HIGHLIGHTS AMONG GAMES
POWER GRID
Friedemann Frieses FAmous FIREWORKS
Dear Reader! The first sparks did fly only for a few visitors of the fair – and then Friesemann Frieses powerhouse first edition of 1500 copies of Power Grid was sold out in 2001. The re-edition of the game three years leader nearly instantly turned into a cult game, especially among game experts, who couldn’t and couldn’t get enough of this conceptual masterpiece. And this despite the unusual and rather bleak game boards, that needed some time to get used to. Today you need not restrict your efforts to power up the huge energy gobblers Germany and USA, but can use your power on many other boards: There are Benelux/Central Europe, China/Korea, France/Italy, Brazil/Spain & Portugal as well Russia/Japan. Small adaptations of the basic rules for each of these boards result in country-specific well balanced provision strategies and at the same time provide new challenges. And the number of players noted on the box, 2 to 6, is not only a decoration, but yields high tension for all numbers of players. Have you been powered up yet? Then visit the Austrian Games Museum at Leopoldsdorf and play your role as CEO of a huge energy conglomerate! Homepage: www.spielen.at
Oppressively bleak with muted colors, thus appear the maps of Germany and the United Stated in the light of an observer’s lamp. This optical branding is also characteristic for the maps of other countries published in later years. Maybe the knowledge of the immense use of energy in those first two economic giants for which maps were designed was the deciding factor for Friedemann Friese to create his classic economics game. And what a game he has created! You puzzle over felicitous buys of power stations for many hours to achieve provision of sufficient energy and optimum connections of cities to the power grid, as at first each city can only be connected to a one grid and a tactically motivated cutting-off of an opponent from the grid can result in an early decision of the game. On the other hand, if you expand too fast this might result in supply shortages, because cities must have sufficient power, regardless of its source from coal, oil, garbage or uranium. The very clever mechanism that gives a player trailing behind pre-emptive rights for buying resources turns „Power Grid“ into an emotional roller coaster which can last all evening long trying to achieve balance between the power of hope and the disappointment in the real grid. To cite the rules in detail would exceed this column, but I must mention that Power Grid is played in five phases: Turn order, buy resources, buy power station, connecting cities to the grid and administration. Each of the phases is characterized by a fixed order of actions which forces you to decide where you want to be positioned in the next round. Another deciding factor is the best use of “Electros”, the ubiquitous currency in Power Grid. If you make a mistake in counting your money you are marooned! The game ends when a given number of cities has been connected. But do not forget: The must be supplied, too! Nuclear Power may be out dated in Germany today, but in Power Grid it will live on forever!
Review by Hugo Kastner
Comments to: hugo.kastner@chello.at
Homepage: www.hugo-kastner.at
TIP # 66 – POWER GRID
Designer: Friedemann Friese
Price: ca. 30 Euro
Year: 2001 / 2004 (new edition)
Publisher: 2F-Spiele
http://www.2f-spiele.de
Players: 2-6
Age: 14+
Time: 120+
Tactics : 8 of 9
Info : 0 of 9
Chance : 1 of 9
If you take on Power Grid, you are challenged to more than two hours of intensive planning and ultimate gaming brain acrobatics. The chance element has been reduced to a minimum (turning up of power station cards), the strategic part of the game is at a permanent high!
Hugos EXPERTTIP
Power Grid is a classy game with a high strategic content, and therefore after a first game a second game is recommended, despite the long playing time, to familiarize yourself with the interacting elements of the game.
Hugos FLASHLIGHT
Power Grid, Friedemann Frieses famous Fireworks, is a real jewel of the art of games; the reasons for this are manifold: Permanent interactions, high intensity of planning, strategic concepts and last but not least steady nerves during the auctioning of power stations offer a continuous delectable game experience. This is true for all boards of Power Grid, which has advanced to classic status in the genre of economics games after a short number of years. It is simply Friedemann Frieses Famous Fireworks.