Industry / Manufacturing

Power Grid: Factory Manager is the new stand-alone game in the world of Power Grid. It was released at Spiel '09 in Essen, Germany.

Each player owns a factory and tries to earn the most money during the game. To be successful, each player must use his workers to buy the best machines and robots at the market and to run the machines most effectively in his factory. Because of increasing energy prices, the players must be careful to check the energy consumption of their factories and to avoid using only energy-consuming machines. Otherwise, their profit will suddenly vanish, the worst fear of a good businessman.

Power Grid: Factory Manager uses a clever market mechanism for choosing the supply of factory tiles in the market.

Martin Wallace's streamlined redesign of Brass.

Players are tycoons in the early days of the Industrial Revolution; a time when traditional craftsman were being rapidly replaced with steam-powered machines. Players invest in the production of raw materials, the manufacture of goods, and the transportation networks needed to connect them to their markets.

Like Brass, the strategic space is vast, and player decisions are limited by cards. In Age of Industry, however, cards are color-coded to regions rather than specific cities, allowing the players to be more flexible with their plans, while at the same time continuing to limit the decisions available. The color-coded region cards will also support expansion maps.

In addition, the original Brass rules were simplified by eliminating the canal period; there is only one period, the railway era. There is also a new, non-specific industry, which will change with each map.

According to Wallace, "You can now play something with the depth of Brass, but in half the time. The game will have a double-sided map, with Germany on one side and southern New England on the other."

Players control one of the great scientists during the 17th century Scientific Revolution in Europe. Use your limited time and energy to make discoveries, test hypotheses, publish papers, correspond with other famous scientists, hire assistants into your laboratory and network with other people who can help your progress. Discoveries follow historical tech trees in the key sciences of the age: Astronomy, Mathematics, Physics, Biology and Chemistry. The scientist who accumulates the most prestige will be appointed the first President of the Royal Society.

Two new maps for Power Grid. This is an expansion pack, so you will need the Power Grid game to play with it. As with the original, the board has a different map on each side: France and Italy. Along with the maps are small rule changes to reflect the power culture in these two countries. France, a land that has embraced nuclear power, has an earlier start with atomic plants and more uranium available. Italy has more waste, but fewer coal and oil resources. The result is not just new maps, but new ways to play this great game!

Expands:

Power Grid

Online Play

BrettspielWelt (real-time)

Two new expansion maps for Power Grid: Russia on one side and Japan on the other.

In Russia, the market for power plants is restricted. Additionally, the standard rules for exchanging out-of-date power plants are changed, forcing the leading players to completely rethink their strategies.

In Japan, based on the crowded geographical surroundings, the players can start two separate networks. The first connections are restricted to certain cities, guaranteeing a tough fight for the best networks.