Power Grid
Notes
We
are playing on the Benelux map and the original deck. Both the Promo
cards and Power Grid Plus failed to get a majority (2 yes, 2 no).
Energy
Crisis expansion is not in play (1 yes to 3 no).
Power plants will be
noted in the following format: XX Fuel I→O
(FF), where XX is the power plant number, “Fuel” is the type of
fuel it takes, I is the number of inputs, O is the number of cities
it powers, and (FF) is the amount of fuel stored on it, if any.
Round 1
Bidding
TuLiP opens the bidding on power plant 04 at 4 Elektro. Vlaamse Macht passes. BAUXITE bids 5. Powerhouse passes. TuLiP passes. BAUXITE buys power plant 04 for 5 Elektro, and power plant 13 is added to the future market, pushing power plant 07 to the current market. TuLiP then opens the bidding on power plant 07 at 7 Elektro. Vlaamse Macht passes. Powerhouse passes. TuLiP pays 7 Elektros for power plant 07, and power plant 31 is added to the future market, pushing power plant 08 to the current market.
Vlaamse Macht opens the bidding on power plant 08 at 8 Elektros. Powerhouse passes. Vlaamse Macht spends 8 Elektros for power plant 08, and power plant 34 is added to the future market, pushing power plant 09 to the current market.
Powerhouse buys power plant 09 for 9 Elektro.
Power plant 42 is added to the future market and power plants 10 and 13
are moved to the current market.
Fuel Purchases
BAUXITE buys 4 coal for 5 Elektro.
TuLiP buys 3 oil for 9 Elektro.
Vlaamse Macht buys 3 coal for 7 Elektro.
Powerhouse buys 1 oil for 4 Elektro.
Connections
BAUXITE connects to Haarlem for 10 Elektro, Zaanstad for 12 Elektro, and Amsterdam for 11 Elektro.
TuLiP connects to Den Bosch for 10 Elektro and
Tilburg for 13 Elektro.
Vlaamse Macht connects to Antwerpen for 10 Elektro
and Gent for 15 Elektro.
Powerhouse connects to Utrecht for 10 Elektro and
Arnhem for 16 Elektro.
Bureaucracy
Power Cities
Powerhouse powers 1 city, spending 1 oil and gaining 22 Elektros.
Vlaamse Macht powers 2 cities, spending 3 coal and gaining 33 Elektros.
TuLiP powers 2
cities, spending 3 coal and gaining 33 Elektros.
BAUXITE powers 1 city, spending 2 coal and gaining 22 Elektros.
Adjust Power Plant Market
Power plant 03 is removed from the game and power plant 40 is added to the future market. Power plant 42 is moved to the bottom of the deck and power plant 18 is added to the current market.Round 2
Bidding
BAUXITE opens the bidding on power plant 10 for 10 Elektro. Powerhouse bids 11. Vlaamse Macht passes. TuLiP passes. BAUXITE passes. Powerhouse spend 11 Elektro for power plant 10. Power plant 15 is added to the current market. BAUXITE opens the bidding on power plant 15 at 15 Elektro. Vlaamse Macht passes. TuLiP passes. BAUXITE spends 15 Elektro for power plant 15. Power plant 27 is added to the current market.
Vlaamse Macht spends opens the bidding on power plant 18 at 18 Elektro. TuLiP passes. Vlaamse Macht spends 18 Elektro for power plant 18. Power plant 20 is added to the current market.
TuLiP buys power plant 27 for 27 Elektro. Power
plant 35 is added to the future market.
Fuel Purchases
TuLiP passes.
Vlaamse Macht buys 3 coal for 7 Elektro.
Powerhouse buys 1 oil for 2 Elektro and 2 coal for 6
Elektro.
BAUXITE passes.
Connections
TuLiP connects to Breda for 12 Elektro.
Vlaamse Macht connects to Brugge for 13 Elektro.
Powerhouse connects to Nijmegen for 12 Elektro.
BAUXITE connects to Leiden 13 Elektro.
Bureaucracy
Power Cities
TuLiP powers 3 cities, gaining 44 Elektros.
Vlaamse Macht powers 2 cities, gaining 33 Elektros.
Powerhouse powers 3 cities, spending 2 coal and 1 oil and gaining 44 Elektros.
BAUXITE powers 3
cities, spending 2 coal and gaining 44 Elektros.
Adjust Power Plant Market
Power plant 05 is removed from the game and power plant 42 is added to the future market, pushing power plant 34 to the current market. Power plant 39 is moved to the bottom of the deck and power plant 32 is added to the current market, pushing power plant 34 back to the future market.
Round 3
Bidding
BAUXITE passes.
TuLiP opens the bidding on power plant 31 at 31 Elektro. Vlaamse Macht passes. Powerhouse passes. TuLiP spends 31 Elektro on power plant 31. Power plant 29 is added to the current market.
Vlaamse Macht passes.
Powerhouse spends 29 Elektro for power plant
29. Power plant 26 is added to the current market.
Fuel Purchases
Powerhouse buys 2 oil for 2 Elektro.
Vlaamse Macht buys 3 coal for 9 Elektro.
TuLiP passes.
BAUXITE buys 4 coal for 17 Elektro.
Connections
Powerhouse connects to Apeidoorn for 13 Elektro.
Vlaamse Macht connects to Brussels for 14 Elektro and
Leuven for 12 Electro.
TuLiP connects to Eindhoven for 14 Elektro.
BAUXITE connects to Rotterdam for 13 Elektro and Den
Haag for 12 Elektro.
Bureaucracy
Power Cities
BAUXITE powers 4 cities, spending 4 coal and gaining 54 Elektros.
TuLiP powers 3 cities, gaining 44 Elektros.
Vlaamse Macht powers 4 cities, spending 3 coal and gaining 54 Elektros.
Powerhouse powers 4
cities, spending 1 oil and gaining 54 Elektros.
Adjust Power Plant Market
Power plant 06 is removed from the game and power plant 39 is added to the future market, pushing power plant 24 to the current market. Power plant 42 is moved to the bottom of the deck and power plant 36 is added to the current market, pushing power plant 34 back to the future market.
Round 4
Bidding
BAUXITE opens the bidding on power plant 26 at 26 Elektro. Vlaamse Macht passes. TuLiP bids 27. Powerhouse bids 28. BAUXITE bids 29. TuLiP passes. Powerhouse passes. BAUXITE buys power plant 26 for 29 Elektro. Power plant 23 is added to the current market.
Vlaamse Macht opens the bidding on power plant 20 at 20 Elektro. TuLiP passes. Powerhouse bids 21. Vlaamse Macht bids 22. Powerhouse bids 23. Vlaamse Macht bids 24. Powerhouse passes. Vlaamse Macht spends 24 Elektros for power plant 20. Power plant 44 is added to the future market, pushing power plant 34 to the current market.
TuLiP passes.
Powerhouse spends 13 Elektro for power plant 13,
moving the oil from power plant 09 to power plant 29 and discarding
power plant 09. Power plant 11 is added to the current market.
Fuel Purchases
Powerhouse buys 2 coal for 8 Elektro.
TuLiP buys 3 coal for 15 Elektro and 3 oil for 4
Elektro.
Vlaamse Macht passes.
BAUXITE buys 2 oil for 4 Elektro.
Connections
Powerhouse connects to Enschede for 17 Elektro and Venlo for 17 Elektro.
TuLiP connects to Maastricht for 18 Elektro.
Vlaamse Macht connects to Oostend for 12 Elektro and
Kortrijk for 14 Elektro.
BAUXITE connects to Den Helder for 17 Elektro and
Leeuwarden for 23 Elektro.
Step 2 begins. Power plant 11 is discarded and
power plant 46 is added to the future market, pushing power plants 35
and 37 to the current market.
Bureaucracy
Power Cities
BAUXITE powers 5 cities, spending 2 oil and gaining 64 Elektros.
Vlaamse Macht powers 7 cities, spending 3 coal and gaining 82 Elektros.
TuLiP powers 5 cities, spending 2 oil and gaining 64 Elektros.
Powerhouse powers 6
cities, spending 1 oil and 2 coal and gaining 73 Elektros.
Adjust Power Plant Market
Power plant 23 is removed from the game and power plant 14 is added to the current market. Power plant 46 is moved to the bottom of the deck and power plant 24 is added to the current market, pushing power plants 35 and 37 back to the future market.
Round 5
Bidding
BAUXITE opens the bidding on power plant 34 at 34 Elektro. Vlaamse Macht bids 35. Powerhouse passes. TuLiP passes. BAUXITE bids 36. Vlaamse Macht bids 37. BAUXITE passes. Vlaamse Macht pays 37 Elektro for power plant 34, discarding power plant 08. Power plant 22 is added to the current market. BAUXITE opens the bidding on power plant 22 at 22 Elektro. Powerhouse bids 23. TuLiP passes. BAUXITE bids 24. Powerhouse bids 25. BAUXITE bids 26. Powerhouse bids 27. BAUXITE bids 28. Powerhouse bids 29. BAUXITE bids 30. Powerhouse bids 31. BAUXITE bids 32. Powerhouse bids 33. BAUXITE passes. Powerhouse buys power plant 22 for 33 Elektro, discarding power plant 10. Power plant 50 is added to the future market, pushing power plants 35 and 37 to the current market. BAUXITE opens the bidding on power plant 37 at 37 Elektro. TuLiP passes. BAUXITE spends 37 Elektro on power plant 37, discarding power plant 04. Power plant 21 is added to the current market, pushing power plant 35 to the future market.
TuLiP spends 32 Elektro on power plant 32, discarding
power plant 07. Power plant 36 is added to the future market,
pushing power plant 35 to the current market.
Fuel Purchases
TuLiP buys 3 oil for 3 Elektro.
Powerhouse buys 2 oil for 4 Elektro.
Vlaamse Macht buys 1 uranium for 6 Elektro.
BAUXITE buys 2 oil for 7 Elektro.
Connections
TuLiP connects to Nijmegen for 21 Elektro and Arnhem
for 17 Elektro.
Powerhouse connects to Leiden for 19 Elektro and Den
Haag for 17 Elektro.
Vlaamse Macht passes.
BAUXITE connects to Breda for 23 Elektro.
Bureaucracy
Power Cities
BAUXITE powers 9 cities, spending 2 oil and gaining 98 Elektros.
Vlaamse Macht powers 7 cities, spending 1 uranium and gaining 82 Elektros.
Powerhouse powers 7 cities, spending 1 oil and gaining 82 Elektros.
TuLiP powers 7
cities, spending 3 oil and gaining 82 Elektros.
Adjust Power Plant Market
Power plant 14 is removed from the game and power plant 30 is added to the current market. Power plant 50 is moved to the bottom of the deck and power plant 40 is added to the future market.
Round 6
Bidding
BAUXITE passes.
Powerhouse opens the bidding on power plant 35 at 35 Elektro. Vlaamse Macht passes. TuLiP passes. Powerhouse spends 35 Elektro for power plant 35, discarding power plant 13. Power plant 12 is added to the current market.
Vlaamse Macht passes.
TuLiP passes.
Fuel Purchases
TuLiP buys 3 oil for 4 Elektro and 3 coal for 10
Elektro.
Vlaamse Macht buys 1 uranium for 5 Elektro and 3 coal
for 13 Elektro.
Powerhouse buys 1 oil for 2 Elektro.
BAUXITE buys 2 oil for 5 Elektro and 2 coal for 10
Elektro.
Connections
TuLiP connects to Utrecht for 21 Elektro, Amsterdam
for 19 Elektro, Zaanstad for 16 Elektro, and Haarlem
for 17 Elektro.
Vlaamse Macht connects to Maastrict for 22 Elektro,
Tilburg for 21 Elektro, Den Bosch for 18 Elektro, Eindhoven for 19
Elektro, and Middelberg for 18 Elektro. Power plant 12 is
discarded and power plant 16 is added to the current market.
Powerhouse connects to Rotterdam for 20 Elektro and
Gronigen for 22 Elektro.
BAUXITE connects to Antwerpen for 20 Elektro, Leuven
for 19 Elektro, Brussels for 17 Elektro, and Ghent for 20 Elektro.
Bureaucracy
Power Cities
BAUXITE powers 12 cities, spending 2 oil and 2 coal and gaining 118 Elektros.
Powerhouse powers 10 cities, spending 2 oil and gaining 105 Elektros.
Vlaamse Macht powers 12 cities, spending 1 uranium and 3 coal and gaining 118 Elektros.
TuLiP powers 11
cities, spending 3 oil and 3 coal and gaining 112 Elektros.
Adjust Power Plant Market
Power plant 16 is removed from the game and power plant 25 is added to the current market. Power plant 44 is moved to the bottom of the deck and power plant 33 is added to the current market.
Round 7
Bidding
BAUXITE opens the bidding on power plant 30 at 30 Elektro. Vlaamse Macht passes. TuLiP bids 31. Powerhouse bids 32. BAUXITE bids 33. TuLiP bids 34. Powerhouse bids 35. BAUXITE bids 36. TuLiP bids 37. Powerhouse bids 38. BAUXITE bids 39. TuLiP bids 40. Powerhouse bids 41. BAUXITE bids 42. TuLiP bids 43. Powerhouse bids 44. BAUXITE bids 45. TuLiP bids 46. Powerhouse passes. BAUXITE bids 47. TuLiP bids 48. BAUXITE bids 49. TuLiP passes. BAUXITE spends 49 Elektro for power plant 30, discarding power plant 15. Step 3 is drawn.
Vlaamse Macht opens the bidding on power plant 33 at 33 Elektro. TuLiP passes. Powerhouse passes. Vlaamse Mach spends 33 Elektro for power plant 33, discarding power plant 18. Power plant 50 is added to the future market, pushing power plant 36 to the current market.
TuLiP passes.
Powerhouse spends 21 Elektro to buy power plant 21, discarding power plant 22. Power plant 46 is added to the future market.
Step 3 begins. Power plant 24 and Step 3 are
discarded, and the power plant market is consolidated.
Fuel Purchases
Powerhouse buys 5 oil for 8
Elektro.
TuLiP buys 3 oil for 9 Elektro and 3 coal for 14
Elektro.
Vlaamse Macht buys 1 uranium for 4 Elektro and 3 coal
for 17 Elektro.
BAUXITE buys 3 garbage for 6 Elektro and 2 oil for 8
Elektro.
Connections
Powerhouse connects to Breda for 28 Elektro,
Antwerpen
for 25 Elektro, and Gent
for 25 Elektro.
TuLiP connects to Den Helder for 21 Elektro,
Apeidoorn for 18 Elektro, Venlo for 20 Elektro, adn Leiden for 23
Elektro.
Vlaamse Macht connects to Venlo for 25 Elektro,
Nijmegen for 26 Elektro, Arnhem for 22 Elektro, and Apeidoorn for 23
Elektro.
BAUXITE connects to Tilburg for 22 Elektro, Burgge
for 18 Elektro, and Kortrijk for 19 Elektro.
Bureaucracy
Power Cities
BAUXITE powers 15 cities, spending 2 oil and 3 garbage and gaining 134 Elektros.
Vlaamse Macht powers 14 cities, spending 3 coal and 1 uranium and gaining 129 Elektros.
TuLiP powers 15 cities, spending 3 oil and 3 coal and gaining 134 Elektros.
Powerhouse powers 13
cities, spending 4 oil and gaining 124 Elektros.
Adjust Power Plant Market
Power plant 25 is removed from the game and power plant 42 is added to the market.
Round 8
Bidding
BAUXITE opens the bidding on power plant 46 at 46 Elektro. Vlaamse Mach passes. TuLiP passes. Powerhouse bids 47. BAUXITE passes. Poweruse spends 47 Elektro for power plant 46, discarding power plant 21. Power plant 38 is added to the market. BAUXITE opens the bidding on power plant 38 at 38 Elektro. Vlaamse Macht passes. TuLiP bids 39. BAUXITE bids 40. TuLiP bids 41. BAUXITE bids 42. TuLiP bids 43. BAUXITE bids 44. TuLiP bids 45. BAUXITE bids 46. TuLiP bids 49. BAUXITE bids 50. TuLiP bids 51. BAUXITE bids 52. TuLiP bids 53. BAUXITE bids 55. TuLiP passes. BAUXITE buys power plant 38 for 55 Elektros, discarding power plant 37. Power plant 44 is added to the market.
Vlaamse Macht opens the bidding on power plant 39 at 39 Elektro. TuLiP bids 40. Vlaamse Macht bids 41. TuLiP bids 42. Vlaamse Macht bids 43. TuLiP bids 44. Vlaamse Macht bids 45. TuLiP bids 47. Vlaamse Macht bids 48. TuLiP passes. Vlaamse Macht spends 48 Elektro for power plant 39, discarding power plant 20. The power plant deck is exhausted.
TuLiP spends 50 Elektro for power plant 50,
discarding power plant 27.
Fuel Purchases
Powerhouse buys 4 oil for 14
Elektro.
TuLiP buys 3 oil for 14 Elektro.
Vlaamse Macht buys 2 uranium for 7 Elektro.
BAUXITE buys 6 grbage for 13 Elektro and 2 oil for 11 Elektro.
Connections
Powerhouse connects to Brugge for 23 Elektro, Oostend
for 17 Elektro, and Amsterdam
for 24 Elektro.
TuLiP connects to Den Haag for 22 Elektro, Rotterdam for 23 Elektro, and Enschede for 22 Elektro.
Vlaamse Macht passes.
BAUXITE connects to Gronigen for 21 Elektro and Oostend for 22 Elektro.
Bureaucracy
Power Cities
BAUXITE powers 18 cities, spending 2 oil and 6 garbage and gaining 145 Elektros.
Vlaamse Macht powers 15 cities, 2 uranium and gaining 134 Elektros.
TuLiP powers 18 cities, spending 3 oil and 3 coal and gaining 145 Elektros.
Powerhouse powers 16
cities, spending 5 oil and gaining 138 Elektros.
Game End
End of Game Statements
Dave Hooton (TuLiP): Congratulations to Brendan on his victory in a hard-fought game. I did have a path to victory, which involved bidding up Brendan on the plants he wanted and then relying on Vlaamse Macht to make his optimum move, which would allow me to win by 1 Elektro. While the auctions went as planned, Vlaamse Macht forwent buying plant #36 (which he could easily afford and fuel, especially since I promised him no interference except for the plant I needed) to power 17 cities instead of just 16, and instead just went for the plant I needed, tipping the game to Brendan.
Bill Scharf (Powerhouse): Congratulations to Brendan for the win, and thanks Chris for running it. This has always been a tricky game for me. If I go first I usually get so boxed in by my neighbors I have little chance to expand. And if I go last I can expand but it’s too pricy to support a win. And yes, I know you’re thinking “hmm, Bill doesn’t do so well when he goes second or third either”, well, point taken.
Brendan Whyte (BAUXITE):
Whew. I played this game (Germany map) ftf once or twice in 2006,
and again earlier this year (17 years later!) at a local club (Brazil
map). Until late in the game I hadn’t reread the rules, so wasn’t aware
who got to bid/buy first or last in each segment of the turn. I always
seemed to be first to bid for plants, and when I passed on one turn, it
turned out I didn’t get to come back in. Ooops.
So as I seemed to always be first to bid, I decided to extract as much
money from the others as possible by first putting up something I
didn’t really want, but hoped the others did, and bid them up on it
before dropping out.
Towards the end I realised Dave was my closest rival, and while I had
more cities than he did, he had better plants and was downwind of me on
bidding.
Turn 7 I was just about to hit ‘send’ on orders getting me 17 cities to
end the game, when I realised that the tiebreak for cities powered was
not total cities, but money. And Dave would have $5 more than me.
Damn. I’m so glad I paused just long enough to doublecheck the
rules on that one.
Should I take a guaranteed second, or fight to the end? I decided there
was more honour in the latter, just for the hell of it, rather than
with any real expectation of winning. But I hoped I wouldn’t drop to
third or even fourth place… thankfully my plant bidding strategy paid
off (perhaps the others were getting a bit sick of the game and the
long bidding?) But I knew Dave had seen through my scheme. With money
being the tie beak I was worried Kevin & Bill might try to block my
builds for the 2 more cities I needed, or at least make them so costly
Dave would still win. Thankfully they didn’t, and it was only when I
came to build right at the end that I realised I had won after all… A
very tense game once I worked out what the heck I was doing (but so
much less stressful to play by instinct rather than plotted
strategy!). Thanks to Chris for running and putting up with the
endless bidding in dollar increments. And to Dave for seeing through my
evil schemes and almost causing me to give up on turn 7 for a safe 2nd
place. There really was only a second or two in it before I went to hit
send on my builds that round. Was there any negotiation amongst
the others? No one said anything to me all game… but perhaps there
wasn’t anything to say.
Cheers all.
Kevin Wilson (Vlaamse Macht):
Took a bit to think about this one. I wanted to go back and see where I
got off track. By the time we were near the end I could see I couldn’t
win if someone tripped the endgame so I had to hope enough uncertainty
between those who had a shot about who might win that they’d not take
the shot and give one more turn. So hard if you miss out 2 or 3
or 4 turns prior to see it until the end. Congrats to Brendan and
thanks to the rest for another fun one. Let’s go again.
Players
|
Order |
Player Name |
Company Name |
Color |
Power Plants |
Cities |
Money |
| 3 |
Dave
Hooton |
TuLiP |
Orange | 31 Coal 3→6, 32 Oil 3→6, 50 Fusion X→6 | 18 |
155 |
| 2 |
Kevin Wilson |
Vlaamse Macht |
Green |
33 Eco X→4, 34
Nuclear 1→5, 39 Nuclear 1→6 |
16 |
209 |
| 1 |
Brendan Whyte |
BAUXITE |
Blue |
26 Oil 2→5, 30 Garbage
3→6, 38 Garbage 3→7 |
18 |
175 |
| 4 |
Bill
Scharf |
Powerhouse |
Pink | 29
Hybrid 1→4 (1o), 35 Oil 1→5 (1), 46 Hybrid 3→7 (3o) |
16 |
139 |
TuLiP is Turbines
Lighting People. BAUXITE is Belgian Autonomous Uranium
eXploitation Industry Transmits Energy.
Power Plant Market
36 Coal 3→7
40 Oil 2→6
42 Coal 2→6
44 Eco X→5
Fuel
| Price |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
10 |
12 |
14 |
16 |
| Uranium | 1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
||||
| Garbage | 1 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
||||||
| Oil | |
2 |
3 |
3 |
||||||||
| Coal | 3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
