# Power Grid: Benelux/Central Europe ## General Info - **Year Published**: 2006 - **BGG Rating**: 8.0 - **BGG Rank**: — - **Players**: 2-6 (Best with: 4, 5) - **Duration**: 120 min - **Weight**: 3.14 / 5 - **Designers**: Friedemann Friese - **Artists**: Harald Lieske, Lars-Arne "Maura" Kalusky - **Publishers**: 2F-Spiele, 999 Games, Edge Entertainment, Giochi Uniti, Lacerta, Rio Grande Games, Stratelibri, Swan Panasia Co., Ltd. - **Categories**: Economic, Expansion for Base-game, Industry / Manufacturing - **Mechanics**: Auction / Bidding, Income, Market, Network and Route Building ## Verdict If you love planning electric networks and want fresh challenges, these maps arrive with regional rules that shake things up.Regional resource varietyLower connection costsCompact map for larger groupsNuclear access restrictionsExtra learning curveRECOMMENDED ## Description Power Grid: Benelux/Central Europe adds two fresh maps to the beloved energy‑management masterpiece, letting you play either in the Benelux region or Central Europe. Each board comes with subtle rule tweaks that echo local power realities: in the Benelux area, green energy gets a boost, oil is plentiful and coal scarce; in Central Europe, Poland supplies a coal bonanza while political stances may restrict nuclear access. The Benelux map also features lower connection costs, usually speeding up calculations and shortening the game, and it has only five regions, ensuring that in 5‑ or 6‑player games the whole board is used with no excluded zones. Core mechanics—plant auctions, periodic income, resource market, and network building—stay the same but are now flavored by the new regional contexts, opening distinct strategies and new ways to optimise your grid. Veteran players will need to rethink bidding order, adapt expansion plans, and watch fuel restrictions closely. Larger groups benefit from the Benelux’s compact layout, while the coal‑rich Central Europe map can favour more aggressive production tactics. Overall, the expansion not only expands the playable area but also injects fresh gameplay variations that keep the experience lively and challenging, perfect for fans who love mixing economic planning with network tactics. ## How to Play Objective of the Game In Power Grid: Benelux/Central Europe, players are competing to power the most cities in the last round of the game. The game is about expanding your power network, acquiring efficient power plants, and managing your resources to become the dominant energy provider. Preparation (Setup) Choose either the Benelux (outside) or Central Europe (inside) side of the board. For 2/3/4/5/6 players, choose 3/3/4/5/5 contiguous areas to use, respectively, and block off the others. For Benelux: Belgium (blue) and Luxembourg (purple) form one seven-city area. With 5/6 players, use all areas. Give each player 50 Elektros, a payment summary card, and all houses of one color. Put one house of each player on the start house (representing 0) of the score track (decorated with skylines). Put one house for each player in the player order area (marked by light bulbs) in random order. Start the fuel supply: Put coal (brown cubes) in the coal spaces in boxes 3 to 8 (Benelux) or 1 to 8 (Central Europe). Put oil (black cylinders) in the oil spaces in boxes 1 to 8 (Benelux) or 3 to 8 (Central Europe). Put garbage (yellow octagonal pieces) in the garbage spaces in boxes 7 to 8. Put uranium (small red octagonal pieces) in the uranium spaces in boxes 14 and 16 (Benelux) or 8 to 16 (Central Europe). Arrange the power plant cards: Sort the power plant cards numbered 03 to 10 in two rows near the board to form the power plant market. Put aside the Step 3 card, the number 13 power plant, and the summary cards. Shuffle the remaining cards and put them face down as a supply deck. With 2/3/4 players, remove 8/8/4 cards from the draw pile and the game. Put the Step 3 card at the bottom of the draw pile and the 13 on the top. For 2/3/4/5/6 players, put a marker before 10/7/7/7/6 on the score track. Crossing it starts Step 2. For 2/3/4/5/6 players, put a marker before 21/17/17/15/14 on the score track. Crossing it ends the game. Fluxo do Jogo The game progresses through rounds, each consisting of several phases. The game has three Steps, which change the rules for building houses and the power plant market. Game Steps Step 1: Houses may only be placed in the “10” spaces in cities. There are 8 plants in the market. The lowest 4 are available for auction. (Benelux: sometimes 5.) Step 2: Houses may only be placed in the “10” or “15” spaces in cities. There are 8 plants in the market. The lowest 4 are available for auction. (Benelux: sometimes 5.) Step 2 starts when a player builds their 10th/7th/7th/7th/6th house (for 2/3/4/5/6 players respectively). Step 3: Houses may be placed in the “10,” “15,” or “20” spaces in cities. There are 6 plants in the market. All are available for auction. If the Step 3 card is drawn before the normal Step 2 trigger, perform the Step 2 actions (in the Build Houses phase), then perform the usual Step 3 actions. Round Structure (Benelux Play / Central Europe Play) Each round, players perform the following phases in order: Determine Player Order (skip in first round of game; player order is random for initial auctions) Sort player order area by number of cities (leader has most) and secondarily by plant number (leader has highest). Auction Power Plants (leading player first, continuing until no players remain to auction and bid) Buy Resources (trailing player first) Build Houses (trailing player first) Bureaucracy (leading player first) Ações e Como Jogar Power Plant Cards The upper-left number is the lowest acceptable bid for the plant. The fuel requirement of the plant is shown at bottom. (Hybrid plants accept coal or oil in any combination.) A power plant uses all the fuel shown on the left to power up to the number of cities shown on the right. Wind and fusion plants show no fuel on the left; they run essentially without fuel. Each power plant may store up to twice the fuel shown. Players may rearrange fuel on their power plant cards at any time. Power Plant Market The power plant market is always sorted by number and has two rows for most of the game. Power plants in the cheaper row are available for auction. The more expensive plants are not yet available. Minimum Rule: Any time a power plant number in the market does not exceed the number of cities the leading player has, immediately remove the plant from the game and draw a new card for the market. Auction Power Plants Phase The leading player of those left who have neither bought a plant this round nor passed putting a plant up for auction may put one of the available plants up for auction (and participate as a bidder): This player may pass (but not in the first round of the game) and is then out of all auctions this round. If they do not pass, they select a plant to auction and must bid the number on the card or greater. In Step 1 or 2, the lowest 4 plants in the market are available. In Step 3, all 6 in the market are available. For Benelux: If the 5th plant is an ecological plant (any plant that runs essentially without fuel), it is also available. For Central Europe: Only a player with at least one house in Hungary, Czech, or Slovakia may bid on or buy nuclear power plants. Bidding circles clockwise with each player bidding higher or passing until only one player remains. A player who passes bidding is out of this auction but can participate in later auctions this round. The final remaining player pays their bid to the bank, takes the power plant, and is out of all auctions this round. After an auction, draw a new card and add it to the market, sorted by number. (Heed the Minimum Rule.) If the Step 3 card is drawn, position it as the highest plant in the market and shuffle the draw pile. When a player buys a 4th plant (with 2 players, 5th plant), they must discard one of their others, after moving fuel. Fuel that cannot be stored on the retained plants is discarded. When the auctioning player did not win, they may pass or choose another plant. Otherwise, the next player goes. After all auctions are completed: If no plant is sold in a round, remove the lowest plant from the game and draw a replacement. In the first round of the game, redetermine player order (by power plant number). If the Step 3 card was drawn, remove it and the lowest plant from the market. Do not replace them. The game is now in Step 3. Buy Resources Phase Each player may buy, at the prices shown on the board, as many resources from the board as they can afford and can store on their power plant cards (twice as many as shown on each card). For Central Europe: A player with Wien (Vienna) in their network pays 1 Elektro less for each garbage. Build Houses Phase Each player may build as many houses as they can afford. (Players are not required to build, even in round 1.) The cost for the player’s first house is the number of the space (usually 10) it is put in. The cost for each subsequent house is the number in the space it is put in plus the cost of connections along the cheapest path to any other house the player has. Some adjacent-city connections have no cost. No player may have two houses in the same city. When a player builds a house: Immediately advance their house in the score track one space. Heed the Minimum Rule. If the Step 3 card is drawn, remove it and the lowest plant in the market from the game and do not draw replacements. Shuffle the draw pile. Finish the build phase, and then the game is in Step 3. In a game of 2/3/4/5/6 players, when a player builds their 10th/7th/7th/7th/6th house: Finish building, then remove the lowest plant in the market from the game and draw a replacement. Sort the market, so the lowest four plants are in the cheaper row. The game is now in Step 2. Bureaucracy Phase Each player says how many cities they wish to supply with electricity. They may supply as many cities as they have on the board and have power plant capacity for, including fuel. The player is paid according to the number of cities they supply, as shown in the payment schedule. Each operated power plant consumes all the fuel shown on its card, even if it does not power all the cities shown. Consumed fuel is returned to the bank. Unoperated plants consume no fuel. The bank refills the resource market (if it can), most expensive open spaces first, using the refill schedule. For Benelux: In each round remove the lowest power plant from the game and draw a replacement if the deck is not empty. For Central Europe: In Step 3, remove the lowest plant in the market from the game and draw a replacement if the deck is not empty. Heed the Minimum Rule. In Step 1 or Step 2, put the highest power plant in the market face down under the draw pile and draw a replacement. If the Step 3 card is drawn, remove it and the lowest power plant in the market from the game and do not draw replacements. Shuffle the draw pile. The game is now in Step 3. Fim de Jogo e Pontuação The game ends when a player builds their 21st/17th/17th/15th/14th house (for 2/3/4/5/6 players respectively). When this trigger occurs, finish building, then supply cities as described in the Bureaucracy phase. The player who supplies the most cities with electricity in this last turn wins. Ties are broken first by money and then by cities. Dicas para Vencer Consulte o manual para detalhes sobre esta seção. ## FAQ ### How many players can play? 2 to 6 players, just like the base game. ### What is the typical playing time? Around 120 minutes, potentially a bit shorter on the Benelux map. ### Do I need the base game to use this expansion? Yes, Power Grid: Benelux/Central Europe is a supplement and requires the base game. ### What are the main differences between the two maps? Benelux emphasizes green power, has lower connection costs and fewer regions; Central Europe offers abundant coal, especially in Poland, and may restrict nuclear access. ### Does the expansion increase the game's complexity? Slightly, as there are new resource rules and restrictions, but the core mechanics stay unchanged. ## Price Comparison ### Best International Offers - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 8.17 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=3438495&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 8.38 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=5812106&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 10.00 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=3919408&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 10.45 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=151428&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 10.49 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=5044692&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 10.56 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=1287388&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 10.80 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=6061694&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 11.07 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=2088080&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 11.47 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=4818826&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 11.92 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=1664414&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - See all on BoardGamePrices: https://boardgameprices.com/item/show/227/power-grid-beneluxcentral-europe?utm_source=boardgamesbot.com