With deep, dynamic strategy, plenty of player interaction, and great pacing, Puerto Rico is a deservedly popular game. If you’re looking to practice or get your fix in at 1:30 AM when everyone is asleep, try our the Puerto Rico Evolver.

Cool things about this program:

1. It’s an Excel spreadsheet/macro that certainly pushes the limits of that environment.
2. It plays very well. I consider myself a strong intermediate player and feel very pressured. I have beaten it (once out of several tries, and in the advantageous third seat) but there is not much room for error.
3. It learns its strategy from a genetic algorithm. How cool is that? You actually get several different opponents, with different strategies, each picked from its own pool of contenders. You can even evolve your own opponents, if you have a few trillion CPU cycles to spare.