is stalled when the players are hoarding money and all tax increase cards are in the coin piles of the players.

The player who last visited a harbor will be the start player. Beginning with him and then in clockwise direction, 1 player will be the active player. He will have to perform 2 phases in order – the 2nd of which might sometimes be skipped. If there is a 2nd phase, then, after the active player has acted, each other player will also have an opportunity to act in this phase. Then the active player changes. These 2 phases are:

1. Discover:
Draw cards from the draw pile into the harbor display
2. Trade & Hire:
Take cards from the harbor display

1. DISCOVER

The active player must first draw a card from the draw pile to put into the middle of the table – this will form the harbor display. Now he has to decide if he wants to draw another card or stop. He can continue to make this decision until he stops voluntarily or 2 identically colored ships are in the harbor display (see below) which would force him to forfeit the rest of his turn. Should he stop, the 2nd phase begins.

There are 4 different card types:

  • Persons
  • Ships
  • Expeditions
  • Tax Increases

If the drawn card is a Person, it will go into the harbor display. Each person has an ability depicted on the top part of the card. It also has a shield with an amount of victory points. An explanation of all abilities can be found at the end of the rules.

If the drawn card is a Ship, the active player may put it into the harbor display as a possible source of income.

Alternatively he can repel the Ship and put it in the discard pile. To repel you must have 1 or more Sailors and/or Pirates in your personal display. Additionally, the amount of Swords they give you, must be equal to or higher than the Swords depicted on the Ship. If this is the case you may put the Ship into the discard pile instead of the harbor display – otherwise it cannot be repelled and has to go into the harbor display.

Clarification: if the active player repels a ship, he doesn't get any coins from that ship.

You may only repel a Ship that has just been drawn; a ship with a Skull symbol can never be repelled.

Swords are never spent, i.e. you can use them multiple times during your turn.

Example

BlueShip Sailor Pirate Alex wants to repel the Flute with 2 Swords. Since his Sailor gives him 1 Sword and his Pirate 2 Swords he has a total of 3 Swords and he succeeds. He can put the Flute on the discard pile.

If the drawn card is an Expedition, put it in the middle of the table but apart from the harbor display. An Expedition will stay there until a player claims it by fulfilling it.

To fulfill the requirements of an Expedition (visible on the bottom of the card) he has to have Persons with matching abilities in his personal display. He puts the matching Persons into the discard pile and takes the Expedition into his personal display, as well as a number of golden coins as depicted on the card. A player may claim Expeditions any time during his turn, and as many as he is able to.

Clarification: Only the active player is allowed to fulfill the requirements of an expedition, and also only if there are no two ships with the same color in the harbor display.

Example

Expedition Priest JackOfAllTrades Dagmar wants to claim an Expedition with 2 crosses. Therefore she discards her Priest (1 cross) and her Jack of all Trades. She receives the Expedition card and 2 coins (from the draw deck).

If the drawn card is a Tax Increase, all players that currently own 12 or more golden coins lose half (rounded down) of their coins (i.e. with 12 or 13 coins the player loses 6 coins ). The cards are put onto the discard pile. Afterwards – depending on the Tax Increase drawn – either the player with the most Swords or the player with the least victory points gains 1 coin. In case of a tie (for example if no players have swords or victory points yet) all tied players gain 1 coin.

After the Tax Increase has been resolved it is discarded and play resumes as normal.

TaxMinPoints TaxMinPoints
Here the player with the least amount of victory points gains 1 coin. Here the player with the most Swords gains 1 coin.

A player can always stop voluntarily and proceed to the 2nd phase unless he draws a Ship that is of identical color to one that is already in the harbor display and that he cannot repel. If that happens the player has to discard all of the harbor display (remember to keep Expeditions separate!) and he is forced to forfeit the rest of his turn. Phase 2: Trade & Hire will not take place, but all players with a Jester in their personal display gain 1 coin.

Play continues, with the next player in turn order becoming the active player and performing his Phase 1: Discover.

Should the draw pile ever be empty during game play, simply shuffle the discard pile and create a new face down draw pile.

2. TRADE & HIRE

In this phase the active player will be able to take 1-3 cards from the harbor display and then all other players will also get a chance to take 1 card. Exactly how many cards the active player will be able to take depends on the number of differently colored Ships in the harbor display:

  • 0-3 differently colored Ships; take 1 card from the harbor display
  • 4 differently colored Ships; take 2 cards from the harbor display
  • 5 differently colored Ships; take 3 cards from the harbor display

Cards are taken one by one – so the ability of one card may be immediately used for the next card taken.

Trade:

The player takes 1 Ship from the harbor display, and puts it into the discard pile. He now gains as many coins as are depicted on the banner at the top of the card.

Example

BlueShip Klemens takes the Flute from the harbor display, puts it onto the discard pile and gains 2 coins.

Hire:

To hire 1 Person, a player has to pay an amount of coins (put onto the discard pile) equal to the cost depicted on the bottom part of the Person he wishes to hire. He puts the Person into his personal display and may from now on use the ability on the top part of the card (the banner). All abilities are explained at the end of the rules.

Clarification: The ability of the Governor and the Admiral can first be used in the next turn, because their ability can only be used at the beginning of the "trade and hire" phase.

Example

Sailor Andrea is hiring a Sailor. She pays 3 of her coins into the discard pile and puts the Sailor into her personal display.

After the active player has taken 1 or more cards (Ships or Persons), every other player in clockwise direction may now also take 1 card if able, following all rules. Before he can do this, however, that player has to give the active player 1 coin as compensation. Should he take 1 Ship, this coin may come from the income of that Ship.

After all other players have had a chance to take 1 card, all leftover cards are discarded. It is also possible that there were too few cards to give all other players a chance to take one.

Now the next player in clockwise direction will be the active player and starts with his Phase 1: Discover.

Example

It’s Andrea’s turn. She had drawn 5 cards into the harbor display during her Discover Phase. 4 of those were differently colored Ships which is why she was able to take 2 cards. First she took a Ship worth two 2 coins. Then she spent the money to hire 1 Person. Now the other players may take a card, if able. Alex wishes to take 1 of the Ships that are left. He gives Andrea 1 coin for compensation, chooses 1 Ship, puts it onto the discard pile and takes the appropriate amount of coins. After the rest of the players also had a chance to take 1 card, the leftovers are discarded.

END OF GAME

The end of the game is checked as soon as 1 player was able to acquire 12 victory points into his personal display. The rest of the game round will be played to its completion, i.e. game play will continue until the player sitting to the right of start player will have been the active player.

Winner of the game will be the player who was able to acquire the most victory points in his personal display. In case of a tie, the player who still has the most coins left is the winner. If the tied players are also tied in coins, they share the win.

NOTES FOR HANDLING THE GAME

  • Each card that can be clicked has a blue border.
  • If you move the mouse over a question mark symbol, additional information is displayed.
  • If you move the mouse over one of the symbols in the player display on the right, additional information is displayed.
  • Players who cannot afford one of the cards in the harbor display will not get a turn in the phase Trade & Hire. They will still get bonus payments for the persons Jester or Admiral if their ability is triggered, and the payments can be seen in the history display.
  • The history display shows all actions of a round (for the current round all actions done so far are displayed). The circled numbers indicate the order in which the active player his drawn the cards. The hand symbols in the players' colors indicate who has taken the card. Repelled ships are indicated by a rectangle with rounded corners around the swords.

ABILITIES OF PERSONS

The abilities of Persons are depicted on the top part of their card on the banner. The victory points you gain are depicted on the little shield to the right of the ability banner. When you act – either as the active player, or during your chance on another players turn – you can use all abilities of Persons in your personal display. If you have multiples of one type of card, their abilities will stack. Should you have 2 Mademoiselles, for example, you will be able to hire Persons at a 2 gold coin discount.

Priests, Captains, Settlers (5 times each)
Jack of all Trades (3 times)
Priest Captain Settler JackOfAllTrades
To be able to help claim an Expedition you must be able to discard these types of cards from your personal display. The ability banner is a little darker to signify this. The Jack of all Trades is a Joker type of card and can be discarded instead of a Priest, Settler or Captain.
Trader (2 of each color)
Trader1
Trader2 Trader2
Trader3 Trader4
Trader5 Trader5
The player will gain 1 more golden coin if he has a Trader of the appropriate Ship color in his personal display.
Sailor (10 times) / Pirate (3 times)
Sailor1 Sailor2 Sailor3 Pirate1 Pirate2 Pirate3
With the depicted Swords, Ships can be repelled. (see Phase 1: Discover)
Admiral (6 times) Jester (5 times)
Admiral1 Admiral2 Admiral3 Jester1 Jester2 Jester3
Whenever it is your time to take a card/cards during Phase 2: Trade & Hire and there are currently 5 or more cards in the harbor display you immediately gain 2 coins. If you are currently not the active player and during a Phase 2: Trade & Hire it is your turn to take a card - and there are no cards left in the harbor display, immediately gain 1 coin. Should a player forfeit his turn during a Phase 1: Discover and the 2nd Phase will be skipped, all players with a Jester gain 1 coin.
Governor (4 times) Mademoiselle (4 times)
Governor Mademoiselle1 Mademoiselle2
Whenever it is your time to take a card/cards during Phase 2: Trade & Hire you may take 1 more card from the harbor display. If you are not the active player, you have to compensate the active player with 1 coin for each card taken. The hire cost of a Person is discounted by 1 coin. The cost cannot be discounted to less than 0.

Variants

  • Pass automatically: For a non-active player, the trade&hire phase is skipped automatically if the only card the player could take would be a ship that earns him no coin (considering the 1 coin he pays to the active player).
  • Expedition required: Like in “Merchants of the Caribbean” a player needs to have an expedition to be eligible to win. The game end is only triggered if a player has both the required number of victory points and an expedition. Players with expeditions rank higher than players without expeditions.
  • Required victory points: You can choose the number of victory points required for triggering the end of the game.

Expansion: Just One More Contract ...

NEW COMPONENTS

24 additional cards

Clerk1 Clerk2 Clerk3 Clerk4 Clerk5
Gunner1 Gunner2 Gunner3
Vice Admiral1 Vice Admiral2 Vice Admiral3
Pinnace1 Pinnace2
Flute1 Flute2
Skiff1 Skiff2
Frigate1 Frigate2
Galleon1 Galleon2
5
Clerks
4
Gunners
5
Vice Admirals
2
Pinnaces
2 Sword
4 Sword
2
Flutes
1 Sword
5 Sword
2
Skiffs
1 Sword
3 Sword
2
Frigates
1 Sword
6 Sword
2
Galleons
2 Sword
Skull

16 Contracts as large cards

Contract1
Contract2
Contract3
Contract4
Lady Killer Explorer Tax Officer Frigate Foe
Contract5
Contract6
Contract7
Contract8
Galleon Foe Trader Prince Trade Outpost Fighter
Contract9
Contract10
Contract11
Contract12
Comedian New Colony Jinx Pack of Pirates
Contract13
Contract14
Contract15
Contract16
Maritime Supremacy Gamester Cheap Staff Tiny Gamester

USING THE NEW COMPONENTS

You can use the new Persons and Ships with the base game, without also using the Contracts. If you do use the Contracts however, you must also use the new Persons and Ships.

The New Persons and Ships

Clerk (1 per ship colour)

In Phase 2: Trade & Hire, if you trade with a Ship matching a Clerk’s colour, you can take another card from the harbor display according to the normal rules (and, if you are not the active player, pay 1 more coin to the active player).

Gunner (4x)

Whenever it is your time to take a card / cards during Phase 2: Trade & Hire, you immediately receive a number of coins equal to the number of Ships in the harbor display minus 1.

Vice Admiral (5x)

Whenever it is your time to take a card / cards during Phase 2: Trade & Hire, if there are 3 or 4 cards in the harbor display, you immediately receive 1 coin per Vice Admiral in your personal display

This expansion introduces 2 new Ships per colour. One Ship in each colour has a new effect:

Ship

On top of the 3 coins you receive, another player of your choice receives 1 coin. (As usual, take the coins from the draw pile. If you are not the active player, you must also pay the active player 1 coin.)

The Contracts

The Contract cards introduce a new component to the game and can be used as an additional source of victory points. Each player receives 3 wooden cubes in a colour of their choice.

Preparation

Shuffle the 16 Contracts. Draw 4 Contracts and place them face up on the table; place the remaining Contracts face down aside. In this variant, ignore the seals in the top right corner. The course of play remains the same as in the base game – in addition, you can now complete Contracts.

General rules for Contracts

To complete a Contract, you must meet the Requirements (see the overview for details). You can do this at any time on your turn, regardless of whether or not you are the active player. If you do, place 1 of your 3 wooden cubes on the leftmost free coin space of the Contract. The cube remains there for the rest of the game. Each player can only complete each Contract once.

Completing a Contract, you most often receive coins from the draw pile – the earlier you complete it, the more you get. For your second completed Contract, you also receive 1 victory point. If you even complete a third Contract, you also receive 2 victory points. You cannot complete more than 3 Contracts.

The game ends as usual.

In deviation of the original rules, at Yucata contracts are completed automatically as soon as the requirements are met. In case there are several contracts that can be completed at the same time, but the player does not have enough cubes for all of them, those contracts are completed first which give the player the most coins. At Yucata the back of unused contracts are not used as points for the players, instead the sum of victory points in the player info is updated.

Details on the Contracts

The Contract Requirements tell you what you are supposed to have in your supply or what you must do in order to complete the Contract. The depicted numbers are considered to be minimum values, e.g. you can have more swords in your supply than required. Only the active player can complete the Pack of Pirates, the (Little) Gamester, and the Jinx.

Comedian, Lady Killer, Maritime Supremacy, New Colony, Trade Outpost, Trader Prince:
You must have both depicted Persons in your personal display. (Once you complete the Contract, you can use Settlers, Priests, and Captains for Expeditions; the contract remains completed.)

Cheap Staff:
You must have 4 Persons in your personal display each costing 3 coins (or less in the future …). (Discounts from Mademoiselles do not count.)

Fighter:
You must have 3 swords in your personal display

Explorer:
You must have 1 Expedition in your personal display.

Frigate Foe:
If you trade with a Frigate and decline the coins (including those from a matching Trader), immediately place a wooden cube on space “1.”. The next time you decline this way, move the wooden cube to space “2.”. The third time you do so, you complete the Contract immediately. You cannot use the wooden cube on space “1.” and “2.” for another Contract. Each player can have a wooden cube there. As non-active player you first need to pay the active player a coin before you can decline the coins of the ship and possibly complete the contract. If it is a ship that will give a coin to another player, he will get this coin anyway, even if you decline the coins for yourself. Also the effect of the clerk still counts, even if you decline the coins.

Galleon Foe:
Like Frigate Foe, the only difference being you must immediately decline a trade with a Galleon twice.

Tax Officer:
You must pay taxes to complete the contract.

Jinx:
As the active player, you must end your turn due to two ships of the same colour.

Tiny Gamester:
As the active player, you must have 3 Ships of different colours in the harbor display (ships that are repelled don't count). Place a wooden cube on space “1.”. You cannot use this cube to complete another Contract. Each player can have a wooden cube there. The next time there are 3 Ships of different colours in the harbor display on your turn, you complete the Contract immediately.

Gamester:
As the active player, you must have 4 Ships of different colours in the harbor display to complete this Contract immediately.

Pack of Pirates:
As the active player, you must repel Ships with your Sailors and Pirates. Place the first repelled Ship of each colour in front of you and the rest on the discard pile. Collect all 5 ship colours (doesn't have to be in the same round). Once you do, place a wooden cube on the Contract and place the 5 Ships on the discard pile.

 
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