Power Grid Board Game Review

Power Grid is an economic strategy game by Friedemann Friese, published by 2F-Spiele in 2004, with Rio Grande Games handling the English edition. It reworks Friese’s 2001 crayon game Funkenschlag around auctions and a shifting fuel market. It still ranks in the BoardGameGeek top 100 and entered the BGG Hall of Fame in 2025. Power Grid seats 2 to 6 players aged 12 and up and runs about two hours. This review covers its rules, components and audience.

Power Grid Board Game Overview

Each player runs a power company. You buy plants at auction, fuel them with coal, oil, garbage or uranium, and connect cities. When one network reaches a set size, whoever powers the most cities wins.

What’s in the Power Grid Box? Components Review

The wooden houses and tokens are solid, and the board prints the income chart beside the resource market.

The paper money is thin, so many groups use poker chips. The square 69 mm cards need uncommon sleeves.

Power Grid Review: Pros and Cons

Pros

• Each purchase reveals a new plant, so a cheap win can hand a rival a better one.
• Fuel prices follow demand. Three players on oil drive its price up fast.
• The leader buys fuel and builds last, paying top prices.
• Over a dozen expansion maps change resource and plant rules.
• The three Steps make the late game feel unlike the opening.

Cons

• Constant arithmetic slows some tables past 2.5 hours.
• The art is plain, and the theme reads like a utility bill.
• Restocking resources uses a table that changes by player count and Step.
• Overpaying in round one can cripple your cash for several turns.

How to Play Power Grid: Rules and Gameplay

Power Grid Setup

Pick one adjacent map region per player. Each player takes 22 houses and 50 Elektro. Fill the resource market, then lay plants 03 to 10 in two rows: the current market (lower four) and the future market. Shuffle the rest with the Step 3 card on the bottom. Setup takes about 10 minutes.

The Five Phases of a Power Grid Round

Phase 1: The player with the most cities goes first. Ties go to the highest-numbered plant.

Phase 2: In turn order, players open auctions on current-market plants, bidding at least the plant’s number. You win one plant per round and own three at most.

Phase 3: Players buy fuel in reverse order. Each plant stores twice what it burns.

Phase 4: Players build in reverse order. Your first city costs 10 Elektro, then route fees plus slot prices. Your network must stay connected.

Phase 5: Power your cities and collect income, from 10 Elektro for none up to 150. Then restock the market.

Steps 2 and 3

Step 2 starts when someone connects seven cities, opening a second slot per city. Step 3 starts when its card appears, opening a third slot and all six market plants.

How Do You Win Power Grid?

The game ends when someone reaches 17 cities with three or four players. Whoever powers the most cities that round wins. Money breaks ties.

Where to Buy Power Grid

Power Grid Game Mechanics and Strategy

Auctions drive Power Grid. A plant’s value depends on what you own and what fuel costs.

A garbage plant looks cheap early because nobody burns garbage. Once two rivals switch, garbage runs short and the price climbs.

Turn order ties it together. Building fast moves you to the front, which costs you cheap fuel and open city slots. Strong players often stay behind until the final rounds. Income pays for cities powered, not cities owned.

Who Should Play Power Grid?

Power Grid suits players who enjoy economic Euros and mental math. It plays best with four or five. Brass: Lancashire fans will find similar money pressure, and Age of Steam players will recognize the tight cash flow.

Skip it if you want a game under an hour. Groups that prefer teamwork can try Daybreak, a co-op about cutting emissions, or the Pandemic board game. Our ranking of top cooperative board games lists more.

FAQ

Is Power Grid good for beginners?

Power Grid suits new players who have tried a few modern strategy games, but it makes a poor first game. Each phase is simple on its own. The math and reverse turn order take a full game to click, so expect the first session to run long.

How long does Power Grid take to play?

Plan for about two hours with experienced players. A first game or a slow six-player table can run near three hours. Teaching adds 15 to 20 minutes, much of it for the auction and the resource market. Setup takes about 10 minutes once you know the board.

What is the best player count for Power Grid?

Four or five players work best. Auctions get competitive, fuel runs short and cities fill up before the late game. Two-player games feel looser because the map stays open, and six-player games add downtime between turns and stretch the session.

Which Power Grid expansions are worth getting?

Map packs like Benelux/Central Europe and France/Italy add new boards, each with its own plant and fuel rules. The New Power Plants sets refresh the deck with different cards. The Robots adds automated opponents, which helps two- and three-player games feel crowded.

What games are similar to Power Grid?

Brass: Lancashire and Age of Steam share its network building and tight money. Funkenschlag is the original crayon version. Power Grid Deluxe: Europe/North America is a reworked edition with new maps, and Power Grid: The Card Game drops the board for a shorter session.