William Garrett 2008-11-18
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In Power Grid, players construct networks of electrical lines (power grids) to different cities, buy different kinds of power plants to light them, and buy fuel to operate the plants. It's a resource-optimization game with constant competition for location, power plants, and raw materials. Turn order changes every round, giving those who are behind the best opportunity to grow on the next turn.
Power Grid is a fairly complex strategy game. To win you must balance several game elements, think at least a turn or two ahead, take advantage of openings, and shift your strategy based on the turn of the cards and other players' actions. It's never the same game twice.
This complexity is not for everyone. Those who've enjoyed other German games such as Settlers of Catan may find themselves a bit bewildered at Power Grid. Settlers is an excellent game, just simpler. In terms of degrees of complexity, I'd rate Settlers at about 1.5 and Power Grid at 3.5. Anything over 4 I'd consider unplayable strategically. If you play against experienced players you will probably be creamed the first few times at Power Grid. But if you're up for the challenge, you'll find the game addictive and enjoy the struggle to master it.
Power Grid plays well with a crowd. It's rated for 2-6 players, but I think 5 is the optimum number. With 2-3 the game seems limited in terms of interaction and diversity of strategy. With 4 it starts to come alive. With 5 it's vibrant. With 6 it's about as diverse as with 5, but it's slightly slower because there's one more person making decisions every round.
Finally, Power Grid has excellent replayability. There's an element of randomness to the order in which power plants come up for purchase. The game will feel very different depending on whether "good" plants come out early or late. In addition to the element of chance there's also the unpredictability of other players' actions. A starting position that looks great can turn sour by mid-game, and vice versa, depending on how other players move. And just in case that's not enough variety, there are several different boards available as extensions, each with slight modifications to the rules, plus an alternate deck of power plants. My friends and I have been playing this game regularly for a few years, and we're still not tired of it.