Gaming: Power Grid

So we had another Game Night yesterday and we tried Power Grid.

The object of the game is to supply the most cities with power when someone's network gains a predetermined size. In this new edition, players mark pre-existing routes between cities for connection, and then vie against other players to purchase the power plants that you use to supply the power. However, as plants are purchased, newer more efficient plants become available so you're effectively allowing others to access to superior equipment merely by purchasing at all. Additionally, players must acquire the raw materials, like coal, oil, garbage, or uranium, to power said plants (except for the highly valuable 'renewable energy' wind/solar plants), making it a constant struggle to upgrade your plants for maximum efficiency while still retaining enough wealth to quickly expand your network to get the cheapest routes.

It might look like it's an easy game or that it's cheesy but let me tell you this game is hard and there are a lot of strategy into playing this game.

At every turn, the sequence the players will play changes depending on the position (strong or poor) the player is. Each step in a turn will start with the best current player or the worst, hence, sometimes it's in you best interest to be the worst player.

We played two games, the first was ok but only at the end did we start catching the gist of it. The second game was more interesting since we had comprehended more about the game and strategies were being played more.



Since you have to buy the resources needed to power your plant, it is interesting to stock up on them if you can get them cheap as the other players will have to buy them at a higher price. And let me tell you, missing only one dollar can make a difference. Often during our second game, people got screwed because of higher resource prices and were missing only one dollar to expand to another city. Of course by the end of the round, somebody would have already bought the city you wanted to get, hence screwing up your expansion plans because of only one dollar.

My strategy when I played the second game was to stay as one of the worst, getting good energy plants but not expanding much. I could afford to take my time to expand since I was not being cut of by the other players at that time. Since I had good plants but not a lot of cities to power, I could afford to horde on some precious resources hence jacking up the prices on them. Since I was not using them, even when the resources where being restocked, they could not be fully restocked as there is a limit number of each resource and I had a lot at my plant, doing nothing. By staying one of the worst player in the game, I could control the resources better, and when it was time, I jumped to first position with no problems.



Sadly I did not win, but it was close. If we would have gone another round, I think I could've won. As you can see, there are many strategies to playing this game and even if you are in the worst position, it is possible to win this game.

I really liked this it and I do recommend it to anyone.

Please note that this is a german game and the rules in English is kinda weird sometimes. It is best if somebody has already played this game and shows it to a new group.

[ Links ]
Power Grid - Board Game Geek