← all games

Power Grid

#2651BGG ↗

2004 · 2-6 players · 120min · weight 3.25 · 69,442 ratings

v2 v3 fit 0.465

BGG raw

ID
2651
Name
Power Grid
Year
2004
Rank
34
Min players
2
Max players
6
Playing time
120
Min playtime
120
Max playtime
120
Avg weight
3.2463
Num weights
5127
Bayes avg
7.68299
Average
7.79915
Users rated
69442
Num owned
86677
Wanting
1373
Wishing
12398
Num comments
12124
Fetched at
Sat Apr 25 2026 16:15:23 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Mechanisms (8)
Auction / BiddingAuction: Turn Order Until PassCatch the LeaderIncomeMarketNetwork and Route BuildingTurn Order: Stat-BasedVariable Set-up
Categories (2)
EconomicIndustry / Manufacturing
Description (1393 chars)

Power Grid is the updated release of the Friedemann Friese crayon game Funkenschlag. It removes the crayon aspect from network building in the original edition, while retaining the fluctuating commodities market like Crude: The Oil Game and an auction round intensity reminiscent of The Princes of Florence. The objective of Power Grid is to supply the most cities with power when someone's network gains a predetermined size. In this new edition, players mark pre-existing routes between cities for connection, and then bid against each other to purchase the power plants that they use to power their cities. However, as plants are purchased, newer, more efficient plants become available, so by merely purchasing, you're potentially allowing others access to superior equipment. Additionally, players must acquire the raw materials (coal, oil, garbage, and uranium) needed to power said plants (except for the 'renewable' windfarm/ solar plants, which require no fuel), making it a constant struggle to upgrade your plants for maximum efficiency while still retaining enough wealth to quickly expand your network to get the cheapest routes. ☛ Power Grid FAQ - Please read this before posting a rules question! Many questions are asked over and over in the forums... If you have a question about a specific expansion, please check the rules forum or FAQ for that particular expansion.

LLM v2 (wide)

Core verb
auction plant, buy fuel, build city
Decision shape
combinatorial
Reward schedule
delayed
Aesthetics
["Challenge"]
Core loop pitch
Auction power plants, buy depleting commodity fuel, expand network to power the most cities at game end.
Translation difficulty
Easy
Difficulty reason
Clean rules and perfect info except auction order; multiple digital ports exist on Steam and mobile.
Direct digital port
Power Grid (Steam/iOS/Android, Friedemann Friese / Giant Roc)
Port kind
first_party
Closest loop translation
none yet
Primitive tags
["depleting_commodity_market", "turn_order_punishes_leader", "ascending_plant_auction", "city_connection_cost_gradient", "tech_obsolescence_cycle"]
Confidence
0.9
Extracted at
Mon Apr 27 2026 11:40:03 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Raw v2 JSON (864 chars)
{
  "game_id": 2651,
  "name": "Power Grid",
  "core_verb": "auction plant, buy fuel, build city",
  "decision_shape": "combinatorial",
  "reward_schedule": "delayed",
  "aesthetics": [
    "Challenge"
  ],
  "core_loop_pitch": "Auction power plants, buy depleting commodity fuel, expand network to power the most cities at game end.",
  "mobile_translation_difficulty": "Easy",
  "translation_difficulty_reason": "Clean rules and perfect info except auction order; multiple digital ports exist on Steam and mobile.",
  "direct_digital_port": "Power Grid (Steam/iOS/Android, Friedemann Friese / Giant Roc)",
  "closest_loop_translation": "none yet",
  "primitive_tags": [
    "depleting_commodity_market",
    "turn_order_punishes_leader",
    "ascending_plant_auction",
    "city_connection_cost_gradient",
    "tech_obsolescence_cycle"
  ],
  "confidence": 0.9
}

LLM v3 (deep)

Not yet enriched at v3 (deep pass).