Uploaded December 2018 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
Another very interesting 5P game - really thinking this format is deeper than some other top players give it credit for!
Think this is the first time i paid $9 for the 04 in one of these videos. Germany often makes 03 & 04 worth more money than usual, particularly in 5-6P where you can go low in the turn order with a good chance of landing a big plant on turn 2. My starting build was a mistake, though - would've been better off doing what mastaba did and building in the two "twin" cities in blue. That lets me break into the cheapest section of the map during Step 1! My build gave me a ton of Step 1 cities but made it tough to break out of that corner.
Aside from the starting build i'm very pleased with how i played this one, opting for a heavy green strategy. People tell you not to do that in 5ers, but Germany made it strong since the game will last longer. Would've been willing to pay every last dime i had for the 18 on turn 2, since the market after that was so bad and i already had 2 cities.
The decision to bid on 27 was a product of deck tracking, combined with my immediate needs. Could make it to 4 cities that turn with 27, then trigger Step 2 on the turn after that. There was a good chance of a dud after 27, and it did come after 20 (which i wouldn't have wanted anyway, not on Germany).
Meanwhile mastaba had nice builds and bid the maximum he could afford for the 25 while still building that turn. In Step 2 i immediately bought the 30 for a low price, then didn't buy trash that turn since i needed to build money back up.
After a bit of a lull, the 26 came onto the market and mastaba won it for nearly $50. Meanwhile i ran into building problems, getting completely blocked from red & blue. Ended up having to take the uber-expensive route from Erfurt to the south!
The endgame was interesting with the 14 remaining in the deck. Was willing to bid for 21 since i needed a little more capacity going into Step 3, but 33 arrived next and went without a fight. No regrets though, that was only a 50/50 chance! The tougher part of that turn was whether to run the 30 without extra trash stored - i was safe as long as one of the players below me didn't get the 38, but i'd be dead if they did. That led me to avoid the risk...
Last turn was fairly self-explanatory, but it's rare to see four of the players with 16 capacity in a 5er. Neken couldn't build to 16, so it was a 3-way race for the money. In the end mastaba's builds won over my green plants! May have won had i fired the 30 on the turn before, but not sure...
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 very interesting 5P game - really thinking this format is deeper than some other top players give it credit for!
Think this is the first time i paid $9 for the 04 in one of these videos. Germany often makes 03 & 04 worth more money than usual, particularly in 5-6P where you can go low in the turn order with a good chance of landing a big plant on turn 2. My starting build was a mistake, though - would've been better off doing what mastaba did and building in the two "twin" cities in blue. That lets me break into the cheapest section of the map during Step 1! My build gave me a ton of Step 1 cities but made it tough to break out of that corner.
Aside from the starting build i'm very pleased with how i played this one, opting for a heavy green strategy. People tell you not to do that in 5ers, but Germany made it strong since the game will last longer. Would've been willing to pay every last dime i had for the 18 on turn 2, since the market after that was so bad and i already had 2 cities.
The decision to bid on 27 was a product of deck tracking, combined with my immediate needs. Could make it to 4 cities that turn with 27, then trigger Step 2 on the turn after that. There was a good chance of a dud after 27, and it did come after 20 (which i wouldn't have wanted anyway, not on Germany).
Meanwhile mastaba had nice builds and bid the maximum he could afford for the 25 while still building that turn. In Step 2 i immediately bought the 30 for a low price, then didn't buy trash that turn since i needed to build money back up.
After a bit of a lull, the 26 came onto the market and mastaba won it for nearly $50. Meanwhile i ran into building problems, getting completely blocked from red & blue. Ended up having to take the uber-expensive route from Erfurt to the south!
The endgame was interesting with the 14 remaining in the deck. Was willing to bid for 21 since i needed a little more capacity going into Step 3, but 33 arrived next and went without a fight. No regrets though, that was only a 50/50 chance! The tougher part of that turn was whether to run the 30 without extra trash stored - i was safe as long as one of the players below me didn't get the 38, but i'd be dead if they did. That led me to avoid the risk...
Last turn was fairly self-explanatory, but it's rare to see four of the players with 16 capacity in a 5er. Neken couldn't build to 16, so it was a 3-way race for the money. In the end mastaba's builds won over my green plants! May have won had i fired the 30 on the turn before, but not sure...
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
