After one game of Puerto Rico I saw that a collection of rules can work well together and be nothing more than a collection of rules. Add some peices and the ability to occasionally pull the rug out from under an opponent along with a name and box cover art that looks like a historical scene and you have the #2 ranked boardgame in existence. Dull, not at all historical, and condcive to a weird vibe that said to me the people I was playing with wanted to beat each other badly but didn't want to be up front about it.
It serves it's purpose to keep you warm enough to avoid freezing to death, but the entire experience stinks and barely does the job it's supposed to do. Not fun. Not mentally engaging. Passive aggressive tripe.
I have played Puerto Rico just once. Spent 30 minutes learning the rules from the owner of the game, and 90 minutes playing. It was quiet, boring, and also boring, boring, boring. Minimal theme, minimal interaction, rife with potential for analysis paralyis, and just plain lacking in any form of actual fun. I won't play this again, ever.