Tracking the Power Grid Plant Deck

At Level 2 you learned to value plants in the market. Now you look past the market, at the face-down pile. The plant deck seems random, but its structure is set at the start and its pace follows the rules. Players who track it know when Step 3 will arrive, which plants are still out there, and when to stop waiting for a better one.

What the deck holds

The Recharged base game has 42 plants: 03 to 40, then 42, 44, 46, and 50.

• 13 plants have plug backs: 03 to 15.
• 29 plants have socket backs: 16 and up.

At setup, 8 plug plants form the market and 1 more is set aside to go on top of the deck. Some plants then leave the box unseen, by player count. The rest are shuffled, with the Step 3 card on the bottom and the set-aside plug plant on top.

That gives these counts above the Step 3 card at the start:

Each count includes the plug plant on top. These are checked sums from the rulebook’s setup steps and removal table.

What makes the deck shrink

A card leaves the top of the deck when:

• A plant is bought in the auction. A replacement is drawn.
• Bureaucracy updates the market in Steps 1 and 2. The largest future plant goes under the deck, and one is drawn.
• The discount plant goes unsold. It leaves the game, and one is drawn.
• A drawn plant is smaller than the discount plant. It leaves at once, and another is drawn.
• Step 2 begins. The smallest current plant leaves, and one is drawn.

So a typical round draws one card per plant bought, plus one in bureaucracy, plus any discount churn.

The cards under the Step 3 card

In Steps 1 and 2, the largest plant in the future market goes under the deck each bureaucracy. Those plants sit below the Step 3 card. They do not come back until the Step 3 card is drawn and the rest of the deck is shuffled.

That means two things:

• Big plants you see early may return. A plant that slid under the deck in round 4 is waiting for Step 3.
• The early deck thins out at the top. As the game goes on, the plants left above the Step 3 card are the ones nobody has seen yet.

A worked count

Five players, so 34 cards above the Step 3 card.

• Round 1: all five players must buy. That is 5 draws, plus 1 in bureaucracy. 28 left.
• Rounds 2 to 4: say three players buy each round, plus bureaucracy, so 4 draws a round. 16 left after round 4.
• Step 2 starts in round 5: say three buys, the Step 2 removal, and bureaucracy. 5 draws. 11 left.

From there, at about 4 or 5 draws a round, the Step 3 card is two or three rounds out. You do not need the exact round. You need to know whether it is near.

Using the count

Timing your plant buys. If Step 3 is two rounds away, the big plants under the deck are coming. Paying top price now for a mid-sized plant may be worse than waiting.

Timing your builds. Step 3 opens a third space in every city at 20. If your network is boxed in, Step 3 is your way out. If your area is wide open, Step 3 lets rivals in. Either way, plan for it.

Speeding it up or slowing it down. Buying plants draws cards. Passing on the discount plant draws a card at the end of the phase. A table that buys heavily brings Step 3 sooner. A table that holds back slows it. The plant you buy is also a vote on when Step 3 arrives.

What you cannot know

Some plants left the box unseen at setup with 2, 3, or 4 players. A plant you are waiting for may not be in the game at all. At five or six players, every plant is in play, which makes tracking more reliable. The World Boardgaming Championships event keeps removed plants hidden in four-player games unless the whole table agrees to reveal them.

A tracker habit

You can keep this in your head with one number:

1. Start the game knowing the count above Step 3 for your player count.
2. Subtract one for each card drawn.
3. Say it before each auction: “about 12 to Step 3.”

Players who say that number out loud start to plan auctions differently. Saying it also helps everyone at the table, which keeps the game honest and fast.