Power Grid

This article is about the board game. For information on electrical infrastructure, see Power grid.

Power Grid

In Power Grid, players compete to build up electrical networks from scratch and be the player to power the most cities at the end of the game.
Designers	Friedemann Friese
Publishers	Rio Grande Games
Players	2 to 6
Setup time	10–15 minutes
Playing time	120+ minutes
Chance	Medium
Age range	12 and up
Skills	Buying, resource management

Power Grid is the English-language version of the second edition of the multiplayer German-style board game Funkenschlag, designed by Friedemann Friese and first released in 2004. Power Grid was released by Rio Grande Games.

In the game, each player represents a company which owns power plants and tries to supply electricity to cities. During the game, players bid on power plants and buy resources to provide electricity to the growing number of cities in their network.

Background

Power Grid was developed from Funkenschlag, the original game, which had players draw their networks with crayons instead of playing on a fixed map. This and other changes were made when Friedemann Friese reworked the game.The new game is called Funkenschlag in the German market, but is sold under other names elsewhere.

Game play

Players in Prague in 2008

The game comes with a double-sided board with a map of the United States on one side and Germany on the other. Each map has six regions, containing cities with connections of various costs between them. The number of regions used is based on the number of players. The map is a key strategic component, since some areas have generally higher connection costs than others.

Power Grid is played in rounds. Each round has five phases:

Determining turn order

Turn order is determined randomly at the beginning of the game. It is rearranged each round, according to the number of cities each player has connected. The player with the most connections goes first, followed by the player with the second-highest number of connections and so on. When players own the same number of connections, the player with the higher-value plant goes first.

Auctioning power plants

Turn order determines who starts bidding on power plants. A player may pass rather than bid on a plant, forfeiting their chance to bid on any other power plants in a round. An initial bid must be equal to, or higher, than the value of an available plant. After the initial bid, players bid in clockwise order until every player passes on an existing bid. When a plant is purchased, a new one is drawn from the deck to replace it; available plants are re-arranged by value. The player with the highest-priority turn order (which may still be the first player) then has the option to bid on an available plant. The phase ends when every player has purchased a plant or passed on an opportunity to bid on a plant. Most power plants require at least one coal, oil, garbage (see waste to energy), or uranium resource to supply electricity. Wind turbines and hydraulic plants do not require resources.

Buying resources

Players buy resources for their plants in reverse turn order. They can only purchase resources they can use, and each plant may only have twice the number of resources it needs to run; a plant which uses two oil can hold up to four oil. As resources are purchased, they become more expensive; the player who is last in turn order (the person with the fewest cities connected) can buy resources at the cheapest prices in that round.

Building

In reverse turn order, players may build into cities. In the first round, a player may build into any city which is not already occupied. They may expand by paying the cost to build into the desired city, plus the value of all connections to that city from an already-occupied city. No player may build into more than one slot in a city. Slot one costs 10 elektros, and is the only slot available during step one (see steps below). During step two the second slot is available for 15 elektros, and in step three the final slot is available for 20 elektros.

Bureaucracy

Players use resources to power their cities and earn more elektros based on the number of cities they power. Resources available for purchase are replenished at a rate based on the number of players in the game and the step. The most valuable power plant is placed at the bottom of the draw deck.

The game ends when one player builds a fixed number of cities, and the winner is the player who can supply electricity to the most cities with his network. In case of a tie, the player with the most money wins. If that results in a tie, the player with the most cities is the winner.

Power Grid is further divided into three steps. In step one eight power plants are visible to players, arranged in two rows of four based on reverse value. The first row (the least- valuable plants) is available for bidding. Only the first slot of a city may be connected. Step two begins when a player builds a set number of cities, determined by the number of players. The least-valuable available plant is removed from the game, and the second city slots are available for connection. Step three begins when the step-three card comes up in the power-plant deck after being initially placed at the bottom of the deck, and the least-valuable available plant is removed from the game. The available-power-plant pool is down to six, and the remaining-power-plant deck is shuffled to make a new draw deck.

Editions

Power Grid is available under different names in different markets. Most have the same game play, but a few editions are slightly different because they have non-standard maps.

Funkenschlag (Power Grid)

The German and U.S. editions are virtually identical, with the same German or US maps. Small differences are unintentional consequences of the translation from German to English, and most errors have been corrected by Rio Grande Games in subsequent editions.

Funkenschlag: EnBW edition

Released in 2007 as a promotional tie-in with EnBW, a power company in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, its map differs from Funkenschlag's in Mannheim's replacement with nearby Karlsruhe (the location of EnBW's headquarters). The game's second map is of Baden-Württemberg. Player order is determined after the power-plant auction, and the power-plant deck has 41 plants instead of the original 42; plant #29 is omitted.

Vysoké napětí

The Czech-Slovak edition has Central European and German maps.

Mégawatts

The French edition has maps of France and Quebec. The Quebec map has more renewable power plants, reflecting its regional hydroelectricity.

Other editions

Power Grid is also available in Polish, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, and Japanese. These editions have the original maps of Germany and the US and a map of each local publisher's home country.

10th anniversary deluxe edition

Released in 2014, it has redesigned wood pieces and cards and a double-sided board with Europe on one side and North America on the other, and replaces garbage (trash) with natural gas.

Expansions

All expansions require the original game to play.

France and Italy

The France & Italy Expansion for Power Grid was released in 2005, with a double-sided map allowing play in France and Italy. Minor rule changes reflect the countries' power culture. France, which has embraced nuclear power, has an earlier start with atomic plants and more available uranium. Italy has fewer coal and oil resources, but more garbage.

Benelux and Central Europe

The Benelux & Central Europe Expansion was released in 2006. This expansion provides a new double-sided map, this time for play in Benelux and Central Europe. Again, there are small rule changes to reflect the power culture in these two regions. Benelux (Economic union of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg) has more ecological power plants and more availability of oil. Central Europe (Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary) has rules changes in Steps 2 and 3, and limits on what type of power plant may be used to power cities in different regions (countries) of the map.

#3: Power Plant Deck 2

The Power Plant Deck 2 Expansion for Power Grid was published in 2007. The expansion provides a second set of power plant cards, offering variety in gameplay.

It was released at Spiel (the annual game fair in Essen) in 2007.

#4: China/Korea

The China & Korea Expansion for Power Grid was published in 2008. Another map expansion, this time for play in China and Korea. Again, there are small rule changes to reflect the power culture in these two regions. On the Korean side, players are confronted with expensive connection costs. In addition, because of the political division between North and South, there are two resource markets; in each turn a player must choose only one market to buy resources from, with fewer resources and no uranium available in the North. On the Chinese side, the market is structured as a planned economy. In this version of the game, there are no surprises—the power plants on the power plant market are offered in ascending order during the two first steps of the game. If the game reaches its final stage, then the power plant market becomes more like that in the original game, to reflect the beginnings of economic reform in modern China. Additionally, the resource table is designed such that resources are likely to be in short supply as the game proceeds.

#5: Brazil/Spain & Portugal

The Brazil/Spain & Portugal Expansion (aka Brazil/Iberia) was published in 2009. Another map expansion, this time for play in Brazil and Spain/Portugal. Again, there are small rule changes to reflect the power culture in these two regions. On the Brazilian side, biogas takes the place of garbage, and resources are more scarce than in the original game. Brazil also includes special game preparation rules regarding biogas plants. On the Spain and Portugal side, Uranium is important, but not at the beginning of the game. Initially, uranium is not added to the market in Step 1, but it is rapidly added in Step 2. This side also has special preparation rules by which certain plants are set aside and re-added to the deck during Step 2. Additionally, special nuclear rules apply to Portugal, namely that players with networks only in Portugal are not allowed to own nuclear power plants. Both sides of the map also include their own resource resupply tables. This is the only map, so far, that comes with a box that you can use to store it and other expansion maps.

#6: Russia/Japan

This was released October 2010. The market for power plants is restricted in Russia. Additionally, the standard rules for exchanging out-of-date power plants are changed. Based on the crowded geographical surroundings and the fact Japan has two wide area synchronous grids which run at different mains frequency, the players can start two separate networks in Japan. The first connections are restricted to certain cities.

#7: The Robots

This was released November 2011. The Robots expansion adds 30 tiles to create variations of AI players designed to be used when playing with 2 players.

#8: Quebec/Baden-Württemberg

The Quebec/Baden-Württemberg Expansion for Power Grid was published in 2012. The two maps were previously released in two separate Power Grid base games: Québec is part of Mégawatts, the French edition of the game released by Filosofia, while Baden-Württemberg was included in Funkenschlag: EnBW, a German edition of the game from EnBW. Again, there are small rule changes to reflect the power culture in these two regions. Québec places great emphasis on energy production via ecological plants. In Baden-Württemberg, turn order is changed: first, you buy power plants, then you rearrange the player order. There are also several transregional locations that only may be connected to in Step Two and Step Three.

#9: Northern Europe/United Kingdom & Ireland

The Northern Europe/United Kingdom & Ireland Expansion for Power Grid was released at Essen 2012. Another map expansion, it also includes twelve new power plant cards exclusive for Northern Europe. Again, there are small rule changes to reflect the power culture in these two regions. On the Northern Europe side, the seven countries use very different energy sources for their electricity production, and the set of power plants you play with is dependent upon which regions are chosen. On the United Kingdom and Ireland side, players can operate two different networks on these two isles. But, starting the second network is expensive since there is no direct connection between Ireland and Great Britain. Additionally, Step Three starts earlier on this map because this region changed from a resource exporter to an importer in a very short time.

#10: Australia/The Indian sub-continent

This expansion was released at Essen 2013. It contains maps for the Australian and Indian sub-continents. The main differences between the Australian map and other maps is that there are three networks, and the maximum cost of connecting any two cities is 20 Elektros, reducing the overall cost if a player is blocked in. Also, Uranium power plants are actually turned into Uranium mines, reflecting the resource production in Australia, where the cost of running the mines is turned upside down and instead creates income in the Bureaucracy Phase for the owner. In the Indian map, power-outs can occur and seriously reduce the incomes of fast-expanding networks. Also, the resource markets are severely reduced.

Promo expansions

These items are small, single or multiple card promotional items that can be added to supplement the base game.

Flux Generator

The Flux Generator is a power plant that can fire any 3 resources to power 6 cities.

Theme Park

The card is auctioned to the players immediately after it has been drawn. It counts as an additional city for its owner and not as a power plant.

Transformer Station

The Transformer Station is a technology card that can be connected to a power plant to supply an additional city.

Warehouse

Warehouse is a limited edition 3 card set.

You can store up to three resources of any type in the Warehouse for future use in your own power plants. Stored resources cannot be dumped and must be used in the power plants.

Shortage/Surplus of Resources

The two "event cards" either remove three tokens of the cheapest resource or add three tokens of the most expensive resource from or to the resource market (only one token, if this is uranium). If there is a tie for cheapest or most expensive, resolve in the order coal, oil, garbage, uranium.

Supply Contract

Allows the player to place his house in the player order one space back in every round, allowing the player to bid resources earlier.

Industrial Espionage

Thanks to the Industrial Espionage, a single player (the last player in every round) gets information about the topmost card in the power plant draw stack.

Taxes

Forces the players to pay taxes for the cash assets once during the game.

Spin-off games

These titles are stand-alone games in the Power Grid family of games.

Power Grid: Factory Manager

In Power Grid: Factory Manager, players own factories and try to earn the most money during the game. To be successful, each player must use his workers to buy the best machines and robots on the market and to run the machines most effectively in his factory. Because of increasing energy prices, the players must be careful to check the energy consumption of their factories and to avoid using only energy-consuming machines.

Power Grid: The First Sparks

The First Sparks transports the Power Grid mechanisms into the Stone Age. The order of phases during a game round, the player order, the technology cards are all similar to the original game.

The First Sparks is much faster and far more direct. You are immediately part of the action. Each turn, each decision is important. As a clan leader, you decide on the well-being of your clan during the Stone Age. You need to develop new hunting technologies and get new knowledge - to successfully hunt food or to learn to control fire. With the help of these skills, you will harvest enough food to feed your clan and spread it far enough to reach new hunting areas.

Reception

Martin Wallace comments: "I cannot say the game is definitively a classic. What I do know is that it still gets played regularly around the U.K. games scene. The vast majority of board games get dragged out once or twice and are then chucked to one side to collect dust until either auctioned or hidden in the loft by the better half. Power Grid has hung around because it has that certain something about it that makes you happy to sit down and play a game".

Awards

2005

• Games Magazine Games 100 (The Games 100 Contest)
• Spiel des Jahres Recommended

2004

• International Gamers Awards Best Strategy Game Nominee
• Meeples' Choice Award Top 3 of 2004

Reviews

• Pyramid

External links

• Rio Grande Games' Power Grid webpage
• Power Grid at BoardGameGeek
• Funkenschlag at BoardGameGeek
• Italy/France Expansion, Benelux/Central Europe Expansion and Plant Deck Expansion at BoardGameGeek
• PowerGrid review at The Games Journal