In each round a different player is the auctioneer and auctions off, primarily, factories with a unique bidding mechanism. Factories bring points and produce raw materials. Building factories themselves cost money and raw materials. But they are in short supply, so you need to manage your resources well. Linked factories and other improvements bring in extra points at the end of the game.
Revision of Industria.
We’re in 19th century, sea transport is more and more important. Both corporations and naval forces require newer and newer ships. Try to put yourself in the role of their manufacturers. Hire employees, buy accessories, get favour of evaluating committees. Don’t forget to rent a canal and you can heave anchor.
Players take turns, beginning with a randomly selected player and continuing around the table clockwise. On their turn, they will choose one of the available actions from the Action Track. The action will get the player something they need to help build their ships. On the player's next turn, they will move that Action Card ahead of all the others and choose a different action.
If a player completes a ship on their turn (ships consists of little cards depicting bows, sterns, and (preferably several) middle pieces with several options to add equipment or crew), it is taken out for a shakedown cruise in a canal, during which they may score points for speed, crew, equipment, or safety.
As players take their turns, the line of Action Cards will advance around the Action Track. When the lead Action Card reaches the Starting Space again, the countdown marker moves down one space, and play continues.
The game ends when the countdown marker reaches the finish space. (It can also end early if the players run out of Ship Cards.) Bonus points are scored for Government Contracts, and the player with the most points wins.
The game lasts about 30 minutes per player.
Globalization brings the exciting world of big business into your living room. You are the head of a multinational corporation with one goal in mind: to make money. Outbid your competitors to acquire businesses within six different industries and grow your conglomerate. Streamline operating costs, build additional factories, sue your competitors or take one of your subsidiaries public for big returns. Your corporate strategy will impact which companies you buy and how to take your corporation worldwide. The synergy that comes from the right company combinations increases your perceived net worth. The first to reach a billion in net worth wins!
In the age of Corporate Imperialism, only the strong survive.
You finally have a new opponent for your Power Grid games: a robot that acts as an additional player. Thanks to his different actions and special abilities he is a strong opponent. You will manage the robot's "decisions" and can use him to act against the other opponent(s).
With this expansion, Power Grid is an exciting and fun experience for two (and more) players!
Power Grid: The Robots is designed especially for two players, but you can use a robot with up to five human players, too. You can even use more than one robot in a game.
The robot consists of five tiles, one tile with rules for each phase (except phase 1 »Determine Player Order« and phase 5 »bureaucracy«) plus a special ability, which the robot uses during the game.
With a total of 30 tiles - six different tiles for each phase - your Power Grid games will never be the same again!
Power Grid: The Robots FAQ has many Frequently Asked Questions which have appeared multiple times in the forum!
Power Grid: Factory Manager is the new stand-alone game in the world of Power Grid. It was released at Spiel '09 in Essen, Germany.
Each player owns a factory and tries to earn the most money during the game. To be successful, each player must use his workers to buy the best machines and robots at the market and to run the machines most effectively in his factory. Because of increasing energy prices, the players must be careful to check the energy consumption of their factories and to avoid using only energy-consuming machines. Otherwise, their profit will suddenly vanish, the worst fear of a good businessman.
Power Grid: Factory Manager uses a clever market mechanism for choosing the supply of factory tiles in the market.