This is the first thing I thought of.

Reloading is all about timing. Don't wait until you have no choice but to reload. Do it when it's most advantageous to you. For example, if the city you're on, and the next one along the route are both empty (but everything else is relatively full) go ahead and refill it. You'll probably benefit.

Reloading is actually a way to win. Just try to do it when you have 6 or more in cash at the start of your turn.

I'm on the side of reloading too. Too many players get wrapped up in trying to collect tokens then they suddenly realize they could have reloaded and had a fresh batch of goods to sink their teeth into.

It is all about timing when you use the action however. You have to have more than 3 gold or get lucky enough to come into your turn in very good boat position.

I believe this is another game that can suffer from groupthink for this exact reason. I've played with some people who hated the reloading action, but then we played with a player who started using it even when not forced, and timing it to his advantage. Suddenly, everybody started doing it and now it almost never happens that a player get stuck in a situation where he is forced to reload.

I hate slapping the guy to my right. But every once in a while it just needs to be done.

Have you heard of a building called the small warehouse? Oh, you haven't? Well maybe you are familiar with the Wharf?

O.k.,
Granted, I suck at this game (despite having played more than a few times)... but there's not a move IN Puerto Rico that I don't dread taking, for this exact reason.

-ZZ

Even if you have a warehouse or a wharf, it's still better to let someone else pick craftsman, because you will be able to ship the goods earlier (as opposed to waiting for the next turn or possibly turn after that), and you also deny the other players points if you can fill up boats before them.

sure, if craftsman benefited everyone equally; but when you are a "shipper", having a small warehouse or wharf can significantly increase your profit margin from crafting-shipping process (even if you are last in the shipping order), so if you have these you can be in the position of wanting to craft at almost every opportunity, which is befitting of your strategy! It's silly to have a better shipping infrastructure than everyone else and be afraid to craft- that's just a strategy for losing. I find moderately experienced players often get caught in the trap of "craftsman fear", which I guess is fine if you always pursue a "builder" strategy, but as anyone who knows the game will tell you: you can't always choose a strategy from the outset.

Another immensely (!) influential factor is boat control- nothing is more satisfying that plopping down a single coffee on the largest boat when you are the only one producing coffee (and did I mention you have a harbor?).

If the game is close, I often position myself to be slightly in last place so that I can place the king. I've even gone so far as to add tower pieces so as to put someone else ahead of me, as long as I have a prime spot for the king.

If you can place the king in position so you can get 15 points for not moving ANYTHING then it's a great thing - you'll get one extra turn to do whatever you want to get MORE points rather than having to worry if it's worth one of your turns to try and get to the 15 points.
I'd say it's worth positioning yourself there if yu're not that far behind the leader...

Catching up is very hard to do in Torres. Sometimes that last king placement can help, but I hate to be in last place then, because it's hard to pass the folks who have put themselves on top of the big towers. So, the king on my small tower may be a good way to get back at them.

It just doesn't quite help enough. I guess that's a good game design, eh?

Well then just make sure you're in last place when you score so that if your opponents have good cards, then you'll be able to benefit. Always make sure you're in last...wait a minute...that won't work. Never mind.

Jeez, I hate to keep disagreeing with you here... wait, no I don't.

If you're opponents have the lousy towers on the coast card, you want to be completing a city as fast as you can. One that includes some of those coastal towers. Things are only going to get worse after all!

If you think your opponents have large-scoring cards, then you should want to create a city.

And, you don't have to score when you create a city. So you can reduce the value of their cards by scoring early, and you don't have to. Since it's the first city, you have 0 points and are tied for last place, and you get to swap cards. That's almost always good to do early in the game.

yeah, what they all said...forming the first city early (especially if you have crap cards) can give you a *huge* boost.

Well... that still doesn't change the fact that I hate doing it...

This I hate. Actually, I hate even starting a game of this, because I am doomed to failure. I can't spell, and this game kicks in my AP like none other.

I hate trading tiles. Playing near a triple word score is a calculated risk, you just have to make them work for it.

My cousin's husband's family are a bunch of crossword loving, Scrabble-dictionary memorizing fanatics. They play words that consist purely of consonants and dare you to challenge them. Needless to say, simply agreeing to a game with them is a move I hate to make...

Don't be afraid to trade tiles. 0 for the turn hurts, but limiting yourself to a substandard rack for multiple turns often hurts more.

Definitely agreed upon. I try to get near the triples so I can take advantage of them, but without fail my opponent will nab it first. I especially hate it when you have a high scoring word in your deck, but can't get it out before they use some silly three letter word first.

Me too. Invariably, if you play it early, you'll need it later, and if you save it until later, you end up not needing it.

Or worse, you'll never get to play it (if no one plays their extra for a long time).

Or when you finally, desperately need it, someone else plays theirs first

Unless you're sure you're winning and want to get the game over with as soon as possible...not that I'm ever in that position...

I ALMOST never exchange tiles. The one exception is when I think I can trigger the end of the game and I think I stand to win. Better for me to get that extra turn than the guy next to me.

But I don't spend an action to get tiles unless its very late in the game and I desperately need something specific...and I'm just trying to get one more point by playing one tile (where the other 3 colors are already pumped up.)

Exchanging tiles just before strating a conflict can be ver useful...

Now I guess I have to be in the opposite camp again and say that exchanging your tiles is a way to dictate the length of the game, not to mention that it can definitely net you a much better pool of tiles.

I do not exchange often, but I do not hesitate when I need a better selection, or as was previously stated, the game is near it's end.

I always exchange tiles as much as possible to get the game over and done with. Then we can move onto something enjoyable.

I never really pay attention to how many colors I've started. Then I look down half way through the round and realize I have all 5 colors started, and that I'm boned.

We call it "going five wide". I love to see my opponent do this since it is very difficult to get positive points in all 5 expeditions - it can be done, but not normally. Usaully if I go "5 wide" I am trying to rattle my opponent and know going in that one or two expeditions will be negative.

I almost always commit to a fourth... it allows for a safe drop so you're not giving cards to your opponent. I've come out plus with four colours, but I don't think I've ever done it with five. The one drawback to this strategy is that it leaves relatively few cards in the discard stacks if you need to prolong the game a bit so you can lay down cards from your hand.

I'm quite often happy to start a 'sacrificial' fourth colour, even if I'll only get 10-15 points out of it, if I'm holding out for cards to boost my double- or triple-investment colours.

There's nothing wrong with a fourth color.

Even a fifth isn't so bad, depending on how you use it and why you opened it up. Sometimes it's better to start a color in which you'll have a negative score, rather than to give up a big opportunity cost in a strong color, or to discard something your opponent can use.

Starting a weak color can be a perfectly fine way to dump cards without giving them to your opponent.

Heh - I'm a conservative player. If I start with 5-7-8 in a color and have no better moves, I'll just throw it down at the beginning knowing it will be worth 0.

I am generally more than happy to "sacrifice" a piece as they come back in the first phase anyway. Directing the monster away from your intended winning pieces tends to lead to more victories than an all out race for the exit while avoiding the monster strategy.

"Hey, I don't have to run faster than the monster, I just have to run faster than you!!!"

I didn't know Dr. Seuss designed Go!

Is there a zug under the rug? A yot in the pot?

A findow in the window?

Would that make you a Stitzl in the Schnitzel?

The Ynnen will leave you grinnen'

OUCH!!!!

Agreed! Excellent addition - because invariably, when forced to re-roll early, that kills your turn!

Amen, brother.

It gets worse when you blow a three-die block... twice.

Yes, this is what makes Bloodbowl such a great game. Learn to prioritize. I usually (but not always) do stuff in this order:

1) Free stuff for which I don't have to roll any dice. Also, I try to use free moves to cover my opponent in case of a turn-over.
2) Important Stuff which absolutely HAS to succeed. In case of a botched action I usually use my team reroll for this. If this fails, well, thats Bloodbowl....
3) Unimportant stuff like blocking the Line of Scrimage, two-dice no-skills blocks etc.

It gets really painfull when that reroll bags you another set of skulls!

What hurts more is that one-reroll-one when going for it for the tying touchdown on the "bottom" of the 8th turn of the 2nd half.

It would appear that the move you hate is "Playing against people who can play this game".

Yeah, I try to avoid that if possible...

In our last game of Carcassonne, both cathedral tiles were drawn in the last two turns of the game! You are absolutely correct in this complaint.

Ha I was going to put this. The last time this happened to me the only city left was mine, I only needed one tile to close it (before the cathedral), I had been unable to close it earlier, and hit a real dry spell, only pulling dead end roads for the past 5 or 6 moves, and it would have been a very profitable city had I finished it... it didn't turn out to being a profitable city.

Thank goodness for the cathedral for putting some extra tension into the game.