I played Puerto Rico with my family last night. It definitely glosses over the murkier sides of colonialism. Neither slaves nor natives are mentioned even a single time; the workers are just referred to as colonists, and you're free to move them between plantations and factories or administration buildings at a whim.
Games are about having fun though, and I think Puerto Rico would be less fun if it had constant reminders about genocide and slavery, just like Risk would be less fun if it gave you constant reminders of the human rights abuses your armies incur on the civilian population as you march them across your opponents lands. I'm curious what changes they'll do to the 2022 version of the game, if they really manage to keep it as fun while making it less offensive. (And I really hope they keep the wooden components; plastic just doesn't feel the same.)
I also want to try Spirit Island. It's currently ranked higher than Puerto Rico on BoardGameGeek anyway.
I played Puerto Rico with my family last night. It definitely glosses over the murkier sides of colonialism. Neither slaves nor natives are mentioned even a single time; the workers are just referred to as colonists, and you're free to move them between plantations and factories or administration buildings at a whim.
Games are about having fun though, and I think Puerto Rico would be less fun if it had constant reminders about genocide and slavery, just like Risk would be less fun if it gave you constant reminders of the human rights abuses your armies incur on the civilian population as you march them across your opponents lands. I'm curious what changes they'll do to the 2022 version of the game, if they really manage to keep it as fun while making it less offensive. (And I really hope they keep the wooden components; plastic just doesn't feel the same.)
I also want to try Spirit Island. It's currently ranked higher than Puerto Rico on BoardGameGeek anyway.