The Tao of Gaming

Now that I'm pushing fifty for Power Grid on BSW, some thoughts are in order.

• Bid up on the permanent (5+ city) plants. A 10-15 premium is usually worth it. Paying double (once you are close to stage 3) may be reasonable.

• I think that in my first games the board position didn't matter nearly so much as the power plant auction, but once players get better then you have to start taking board position into account. In the early position, the trick is to figure out cheap points and choke points. In the early game, it's important to recognize if the board is linear (all regions in a row) or if there is clumping. If the regions are all linear, then the build order matters much more.

• If there are linear regions (A-B-C-D) I'd much rather be in one of the middle two. That way, during the phase shift even if I go last, I can always spread outside. If you are in one of the outer regions, you must build before your non-adjacent inner opponent (For example, if you are D, you need to go before B). Then again, this may not matter if region C is long (between B and D), but you'll need phase three to hit pretty quickly, or get boxed in. This changes based on # of players.

• If you are behind on powerplants (and normally I only consider permanents) then you should be on the lookout for grabbing a medium plant that may save you money over a turn or two, just to unclog the market. Especially if you go last, or the power plant you let onto the market isn't permanent.

• The 4 plants may be permanents, especially in a 5 or 6 (where you only need to power 15 or 14 cities). Even in a game with only 3-4 players (17), you can reach it with a four, as long as you get a seven and six. Possible. And the '4' plants often provide a good return. I'd still prefer a '5' plant, but sometimes you have to make do. '4's also work well with racing.

• Don't get fixated on free (wind/fusion) plants. The '13' plant early on is sometimes poisonous, particularly if you can't build your 3rd city the turn you get it. [If you only got a '1' plant on the first turn, you need one of the plants that powers at least 2 cities on the 2nd turn]. In the late game, the fusion (50 plant, powers '6' cities for free) is often a worse value than one of the methane plant (30 cost, three trash for 6) as trash is cheap, even if you are going to use it two turns.

There are several possible endgame, one trick is to recognize which one you are in:

• The race — Here one player will build up before anyone can power teh full compliment (sometimes in phase two!) This often happens if everyone passes on a non-permanent plant (to avoid opening up the market) for several turns. Once you've built up a warchest, the last place player can buy a medium plant and then build out, winning. If a player has a plant lead, sat for several turns

• The push — Someone builds to reasonably threaten an extra city or two, sending everyone into a scramble for one more city. It's sometimes reasonable to do this when you could end it if you'll be a city or two short (say, 16) because everyone else can build less cities and win the tiebreaker. You really need to have the 6s and 7s for this.

• The close game Sometimes it's just all about who can get the cheapest stuff. Not much to do here.

• The screw — Running out of resources can easily decide the game (at least knocking one player out). Being 'best' (going first) in the last turn can be dangerous, but most games will see methane/nuclear power relatively safe (and oil is often pretty reasonable). When considering what to do on the next to last turn, look at not only how much will be restocked, but what plants are up (or in the deck) that may take it. If a few coal plants are in the deck, you'll want to stock up on coal. [This also applies to the middle game for getting fuel cheaply]. Other tips for dealing with resources:

  1. Don't use critical resources on the penultimate turn. The difference between powering 11 and 15 cities isn't usually worth the resource cost anyway (last game I reminded myself, bu accidentally powered all of my plants anyway. Knocked myself out). Another nice aspect of holding onto a set of resources is that it allows you to safely upgrade (say from the 20-3coal-5city plant to the 42-3coal-7city plant) if the game turns into a push.

  2. Stockpile if you are in first place but can't finish. The only anti-stockpile reason is that you suspect one (or more) players will race the game this turn.

  3. Don't build up an extra city if it's safe (this often happens in 2-3 players). However, sometimes you have to build to prevent a lock out. Another time to build is if it allows you to be 1st or 2nd (instead of 2nd or 3rd). If you are already in first position, don't automatically say "I may as well build it now". The game may last an extra turn.

  4. In general, don't stockpile early. Wait until the shortage is imminent, or next turn the price will go up because of the plants that will be auctioned).

  5. Because resources are often so limited, the methane plants are worth a good premium early, and will often go for ridiculous amounts late (just because they can't be locked out). The player in first will often only have one 'safe' plant (unless he held resources).

Oh, one other trick I've seen a (very) successful BSW player pull. Hold off on a 2nd (or 3rd) plant, and just accept that you won't grow beyond 4 cities until stage two. You can build a reasonable stockpile, and the money you lose buy not growing is made up in resource costs (buying first) and not wasting money on a plant that will have to be thrown away later. But there's a lot to consider about doing that, and you may get trapped.

Update: Since I'm losing yet another game, perhaps you should ignore this post.