Industry/Manufacturing

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 object 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.

Power Grid FAQ:

Power Grid FAQ - Please read this before posting a rules question! Many questions are asked over and over in the forums... If you have a question about a specific expansion, please check the rules forum or FAQ for that particular expansion.

In Le Havre, a player’s turn consists of two parts: First, distribute newly supplied goods onto the offer spaces; then take an action. As an action, players may choose either to take all goods of one type from an offer space or to use one of the available buildings. Building actions allow players to upgrade goods, sell them or use them to build their own buildings and ships. Buildings are both an investment opportunity and a revenue stream, as players must pay an entry fee to use buildings that they do not own. Ships, on the other hand, are primarily used to provide the food that is needed to feed the workers.

After every seven turns, the round ends: players’ cattle and grain may multiply through a Harvest, and players must feed their workers. After a fixed number of rounds, each player may carry out one final action, and then the game ends. Players add the value of their buildings and ships to their cash reserves. The player who has amassed the largest fortune is the winner.

Le Havre was released by Lookout Games October 2008 in German and Australian English.

In Crude: The Oil Game, players take on the role of oil company CEOs, seeking to expand their companies into multi-national energy mega-corporations. Just as with real world energy companies, player will setup facilities for oil drilling, oil pumping, oil refining into gasoline, and gasoline selling to the consumer... all of which are represented by actual plastic pieces placed on the board! Players also speculate by buying and selling oil and gasoline barrels in both the domestic and foreign markets... again represented by actual plastic barrels in their playing area!

However, the changing economic climate, as well as sudden world news events, will challenge players to keep a long-term strategic view of the world energy markets. The first player to reach a corporation value of $750 million is the winner!

Crude: The Oil Game is not only a great simulation of the global oil markets, but with almost 300 plastic playing pieces, it is a sight to behold! Known as McMulti when it was printed in Europe almost 25 years ago, this great game is finally back in print after many years!

Brought back into print in 2012 by Stronghold Games, Crude: The Oil Game has been a highly sought-after ("Grail") game. This is an early Euro-style game – before Euro-style existed! – which accurately simulates the market forces and elements of the oil and gasoline markets at all levels of production, including oil drilling, oil pumping, oil and gasoline buying and selling in the domestic and foreign markets, oil refining, and finally gasoline selling to the consumer.