Power Grid

Power Grid is a game of building and maintaining a network of power plants - perhaps not the most appealing theme, but the game is extremely good. This involves the careful the management of a limited amount of money to buy power plants in auctions, buy fuel to power the plants and to connect plants to cities. The more cities you power, the more money you earn. What makes the game interesting is

* The game ends after someone has connected to a prescribed number of cities, but the winner is the player who has sufficient plant capacity and fuel to power the most cities at that point - this isn't necessarily the same player.
* Power plants are numbered and higher number plants are generally more efficient (power more cities for less fuel) and more desirable.
* New plants are drawn to replace those won in auctions so that 8 are visible. However, only the lowest 4 are available to buy (the others are the future market), so you have some idea of what plants will soon become available, but you can't be certain when.
* Each plant requires a certain type of fuel (coal, oil, garbage and uranium), which is bought from the market. Buying a given type of fuel usually makes that fuel more expensive for everybody else who follows you in the round. The fuel market is only partially refilled after each round, so fuels in high demand get more expensive as the game goes on.
* There is a built in catch-up mechanism that changes the turn order to benefit players who are currently losing - it's rather artificial, but it does lead to very tense and close games.

+ high quality components
+ includes a double-sided board - Germany (great) and USA (not as good) and has several double-sided expansions that add various twists to the standard game
+ very tense - even in the final round it is not always clear who is going to win
+ lots of strategy

- the art/colour looks dirty and grimy (I really like it and think it fits the theme perfectly, but most people I play with disagree)
- the box says the game is playable with 2 players - it is, but it feels like a completely different game and I don't enjoy it as much; it plays best with 5

Not a game that's going have you roaring with laughter and it's a bit too heavy for a family game, but with a couple of friends looking for a deeper game with plenty of opportunity to try different strategies.

This is a really fun and exciting game in which players buy cities and resources, and bid against each other for power plants in an attempt to be the player able to power the most cities at the end of the game. It comes with two maps - the USA and Germany - which offer variety to the gaming experience. The mechanics of the game are fairly simple, and it has a neat way of modelling a real life resource market, whereby demand leads to an increase in price. The end game can get pretty intense and in my experience usually involves someone bringing out a calculator. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone, even those who have not played heavier board games before.

A lovely game of optimising efficiency that will be enjoyed by anyone who doesn't mind some number crunching in their games.

Essentially a race to be powering the most cities when the end of game is activated, you'll need to work out the most efficient fuels, city connections and power stations - taking into considerations variable prices, variable supplies and the ever-variable actions of your fellow players.

Auctions and a little randomness (in the order that power stations are accessible) stop the game from being dry and 'solvable'.

The two maps encourage different strategies - just in case you get too familiar with one - and given the high production values, this game will last you a long, long time.