Stats:
No. of players: 2 – 6
Amount of time to play: 120 minutes
Age requirements: 12+
Set-up time:  10 min

Description of Power Grid Rules:

Power Grid is a very good game that is fun to play but tough to master. In it you are trying to power a certain number of cities (based on the number of players). You must buy your power plants and resources wisely to win this game.

Power Grid is pretty easy to teach and play. Each round players may buy a power plant in an auction. Then they must buy resources to power their power plants. Next you build cities and lastly you burn your resources and get money based on the number of cities you powered.

The game ends when any player builds a predetermined number of cities (based on the number of players). This game keeps its balance by having certain rounds (buying resources and building cities) to play in reverse order. What that means is that the person in the lead usually has to buy more expensive resources and has the last choice of where to build.

A Quick Review of Power Grid:

I really do like Power Grid a lot. It is tough for me to consistently win, but I always enjoy the game even if I lose. Many people take a strategy of hanging back and building less cities to get cheaper resources and better board position. But I have seen games where someone grabs the lead from the get-go and never looks back.

The game can be a bit dry. There is a lot of number-crunching and this can slow things down a bit. I have seen some cutthroat moves in this game especially if someone gains a substantial lead. Even with the easy gameplay, the rules are written poorly and may take a couple readings to get right.

Still this game is always tense and almost always close. Usually coming down to people’s money they have left (The tie-breaker if more than one person powers the same number of cities at game’s end).

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 5 out of 6
Luck 4 out of 6
Player Interaction 4 out of 6
Replay Value 5 out of 6
Complexity 4 out of 6
Fun 5 out of 6
Overall 5 out of 6

Want a second opinion? Check out Josh’s Power Grid review.