Review: Power Grid (Deluxe)

 "The Fool Doth Think He Is Wise" - A Spirit Island Review

The Basics 

Each player is seeking to build a set number of generators on the map, and then powering said generators through power plants that are obtained through auction. That's it! I really appreciate the simplicity of the game while still enjoying playing it through. The power plants come in different shapes and forms, becoming more powerful (and thus powering more generators/cities) as the game goes on. They use different forms of fuel, from coal and natural gas to oil and uranium. There are also green power plants that generate power without burning fuel to do so. Each turn begins with an auction in which the players bid money on available power plants. After this, players buy resources, build more generators, and then earn money by powering cities, resetting the markets, and that's the round.

There's a sort of purity to the game, in my opinion. It's an economic game with auction and market mechanisms. It's not overly complicated, it's not a game that tries to be more than it is. That sort of makes it sound simplistic, and it's not. But I just appreciate that Friedemann Friese (the game's designer) didn't overload the game just to add complexity it does not need. Power Grid is, for me, a staple in my game collection. It hasn't seen play in a minute, but there's no way I'm willing to take it off my shelf. I'm always happy to see it hit the table, no matter how often I lose!

The Specs 

Player count: 2-6 (you need to play a variant with only 2 players, so this is usually a 3-6 player game)

Playing time: 120 minutes (fairly accurate, though the game is shorter when people know what they're doing)

Age: 12+

The Expansions

This is one of the reasons it is important to distinguish Power Grid Deluxe from other versions of Power Grid: because there is only one expansion that works with Power Grid Deluxe, and that is called "Power Grid: Fabled Expansion." Apparently, it introduces some sort of campaign mechanic. I've not played it, but this is not a game that ever inspired me to think, "I wish there were a campaign variant of this!" That's not to say it's bad, since I can't speak to it! I just mean that it's not something that interests me for this game.

With that in mind, I don't play this game enough to really desire more than this box offers me. But if I played it more often than I do, I'd probably want one of the other versions that is compatible with all of the various expansion maps that Rio Grande Games offers, such as Australia/India, or Russia/Japan, because Power Grid Deluxe is not compatible with those expansions.

Gameplay

The first thing that will happen each turn is determination of player order. This is based on who has the most cities in their network (who has the most generators built on the board), and ties are broken by the player with the biggest power plant. After player order is determined, the first player will begin the next phase in which power plants are auctioned. The player chooses one of the available power plants, bids money on it, and then the bid passes around to each player in clockwise order until someone has won the power plant. This will happen as many times as there are players, so each player will have an opportunity to buy a power plant. This also means the last player to bid can choose to buy any available power plant at its minimum bid. The next two phases happen in reverse player order: the last player will buy resources to fuel their power plants, then the second-to-last player, and so on until each player has purchased as many resources as they like (or as many resources as are available). In reverse player order, players then purchase and place generators on the board. To start, players can place their generators on any available spot on the board, but once the first generator is built, each player must build generators connected to generators they have previously built. The further away a player builds a generator from their own pre-existing generators, the more expensive it becomes. Finally, the last phase of the turn is bureaucracy, in which players earn money by powering cities, and then resupply the resource market and update the power plant market.

The game progresses through 3 steps. In the first step, every city can only be part of the network of a single player, and resupply for the resources is dependent on the step 1 chart. In the second step (which begins after at least one player has connected a certain amount of cities, determined by the number of players), every city can now be part of the networks of two players (as players cannot connect generators to the same city more than once). The resource resupply is different from step one in accordance with a chart. Additionally, the power plant market changes a bit as the lowest numbered power plant in the market is removed from the game and replaced. In the third and final step (which starts when the Step 3 card is drawn from the power plant stack), more power plants are removed from the power plant market, and the available power plants in the market expands. Every city can now be part of the networks of 3 players, and the resource resupply changes as well. It is weirdly possible for Step 3 of the game to occur before Step 2 from time to time, but usually, the game will proceed sequentially.

The game ends when at least one player has connected a certain number of generators/cities (or more!) in their network, depending on the number of players. These must not only be connected, but the player must be able to power them as well to win the game. If there is a tie, the player with the most remaining money wins the game.

My Thoughts on Gameplay

Player order means the person leading the game has to bid on power plants first each time, as well as be the last to purchase resources and place generators. It's a decent little handicap that helps ensure everyone remains in the running. It also means that it often behooves a player to ensure they are not leading the pack throughout the game. In my mind, one of the most interesting parts of the game is determining when to leap into the lead and then sprint to the end of the game.

If you build too much too quickly, that allows other players to get the jump on you as to resources purchased, as well as the locations in which they build their generators. It doesn't make it impossible to win by any stretch, but it does mean you'll have to be more crafty and resourceful as to how you handle yourself in order to remain in the running. I really like trying to strike that particular balance, and I appreciate how the game accelerates once we hit the point where multiple players are now sprinting to the end by building multiple generators in a turn.

I've taught this game a bunch of times, and in a number of those instances, I've had to rely more on the rules than I'd like. But it's a sort of weird balance where the rules are really pretty simple and straightforward, but there's maybe a little too much elaboration in the rules? And so it feels like there's more to sift through in order to find what one is seeking, which tacks on a little extra time and confusion. It's not bad, just an observation of mine. Things are broken down pretty well on the back of the rule book, which I appreciate. But overall, I like the game play of Power Grid Deluxe, and I think it moves along decently well. The one place where it starts to slow down is in the last round or two of the game, because people are figuring out how to build 3-5 generators in a single turn so they can end the game before anyone else is ready. So it ends up being a game of math in which costs for expansion, resources to fuel the plants, and figuring out how to cut off competitors can be time-consuming while different calculations are made. I often joke about how in 5 Tribes, I'll try and circumvent an illegal move on the board by taking a different route, as though that will change the math (spoiler alert: it doesn't. But I still try this at least twice a game. Can't tell you why.). But in Power Grid Deluxe, even a slight change in the math really can make the difference. So it behooves players to have a calculator on hand (whether it's your cell phone or otherwise). It helps ensure that nobody screws up their math and either misses an opportunity, or inadvertently cheats by executing moves they could not afford.

Components

I really like the components in this version. It does get a little busy between the various resources and the plastic chits that are used for money, but I appreciate that they're solid and less prone to wear and tear. It also allows players to have a pretty good idea of not only what we have, but what other players have at a glance. This is important because it's not enough to place generators on the board: players need to be able to power enough of them to win the game. So being able to glance at an opponent's stash and quickly tabulate (approximately) what they are and are not capable of doing helps each player formulate their own plans. "How much do I need to rush?" "Can I afford to get into a bidding war over this power plant?" "Is that other player serious about buying up these resources before I get there, or do they not have the capacity?"

The fact that I can ask those questions and deduce answers more easily based on the components is, in my opinion, a very positive outcome of well-designed components. The board and power plants look appealing and are fairly well accessible, which I appreciate. I'll be honest: accessibility in games is becoming increasingly important to me, but I don't necessarily spend enough time thinking about the different ways a game can be more accessible. As an aspiring game designer, I really need to! I appreciate that this version of the game uses bigger fonts for numbers, uses color as well as symbols to define different power plants, and uses shapes as well as colors for resources.

Final Thoughts

I really enjoy this game and it's a staple in my collection. It's decently easy to teach and learn, it's fun to look at, and there's plenty to do. I mentioned earlier that I appreciate how it's sort of a purely economic game with an auction mechanic. A lot of the games I play mix and match more mechanics together, and so there's something satisfying about taking a step back to play a game like this. I enjoy that reading and anticipating the market (whether for resources, generators, or power plants) is simple enough that it doesn't take a ton of playtime to do, but it's still rewarding when you get it right.

This is not one of those games that I can play ad nauseam, exactly, but I rarely play it enough that I get tired of it.