Power Grid has a long shelf of expansions, and almost all of them are new maps. That is good news for learning. The five phases stay the same, so a new map changes the puzzle without changing the teach. This lesson covers player counts first, then the base box’s own variants, then the expansions worth knowing.
How the game changes by player count
The base game plays 2 to 6. Several numbers shift with the player count:
| Players | Regions in play | Step 2 starts at | Game ends at | Plants removed at setup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 3 | 7 cities | 18 cities | 1 plug back, 5 socket back |
| 3 | 3 | 7 cities | 17 cities | 2 plug back, 6 socket back |
| 4 | 4 | 7 cities | 17 cities | 1 plug back, 3 socket back |
| 5 | 5 | 7 cities | 15 cities | none |
| 6 | 5 | 6 cities | 14 cities | none |
Each player count also has its own refill card, so fuel returns at a different pace.
- Three and four: the classic game, with room to grow before Step 2 and steady fuel fights.
- Five: the count the World Boardgaming Championships event prefers. The map fills fast, and turn order swings more.
- Six: the tightest. Six companies share five regions, so Step 1 space runs out early and every city matters.
Two players: the rival company
Recharged includes special two-player rules. Alongside the two of you, the rules run a large rival company. It has no money and cannot win. It exists to block you both.
- Setup. Play on 3 connected regions. The two players take turns placing 6 of the company’s houses on 6 neighboring cities. Those cities are closed to you in Step 1.
- Turn order. The company is always second.
- Plants. In each auction phase, after the first plant is bought, or the start player passes, the company takes the largest of the 4 current plants for free. Once it owns 3, it only takes a plant that beats its smallest, and scraps that one.
- Fuel. It takes one round’s fuel for each plant from the market, for free, and burns it in bureaucracy.
- Cities. While it has houses left, every time either of you builds the first house in a new city, you must also put a company house in that city’s second space.
- End. The game ends when a player reaches 18 cities.
The company never triggers Step 2. Its real job is to give you tools: the plant you leave in the market might be the one it takes away from your opponent.
The two sides of the board
The rules are almost the same on both sides, with one special rule each.
- Germany: once anyone buys plant 39, the nuclear plant, uranium stops refilling for the rest of the game. If 39 never sells, or was removed at setup, uranium keeps coming.
- USA: burned coal goes to a coal reserve space beside the market instead of the general supply, and you can buy coal from that reserve for 8 Elektro each. When the market’s coal sells out, coal is still for sale, at a high price.
The rulebook suggests Germany first, since the USA side’s coasts make it the more extreme map.
Preset start cities
For experienced players, the rulebook offers a variant. After setup, each player in turn order marks one city with a uranium marker. When you place your first house, it must go in one of those marked cities, not necessarily your own pick. In Step 1, the marked cities can only be taken as start cities. It turns the opening into a contest over a few spots.
The base game
You need the base game for every expansion. 2F-Spiele publishes Power Grid Recharged as Funkenschlag (Recharged Version), and Rio Grande Games publishes the English edition.
Expansion maps
Each expansion is a double-sided board with two new maps for 2 to 6 players. The ones marked Recharged were made for this edition; the others need a few small rule changes, which 2F-Spiele lists in its Recharged errata.
France/Italy pairs a nuclear-heavy France, built around Paris, with an Italy where fuel is scarce and routes are expensive. A good first expansion because the two maps feel so different.
Benelux/Central Europe has a cheap, fast Benelux map that favors eco plants and churns small plants quickly, and a Central Europe map shaped by Poland’s coal.
Northern Europe/United Kingdom & Ireland (Recharged) has a Northern Europe map where the plants in play depend on which regions you choose, and a UK & Ireland map where you can run two separate networks and Step 3 comes early.
Middle East/South Africa (Recharged) starts the Middle East rich in oil, with garbage and nuclear arriving later, and makes South Africa a coal country with six international links.
Bremen/Manhattan (Recharged) shrinks the game to cities. Bremen charges by district, and Manhattan is one crowded region that stays in Step 1 all game.
New plant decks and the robots
The New Power Plants replaces or mixes into the plant deck, which changes every auction without changing the map. The New Power Plants, Set 2 brings back the plants first made for Power Grid Deluxe.
The Robots adds robot companies that the human players run, aimed mostly at two-player games, plus a double-sided board with Australia and the Indian Subcontinent. It works with Recharged, but not with the preset start cities variant.
How to choose
- You love the base game as is: switch board sides, then try France/Italy.
- You play mostly with two: learn the rival company rules first, then try The Robots.
- You want new auctions, same maps: The New Power Plants.
- You want a compact, crowded city map: Bremen/Manhattan.
Our piece on whether expansions are worth it has a broader way to decide, for this game and every other one on your shelf.
Next lesson
Power Grid Endgame: Step 3 and the Final Round Math
Level 3 begins with the endgame: when Step 3 arrives, how the end trigger works, and how to count the final round so you power the most cities with money to spare.
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