Uploaded December 2018 | Updated September 2026, 18 hours ago
One of the most creative finishes you'll ever see in this game!
Once again we get the cheapest possible 4P config for USA, which is probably cheaper than anything on the other BSW maps except Italy. The start gets a little tricky for me, and i respond with some unusual plays that greatly benefit me. First i opted to stay at one city on turn 2, only running my 13 and not my 04. Normally you'd build to 2 there to make more money, but i wanted bottom in the turn order so that i could safely buy 07 and grab cheap oil. 07 ended up making me a profit even though i only ran it for two turns, and it allowed me to stay bottom after building to 4 and firing all my plants.
That plus my cheap builds (thank you blessed East Coast!) allowed me to win the 25 in auction and immediately trigger Step 2. You almost never want to stall at the top of the turn order; that allows everyone else to build up a bunch of cash and block your builds once the game opens up again.
Meanwhile, jia paid a fairly reasonable price for the 20 but then went hard on the 26. Paying fair market value for two 5-capacity plants is rarely a winning strategy, as you'll still need to buy two more plants or one (likely expensive AF) 7-capacity plant in Step 3. You can't even power 10 cities efficiently if one of those plants is the 20, either.
Once Step 2 started, a ton of huge plants flooded the market at a time when players still needed to build after paying for their previous plants. A dream situation for me, particularly since i could buy the 21 at cost and build to 9 cities immediately! 25/26 + 21 + 13 is one of the better sets of plants to carry you to Step 3...powers 10 cities with decent efficiency while likely staying low in the turn order for Step 3, and that 5-cap makes it much easier to get to 17 or 18 capacity.
However, the market stalled enough that i was scared the other players might get enough money to end it early. It all came to a head in Step 3, when i bid the 39 & 38 up to good prices then got the one really bad drop left in the deck. Being forced to buy a 5-capacity plant left me doomed, since someone would probably get to 18 capacity on the next turn and i could only reach 17 at best.
But then i had an idea...watch the end for a complicated finish! Let's just say this game shows yet another way that having the money lead can allow you to win. =)
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
One of the most creative finishes you'll ever see in this game!
Once again we get the cheapest possible 4P config for USA, which is probably cheaper than anything on the other BSW maps except Italy. The start gets a little tricky for me, and i respond with some unusual plays that greatly benefit me. First i opted to stay at one city on turn 2, only running my 13 and not my 04. Normally you'd build to 2 there to make more money, but i wanted bottom in the turn order so that i could safely buy 07 and grab cheap oil. 07 ended up making me a profit even though i only ran it for two turns, and it allowed me to stay bottom after building to 4 and firing all my plants.
That plus my cheap builds (thank you blessed East Coast!) allowed me to win the 25 in auction and immediately trigger Step 2. You almost never want to stall at the top of the turn order; that allows everyone else to build up a bunch of cash and block your builds once the game opens up again.
Meanwhile, jia paid a fairly reasonable price for the 20 but then went hard on the 26. Paying fair market value for two 5-capacity plants is rarely a winning strategy, as you'll still need to buy two more plants or one (likely expensive AF) 7-capacity plant in Step 3. You can't even power 10 cities efficiently if one of those plants is the 20, either.
Once Step 2 started, a ton of huge plants flooded the market at a time when players still needed to build after paying for their previous plants. A dream situation for me, particularly since i could buy the 21 at cost and build to 9 cities immediately! 25/26 + 21 + 13 is one of the better sets of plants to carry you to Step 3...powers 10 cities with decent efficiency while likely staying low in the turn order for Step 3, and that 5-cap makes it much easier to get to 17 or 18 capacity.
However, the market stalled enough that i was scared the other players might get enough money to end it early. It all came to a head in Step 3, when i bid the 39 & 38 up to good prices then got the one really bad drop left in the deck. Being forced to buy a 5-capacity plant left me doomed, since someone would probably get to 18 capacity on the next turn and i could only reach 17 at best.
But then i had an idea...watch the end for a complicated finish! Let's just say this game shows yet another way that having the money lead can allow you to win. =)
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
