Economic

Two new expansion maps for Power Grid: Brazil on one side and Spain & Portugal on the other.

In Brazil, power providers prefer biogas for the production of electricity. Thus, players should consider the garbage power plants as biogas-fired power plants and the garbage resources as biogas tanks when playing with the Brazil maps. The fight for scarce resources is intense and will keep the players focused during the game!

In Spain & Portugal, the interests of power production develop in two completely opposite directions: Uranium will be much more important than in other games, however not at the beginning. The resource market will not get any new uranium at all during »Step 1«, but the supplies of uranium increase rapidly in »Step 2«. On the other hand, and at the same time, three large wind-power plants come onto the market. This clash of interests is intended!

The expansion includes a "Collector's Box" - a standard sized Power Grid box with space for the other expansion maps that have been released up to 2009.

Two new expansion maps for Power Grid: Benelux on one side and Central Europe on the other.

Along with the maps are small rule changes to reflect the power culture in these two countries. As the Benelux countries support ecological power, players may have greater opportunities to acquire such power plants. Also, oil is more available and coal less available in these countries. As Poland has large coal supplies, coal will be much more plentiful than elsewhere in Central Europe. However, due to political stands taken by some countries, players may be limited in their access to nuclear power. The result is not just new maps, but new ways to play this great game!

Description from the publisher's website.

Expands:

Power Grid

In his last will, your rich uncle stated that all of his millions will go to the nephew who can enjoy money the most. How to find out which nephew should be rich? You will each be given a large amount of money and whoever can spend it first will be the rightful heir. Visit the most exclusive theatres or eat in the most expensive restaurants. Buy old properties for the price of new ones and sell them as ruins. Host a huge party in your mansion or on your private boat. Spend like your life would depend on it. Spend to become rich! If you're the first to run through the money on hand, you'll receive the rest of his inheritance – oh, and win the game.

In Last Will, each player starts with a certain amount of money, an individual player board, two errand boys and two cards in some combination of properties and helpers. At the start of each round, lay out cards from the appropriate decks on the offering boards; the four regular decks are properties, companions, events, helpers and expenses, with special cards forming a deck of their own. The particular mix of cards varies by round and by the number of players.

Each player then chooses a plan for the round, with each plan indicating the number of cards the player draws (drawn immediately from the four regular decks in any combination), how many errand boys he can use later (one or two), the number of actions available to him that round, and his spot in the playing order that round. In the playing order for that round, players then take turns choosing an action with their errand boy(s), with those actions being:

Take a card on display and add it to your hand.
Draw a card from any regular deck – This can be chosen only once by each player.
Visit the opera and spend $2.
Adjust the value modifiers in the property market.
Take a player board extension, thereby giving you room to play more cards.

Players then take actions in the playing order for that round, with each player having as many actions as indicated on his plan. Actions let you play one-time events (which have a cost, possibly variable); helpers and recurring expenses (which are placed on your individual player board); and properties (which cost money and may depreciate over time). You can often play companions with events or recurring expenses – of course you should bring a date to the opera or a horse on your yacht! – to increase their cost. You can also use actions to activate cards on your player board, possibly with one or more companions and always with the goal of spending money. Helpers and special cards can provide you with unique powers to further boost your profligacy.

At the end of each round, you must discard down to two cards in hand, and properties that can depreciate do so; this is good as a player cannot go bankrupt if he owns properties, and the only way to get rid of properties is to sell them, which regretably puts money back in your hands unless the depreciation was intense or you manipulate the market.

If a player has no money and no properties, he declares bankruptcy and the game ends at the conclusion of that round; otherwise the game ends after seven rounds. The player who has the least money (or even who is most in debt) wins.

Preußische Ostbahn is the second game in Winsome's Historic Railroads System and was initially released at Essen 2008 and was reprinted in January 2010. Queen Games is scheduled to release this game in July 2011 as "German Railways", which will be the first in their Iron Horse collection.
The Queen Games version will have considerably improved components, and the rules will not be modified from those of the original release.

Harry Wu's Preußische Ostbahn builds upon the system established in Chicago Express, and takes the game series to Germany, 1840-1870. Preußische Ostbahn (Prussian Eastern Railroad in English) introduces an innovative new Player Order mechanism to the system.
In addition, each Railroad now has a special characteristic, based upon its history:

Preußische Ostbahn - May build up to 4 track; 20 black track; Königsberg start.
Niederschlesische - No City Penalty; 17 brown track; Breslau start.
Sächsische - May build up to 2 track; 11 orange track; Leipzig start.
Bayerische - Track cost -1 per hex; 16 blue track; München start.
Main-Weser - Double one City Income; 14 yellow track; Kassel start.
Badische - One free rural track/build; 15 red track; Mannheim start.
Köln-Mindener - $5 maximum expediture/build; 12 purple track; Essen start.
Berlin-Hamburger - Must connect both to receive Dividends; 13 green track; Wittenberge start.

This game is inspired by the Portuguese Age of Discoveries in the 15th-16th century. Players take actions such as contracting men, acquiring ships and buildings, sailing the seas, establishing colonies in discovered lands, trading goods on the market, and getting privileges.

Each player starts with only two ships and three workers and tries to expand his wealth.

There are several undiscovered lands that allow players, once discovered, to found some colonies there. Colonies exist in different places where sugar, gold and spices are available and can be sold to the market to make some money. Money is used to build ships, erect buildings such as factories, shipyards and churches, and to get workers. Workers are necessary to found colonies or to acquire buildings and privileges, which exist in five categories and therefore encourage players to follow different strategies competing with each other.

At the end of the game the player who is most successful in combining his privileges with his achievements (colonies, factories, discoveries, shipyards, and churches) is the winner.