Uploaded December 2018 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Another game against one of my favorite 2P opponents! The market was not kind in this one...
One thing i'm beginning to think is that France makes the 05 a little more valuable in 2ers. The player with 08 can't touch the 10 next turn or else they'll drop you the 11 at cost, but that part isn't so different from other maps. What is different is that the 11 is a *much* better fit with the 10 than the 08, and getting 05 instead of 08 will earn you the 10. If you see any of the lower-numbered, bottom-tier plants in the market early (e.g. 14, 17, 19), pay a little extra for 05 in a France 2er - i didn't and paid for it here!
With 08 my plan was to bid the 11 up into the early $20's then pass and buy 09. The idea was that this would get me the 16 next turn, but another dud arrived and effectively delayed the game by a turn. That gave Spara more time to make money from 10 + 11 and build a big lead over me.
Another such situation came later, with the 25. Spara bid it past $40, which is normally too high in 2ers, but one of the only remaining duds in the deck prevented me from buying the 27. That sealed it right there, as i played very well and had good luck after that but still lost by 1 city. Again, my only regret here was not bidding $6 for the 05 - the rest was just luck, but that's a great lesson to learn!
If you'd like to learn more about Power Grid, please check my blog for strategy articles on each power plant as well as a guide to 2-player games:
maninmotiongoingnowhere.wordpress.com/power-grid-strategy-individual-plant-articles
Another game against one of my favorite 2P opponents! The market was not kind in this one...
One thing i'm beginning to think is that France makes the 05 a little more valuable in 2ers. The player with 08 can't touch the 10 next turn or else they'll drop you the 11 at cost, but that part isn't so different from other maps. What is different is that the 11 is a *much* better fit with the 10 than the 08, and getting 05 instead of 08 will earn you the 10. If you see any of the lower-numbered, bottom-tier plants in the market early (e.g. 14, 17, 19), pay a little extra for 05 in a France 2er - i didn't and paid for it here!
With 08 my plan was to bid the 11 up into the early $20's then pass and buy 09. The idea was that this would get me the 16 next turn, but another dud arrived and effectively delayed the game by a turn. That gave Spara more time to make money from 10 + 11 and build a big lead over me.
Another such situation came later, with the 25. Spara bid it past $40, which is normally too high in 2ers, but one of the only remaining duds in the deck prevented me from buying the 27. That sealed it right there, as i played very well and had good luck after that but still lost by 1 city. Again, my only regret here was not bidding $6 for the 05 - the rest was just luck, but that's a great lesson to learn!
If you'd like to learn more about Power Grid, please check my blog for strategy articles on each power plant as well as a guide to 2-player games:
maninmotiongoingnowhere.wordpress.com/power-grid-strategy-individual-plant-articles
