johanb123 has released a nice DS homebrew version of a popular German boardgame, Puerto Rico by Andreas Seyfarth. It may not look like much graphically, but if you can get over that, an entertaining and highly complex game awaits you.

The game has received a multitude of boardgame prizes all over the world. In Puerto Rico, players take up the role of governors during the time of colonization in the Caribbean and must claim as many victory points as possible, which can be achieved through a variety of strategies.

This is the first version of the DS port, you play it with the touchscreen. And while the game mechanics are fully implemented, the only opponents available at the time are dummy AI players. But in the future, the author will not only greatly improve the AI players, but also attempt to implement a TCP/IP multiplayer mode. If developers find a way around current homebrew limitations, a single-cartridge multiplayer mode might also be eventually possible.

So until the next version hits, you can give this one a try. If johanb123 indeed manages to implement better AI and multiplayer, this could turn out as one of the best homebrew games for the Nintendo DS.

Download: [Puerto Rico DS]