Power Grid (Recharged Version)

2-6 players 
120 min 

Power Grid is the updated release of the Friedemann Friese crayon game Funkenschlag. It removes the crayon aspect from network building in the original edition, while retaining the fluctuating commodities market like Crude: The Oil Game and an auction round intensity reminiscent of The Princes of Florence.

The objective of Power Grid 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 bid against each other to purchase the power plants that they use to power their cities.

However, as plants are purchased, newer, more efficient plants become available, so by merely purchasing, you're potentially allowing others access to superior equipment.

Additionally, players must acquire the raw materials (coal, oil, garbage, and uranium) needed to power said plants (except for the 'renewable' windfarm/ solar plants, which require no fuel), 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.

Recharged editon changes:

Various little changes were made in the recharged edition; the rules can be found here:
https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/179416/power-grid-recharged-version-us-rules-booklet

The rules are mostly the same, but with a few simple significant changes. Some changes can easily be played with a normal earlier set, if desired, e.g.:

• There is a "1" discount token that goes on the low plant. This makes the lowest plant always minimum bid 1. If it isn't bought, it is removed at the end of the auctions.

• The starting plants are no longer fixed, and you remove a pre-set number of "low" and "high" plants for 2P/3P/4P rather than simply removing 4 or 8 random plants from higher than the fixed starting market.

• An optional / advanced rule about determining initial cities.

• Coal is always available on the US map.