Uploaded January 2019 | Updated September 2026, 20 hours ago
Here's a first for me: a fraudulent win that we can chalk up to the wonders of the BSW client! How? Watch and see...
Plant 11's value on France can be a bit tricky sometimes. It's usually worth between $20-25 in 2P games, a bit less in 3P, and probably just under $20 on average for 4P. That's where i let it go here, and the following turn rewarded me handsomely when Scott decided not to bid on 18 for some reason. 23 was also bought that turn, attacking Mastaba's 11.
This was another game where i got efficient plants early, missed out on bigger stuff, and triggered Step 2 ASAP. This is a play i highly recommend when you have the open space and find yourself in this situation, as it prevents others from catching up to you in money before more good plants come. Do note that if you take this route, you should aim to stay low in the turn order for Step 3; jbode once told me that it's almost impossible to win if you're at the top for the first turn of both Step 2 & Step 3, and i can only recall one game being won by someone who did that.
That first Step 2 turn indeed gave us a strong market, including all of the early 6-capacity plants. 30 wasn't that valuable because of 24 being in use already, so i let that go the moment someone bid me on it. 31 & 32, on the other hand, i bid up to around $45 before stopping...there were plenty of great drops that could've come for me at the end of the auction. Sadly the 28 dropped out of nowhere, a mediocre result for me with two other nuclear plants in use. Still had to take it and it worked out OK in terms of making money.
The turn after that was pretty funny, with 33 sitting there and everybody passing; i wanted to wait for a plant with more than 4 capacity, while everybody else bought big plants and needed to build. Had i bought 33, that would've dropped the 35 for everyone else! Someone likely would've taken a shot on it then, but as is it never saw the light of day.
Turn after that saw 33 stay on and Scott buy it with no fight. That put the 26 on for me, and i got it for cheaper than the 33! Made me feel good going into Step 3, that's for sure.
The first turn of Step 3 saw all the 7-cap plants bought, with me getting the worst deal out of them. 38 wasn't very good for me since Amit could buy trash before me, but it made a lot of sense for Scott as a replacement for his 24. 46 dropped last for Amit after i won 36 from him.
The final turn led to some careful planning for my final builds, knowing that Mastaba was the only remaining threat. Turned out that was only true because of a misclick, though...you'll see at the end. Very tough luck, and a great example of why we need an online client with undos! You hear me, Board Game Arena? ;)
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
Here's a first for me: a fraudulent win that we can chalk up to the wonders of the BSW client! How? Watch and see...
Plant 11's value on France can be a bit tricky sometimes. It's usually worth between $20-25 in 2P games, a bit less in 3P, and probably just under $20 on average for 4P. That's where i let it go here, and the following turn rewarded me handsomely when Scott decided not to bid on 18 for some reason. 23 was also bought that turn, attacking Mastaba's 11.
This was another game where i got efficient plants early, missed out on bigger stuff, and triggered Step 2 ASAP. This is a play i highly recommend when you have the open space and find yourself in this situation, as it prevents others from catching up to you in money before more good plants come. Do note that if you take this route, you should aim to stay low in the turn order for Step 3; jbode once told me that it's almost impossible to win if you're at the top for the first turn of both Step 2 & Step 3, and i can only recall one game being won by someone who did that.
That first Step 2 turn indeed gave us a strong market, including all of the early 6-capacity plants. 30 wasn't that valuable because of 24 being in use already, so i let that go the moment someone bid me on it. 31 & 32, on the other hand, i bid up to around $45 before stopping...there were plenty of great drops that could've come for me at the end of the auction. Sadly the 28 dropped out of nowhere, a mediocre result for me with two other nuclear plants in use. Still had to take it and it worked out OK in terms of making money.
The turn after that was pretty funny, with 33 sitting there and everybody passing; i wanted to wait for a plant with more than 4 capacity, while everybody else bought big plants and needed to build. Had i bought 33, that would've dropped the 35 for everyone else! Someone likely would've taken a shot on it then, but as is it never saw the light of day.
Turn after that saw 33 stay on and Scott buy it with no fight. That put the 26 on for me, and i got it for cheaper than the 33! Made me feel good going into Step 3, that's for sure.
The first turn of Step 3 saw all the 7-cap plants bought, with me getting the worst deal out of them. 38 wasn't very good for me since Amit could buy trash before me, but it made a lot of sense for Scott as a replacement for his 24. 46 dropped last for Amit after i won 36 from him.
The final turn led to some careful planning for my final builds, knowing that Mastaba was the only remaining threat. Turned out that was only true because of a misclick, though...you'll see at the end. Very tough luck, and a great example of why we need an online client with undos! You hear me, Board Game Arena? ;)
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
