| Visit us on Facebook
Can't find what you
need at Charis Games?
Try our new
Amazon.com Search | |  | Rio Grande | Home » » » San Juan - the Puerto Rico Card Game by Rio Grande | | | | | | WARNING:| CHOKING HAZARD -- Small parts. Not for children under 3 yrs. |
| | | Description: | | Puerto Rico's golden age returns. Through you! Players travel now to the capital city of this beautiful island. Who will build the most important buildings? Players build palaces, poor houses, silver smelters, gold mines, and many others - each with its own special features. The cleverest player will build well and win! As with the board game, players choose roles which can help all players, but the choosing player gets a special privilege with the role chosen. Players build buildings, produce and sell goods, and so on. The game is based on Puerto Rico, but different enough to give players new challenges and opportunities for fun and enjoyment. | | | Features: | |
• Deutscher SpielePreis 2nd Place 2004
• Spiel Des Jahres Recommended 2004
• International Gamers Awards Best Strategy Game Nominee 2004
• 2 - 4 Players
• 45 - 60 Minutes, Ages 10 and Up
| | | Product Details: | | | Product Length:
| 8.0 inches | | Product Width:
| 6.0 inches | | Product Height:
| 1.5 inches | | Product Weight:
| 0.95 pounds | | Package Length:
| 9.2 inches | | Package Width:
| 7.3 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.6 inches | | Package Weight:
| 1.05 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 28 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 28 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
70 of 71 found the following review helpful:
San Juan renewed my interest in games!Jan 03, 2007
By Atomicwasteland
I am an ex-computer games junkie and was always playing city building games like Civilization. I don't have the time I once did, and I am not spending the hours on the computer like I used to. Well, this Christmas I received this game and was pleasantly surprised. After the first game I knew we had a winner. We proceeded to play it four more times over the next few days.
Why do I like this game?
It can be played with TWO people. Yes, it may not be quite as exciting with two people (as it is with three or four), but it is still fun. I will say, however, that it is nice to vary the number of people you play with. Four people is fun in a way that three is not. Three is fun in a way two is not. There are cards that get played a lot more often in larger games, and the strategy changes based on the number of people you have. For example, with four people you are almost always trading your goods each round, so it is important to build a strong economy. (This is not as important with two or three players, where building might be your priority).
This game doesn't require any special equipment -like a board- and it is very portable. (You might even be able to play it on a plane.)
The games last about 45 minutes (at the longest) so you really can get a quick play in before moving on to something else. There are no worries that the game is going to go on forever. Basically, the game ends when ANYONE has built 12 buildings, so no matter how complex a strategy you have, if you don't hurry it up and time it to coincide with the quickest builder in your gaming party, you might lose.
Another thing that makes it fun: You DON'T keep score during the game (like with Scrabble or Hearts), so you don't really know how you are doing during the game. It is only at the very end when you tally up all your points that you know if you won or lost. (Sure you can look at players' hands, but some key "multiplier" cards are only played in the last rounds, so you never really know...)
And finally, unlike with games such as Monopoly, or Chess, or Risk, one person does not "crush" or "destroy" the other. You are not going to have a complete winner with all the money and all the armies (leaving the others broke, or with no armies). This means you can really have an enjoyable time, playing your best, and not feeling like you can never win, or that you are much worse than the others. Everybody has the same access to all the cards and their likelihood of winning does not go up or down just because someone else is playing really well, or really poorly.
This game is highly recommended and I am starting to research other Rio Grande games as well because I enjoyed this one so much! It is well worth buying from another vendor if Amazon does not stock it.
36 of 36 found the following review helpful:
Our favorite game of all time!Feb 07, 2006
By LMarie
San Juan has quickly become our favorite game, and we are an avid game-playing family.
San Juan is the card game version of "Puerto Rico" by Rio Grande Games. We purchased "San Juan" because it can be played with 2-4 players, and we often only have two people available to play.
The concept is loosely based on the idea that you are in San Juan, Puerto Rico. You are building manufacturing facilities to produce goods such as indigo, sugar, tobacco, coffee, and silver. Also, you may build other privileges or benefits as an owner - for example, you might choose to build a Quarry, which allows you to build certain types of buildings for a lower price. As your manufacturing facilities produce goods, you trade them on the market, make more "money", and build more buildings.
It's difficult to explain the basic concept without being able to show you the cards, but it is a very easy game to learn. We have taught several people the game within about 10 minutes, and after we've played one round, they understand it well.
This game is surprisingly different every time we play. Strategy is important, but luck does affect the success of whatever strategy you use. Generally speaking, the games are generally very close in score.
A few things we love about this game are:
- once you've played it a couple of times, you can play a game in 20-30 minutes.
- the game seems drastically different whether you play with 2, 3, or 4 players.
- easy setup & cleanup. You need very little table space to play the game.
- it's a very accessible game. People ages 10 and up learn it quickly and enjoy it!
We learned this game first, then we tried "Puerto Rico". You do not need to know one game to understand the other. In fact, it seemed that Puerto Rico seemed a bit more confusing to us (this may be due to the fact that San Juan came later, and the directions are much more clear in the later game).
I highly recommend this game to those who are looking for a fun, quick game that never gets old!
10 of 10 found the following review helpful:
Great gameJun 20, 2006
By bethanne carr
"carr4christ"
Our daughter introduced us to this game and we were hooked by the second game. It seemed a little complicated at first, but by the time we finished one or two rounds we got the hang of it and loved it. It's actually easy to learn and our children were playing it with us and planning strategies after just a few games. I highly recommend it!
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
Mavi not includedJan 14, 2010
By Mike
I wanted to wait until the honeymoon (with the game) was over before finally reviewing it. I got it for Christmas and my wife and I were instantly hooked. Recently we were able to play it with 2 other people, and they picked it up very quickly. It does not take very long to play.
It is an amazingly simple, strategic, and fun card game. For those who might not have known, it is a stand alone card game, it is not an expansion, and you don't need Puerto Rico (the game it is based on) to play or understand San Juan. I have had an easy time teaching this game to other people and they were really surprised by it. It is a casual "hey lets play a game real quick" or "beer and pretzel" game that everyone seems to enjoy. San Juan is a great first step into the non-hasbro board games, and it comes in a nice small box with quality cards. I plan on throwing this in my luggage when visiting in-laws.
I can easily say that San Juan is a must own, whether you frequently play board/card games or not, and I can easily recommend this for families who like to play games, with or without mixed ages.
If it were lost, stolen, or ruined I would definitely buy another.
Side Note:
We bought Puerto Rico after owning this which is also a great game but is definitely a different animal. We also own Race for the Galaxy which I enjoy more, but only because of the sci-fi nerd in me. RFTG is just a hair different and possibly deeper, but San Juan is way more user friendly, a lot easier to teach others to play, and people are generally more accepting of its non-nerdy visual appeal. Truth is I am happy playing either one.
14 of 16 found the following review helpful:
Portable and funJan 08, 2006
By J. Jacobs
Each of the 2-5 players begins the game with an indigo plant. From there, they compete to develop San Juan, building sugar, tobacco, coffee and silver plants, constructing monuments and other structures, and collecting privileges and rewards along the way. The game setup allows players to see what others are constructing and one player's move often affects another's. The game ends when one player constructs 12 buildings. It involves lots of strategy with some luck. Portable (no game board, provided scorecards not needed) and great fun, this game comes highly recommended.
See all 28 customer reviews on Amazon.com
| | |
|
