Learn Ports of Call: The Board Game
Learn the game in 5 short steps. Everything links to the full rules.
Set up the ports
Choose the language, prepare the Orders, News and Achievements, and give each company its starting money, ships and markers. Select home cities and one starting Order, then load each ship with goods made there. The interactive setup walks through the steps.
Sail and trade
Movement is free: follow the dotted routes, stopping at ports. Small ships and lightly loaded ships move farther than a full large ship. Pay canal tolls and home-city fees when they apply. Buy a good in one of its three production cities, then carry it to a port with a useful sale bonus. See movement and trade.
Fill an order
Orders need two goods sold at one destination. A separate first delivery is recorded on the Order; the second completes it. If one large ship carries both goods and sells them together, the share increase is awarded at once. See Orders and deliveries.
Grow your company
Ships increase future Action Points but bring annual maintenance. Factories cost money to build and produce once per fiscal year; each production changes the market and advances the Production Track. Use its bonus right away. Compare the purchase cost with the annual result before expanding. See factories and production.
Settle up and win
At each year’s end, calculate your Stock Exchange value in millions minus your ships’ maintenance. Pay a shortfall; if you cannot, you may sell shares and recalculate. After year four, unfinished Orders cost value, Achievements add value, and tie-breakers compare ships, factories, Achievements, then cash. See Game End and Scoring.