Power Grid: Bremen/Manhattan Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• General Information
• Bremen
  • Introduction
  • Game Preparation
  • Playing the Game
    • Phase 4: Build Houses
    • Phase 5: Bureaucracy
    • Step 2
  • End of the Game
• Manhattan
  • Introduction
  • Game Preparation
  • Playing the Game
    • Phase 2: Auction Power Plants
    • Phase 4: Build Houses
    • Phase 5: Bureaucracy
    • Update the Power Plant Market
  • End of the Game

General Information

This expansion can only be played with a copy of Power Grid (Recharged Version) or Power Grid.

The rules of Power Grid (Recharged Version) remain the same, except for the following modifications and special features of the two maps contained in this expansion.

Bremen

Introduction

The fight of the electric power companies in Bremen for the most customers is particularly tough and fast. Nuclear power plants are not used to supply electricity in Bremen so you are fighting more for scarce resources. Unlike the other game boards Bremen does not have classic connecting costs between cities, but instead flat district costs. Additionally, several districts are so small, that they are limited to two spaces for networks and afterward do not allow further competition.

Game Preparation

You play with fewer power plants and resource tokens in Bremen:

• Place the following power plants into the game box: 11, 17, 23, 28, 34, 36, 38, 39, and 46; this includes all nuclear power plants.
• 2 to 4 players: Additionally place power plants 31 and 50 into the game box.
• Place 2 tokens each of coal, oil, and garbage together with all uranium tokens into the game box.
• Now prepare the power plant stack and power plant market without removing additional power plants.

5 to 6 players: You always play on the whole map, as Bremen only has 5 regions.

Fill the following spaces of the resource market: coal - spaces 1–8, oil - spaces 3–8, garbage - spaces 3–8. The cheapest starting spaces for each resource are marked on the map with this symbol (a star inside a circle).

Depending on the number of players, place the corresponding resource refill card for Bremen on the game board.

2 players - Against the Trust: The Trust gets 12 houses of its own color, plus one additional house for player order. After choosing the contiguous playing zone of 3 adjacent areas, place 4 houses of the Trust on the number 8 spaces of 4 adjacent districts of your choice.

Playing the Game

Phase 4: Build Houses

The districts in Bremen have flat district costs to their adjacent districts instead of the classic connecting costs between cities. Except for these costs all other game rules for building houses remain the same.

After choosing the first district, all subsequent districts you add to your network must connect to at least one district in your network (with one of your houses). When connecting to a new district, choose the cheapest district cost(s) between one of the districts in your network and the new district and pay the total of district costs and cheapest building cost available (each district has spaces for up to three houses, valued 8, 14, and 20 Elektro, if available) to the bank.

The district borders are dotted in the rivers Weser and Lesum. You can connect districts on opposite sides of the rivers without any additional costs.

Example: You want to connect Gröpelingen (1) to your network in Seehausen (2) during Step 1. Pay a total of 25 Elektro: 17 Elektro (9 + 8) for district costs and 8 Elektro for the first connection.

Small districts (e.g. Findorff) are available beginning with Step 1. Only two players can connect these districts, as they each only offer two spaces.

2 players - Against the Trust: As long as the Trust has houses in its supply, each time you connect a new (empty) small district, you block it completely with your and the Trust's houses.

Phase 5: Bureaucracy

The resources are filled in accordance with the Bremen resource refill summary cards.

Step 2

Step 2 starts at the beginning of Phase 5 (Bureaucracy) after at least one player has connected a certain number of districts in their network, as determined by the number of players.

Number of players	Connected districts
2–5	5
6	4

End of the Game

The game ends immediately after Phase 4 (Build Houses) when at least one player has connected the indicated number of districts (or more) in their network, depending on the number of players.

Number of players	Connected districts
2–4	13
5	12
6	11

5 to 6 players: Because of the lower number of power plants you will deplete the power plant market more quickly compared to other Power Grid maps. Focus on increasing your network and only buy the most necessary power plants.

Manhattan

Introduction

Manhattan has a giant demand for electric power, but does not have much space for the necessary networks. Thus, the electric power companies fight nonstop for the cheapest building costs all over Manhattan. This map only offers a single huge area and the game only runs in Step 1 until the end of the game.

Game Preparation

Prepare the power plant market and power plant stack as follows:

• Place the "Step 3" card into the game box.
• 2 to 3 players: Also place the power plants 20, 22, and 37 into the game box.
• Shuffle all power plant cards with the socket on the back and place them facedown as the power plant stack.
• Shuffle the 13 power plant cards with a plug and place 4 of them in to the game box. Then, place the remaining 9 cards face down on the power plant stack.
• Draw the topmost 8 power plants and place them in ascending order in the power plant market.

Manhattan contains a single region, where all building spaces can only fit 1 house.

• 5 to 6 players: you have access to all building spaces.
• 2 to 4 players: you must block several building spaces with houses of unchosen colors. With 2 and 3 players, take 14 houses each of 2 colors; with 4 players take 14 houses of 1 color. Mutually choose and block empty building spaces with the following building costs with houses of one color:

10 Elektro	15 Elektro	20 Elektro	25 Elektro	30 Elektro	35 Elektro
3 houses	3 houses	2 houses	2 houses	2 houses	2 houses

2 players - Against the Trust: The Trust gets 16 houses of its own color, plus one additional house for player order. After blocking 28 building spaces as explained above, block another 6 building spaces with houses of the Trust with the following building costs: The starting player places 1 house on 10 Elektro. The other player places 1 house each on 15 and 20 Elektro. Next up, the starting player places 1 house each on 25 and 30 Elektro, and finally the other player places 1 house on 35 Elektro. Place the remaining 10 houses of the Trust as a supply next to the game board.

Fill the following spaces of the resource market: coal - spaces 3–8, oil - spaces 3–8, garbage - spaces 6–8, uranium - spaces 10–16. The cheapest starting spaces for each resource are marked on the map with this symbol (a star inside a circle).

Depending on the number of players, place the corresponding resource refill card for Manhattan on the game board. The resource refill rates remain the same for the whole game.

Playing the Game

Phase 2: Auction Power Plants

If you buy the discounted power plant, you can purchase another power plant during this phase.

2 players - Against the Trust: When the starting player chooses the discounted power plant for the first auction, afterward the Trust will take its power plant. Then, both players are still in the auction and both can still buy 1 power plant.

Phase 4: Build Houses

When you place your first house, choose any empty building space on the whole game board and pay its building costs (10 - 40 Elektro).

When you connect additional houses to your network, that are directly adjacent to your houses, only pay their building costs. If you transit through one or more building spaces without connecting them to your network, you must pay flat costs of 5 Elektro for each transit plus the building cost of the chosen building space. A transit happens, if the building space is already blocked or if you do not want to connect it to your network.

Example: Starting from your house (1) you want to connect the building space for 20 Elektro to your network (2). To do so, transit through 1 blocked and 1 empty building space. Pay a total of 30 Elektro: 10 Elektro (2x 5) for the transit and 20 Elektro for the building cost.

2 players - Against the Trust: As long as the Trust has houses in its supply, each time you connect a new building space, you must place a house of the Trust on a building space with the same or next higher building cost.

Example: After connecting a building space for 20 Elektro to your network (1), place a house of the Trust on a building space for 25 Elektro (2). You could also choose a building space for 20 Elektro.

Phase 5: Bureaucracy

The resources are filled in accordance with the Manhattan resource refill summary cards. The amounts always remain the same for the whole game.

Update the Power Plant Market

Initially place the 2 biggest power plants from the future market face down on a discard pile.

When the power plant stack depletes for the first time, shuffle the power plants of the discard pile and place them again face down as a new plant stack. Draw a second power plant, if necessary.

From now on, always place the biggest power plant of the future market face down below the power plant stack.

When the power plant stack depletes for the second time, starting with the next round, you can buy any of the power plants in the whole power plant market.

From now on, always remove the smallest power plant from the power plant market and place it into the game box. If the power plant market is completely empty, you cannot buy new power plants anymore.

End of the Game

The game ends immediately after Phase 4 (Build Houses) when at least one player has connected at least the indicated number of districts in their network, depending on the number of players.

Number of players	Connected districts
2	18
3–4	17
5	15
6	14