Port Royal
99 questions players ask about Port Royal. Pick one for the answer. See also the full rulebook.
Updated 2026-11-05.
Setup and Components
- Do I use the extra 5-player Expedition card in a five-player game?
- Can I add the 5-player Expedition card to games with fewer players?
- Should the discard pile be face up or face down?
- Can paid coins go back to the draw pile instead of the discard pile?
- May I look at the front of the face-down cards I hold as coins?
- Can we use tokens or real coins instead of face-down cards for money?
- Is the number of coins a player holds public information?
- Do hired characters have to be laid out so everyone can see them?
- How many players can play the base game?
- What do the sword numbers printed in the corner of each ship illustration mean?
Discovery Phase: Drawing, Repelling and Busting
- Can I repel a ship I revealed earlier in my turn once I have enough swords?
- Are swords used up when I repel a ship?
- If I repel a second ship of a colour already in the harbor, can I keep drawing?
- Can I deliberately bust by not repelling a ship?
- What happens with a skull ship I cannot repel?
- Can I stop drawing without revealing any card?
- Can I return to drawing after I have taken a card from the harbor?
- What happens with a Tax Increase when players are tied, or nobody has swords or points?
- When are the leftover harbor cards discarded?
- Do ships I take or repel go into my personal display?
Trade and Hire
- How many cards can the active player take from the harbor?
- Do I have to take the last card I revealed?
- Do I pay the active player one coin for every card I take on their turn?
- Do I pay the active player before or after taking a card?
- Can I pay the active player with coins from the ship I just took?
- Can I use coins from a ship to buy a character in the same turn?
- Can the active player decline to take any card?
- Does hiring a character count as one of the cards I may take?
Missions and Expeditions
- Can I claim an Expedition (Mission) on another player's turn?
- When during my turn can I claim an Expedition?
- Can I claim an Expedition after busting?
- Can I claim more than one Expedition in a turn?
- Can a completed Expedition count towards a bigger Expedition?
- Must I claim an Expedition as soon as I qualify?
- What can a Jack of All Trades replace?
Characters and Their Skills
- Which characters work in the turn I hire them?
- How does the Governor work, and on whose turn?
- Does the Admiral pay on other players' turns?
- When exactly does the Admiral pay out, and do I have to take a card?
- If the harbor is down to four cards when my turn to take comes, do I still get the Admiral's coins?
- Does the Admiral pay again when the Governor gives me a second card?
- Do several copies of the same character stack?
- When does a Jester pay its coin?
- If a player busts, who gets the Jester coin?
- How does the Trader's bonus work?
Ending the Game
Port Royal: Just One More Contract...Expansion
- How does the Clerk work?
- Can I use the Governor, Gunner or Vice Admiral in the turn I bought it?
- When does the Vice Admiral pay?
- When is the Gunner or Vice Admiral condition checked?
- Does the Gunner pay when a player busts?
- Can I fulfil more than one Contract in a turn?
- Can I complete a Contract on another player's turn?
- Can the same Character card count toward several Contracts, or is it used up?
- Can a Jack of All Trades replace a named Character on a Contract?
Port Royal: The Adventure Begins...Expansion
- Do I need Just One More Contract to play The Adventure Begins, and can I combine them?
- Can The Adventure Begins be played solo?
- In solo play, do I get the coin from a Tax Increase?
- What happens when Month's End is revealed?
- Does the final Month's End give me a turn?
- Where does the extra event card come from at Month's End?
- How do I lose a chapter, and what happens on a restart?
- What do I keep when I finish a chapter?
- When can I complete a task, and do open tasks stay available?
- When do I commit a marker to the Task 50 tax task?