got a new board game for my birthday - Power Grid

[lazarus]

it's from Rio Grande Games.
http://www.riograndegames.com/games.html?id=5

The object of Power Grid is to supply the most cities with power when someone’s network gains a predetermined size. In this new edition, players mark pre-existing routes between cities for connection, and then vie against other players to purchase the powerplants that you use to supply the power. However, as plants are purchased, newer more efficient plants become available so you’re potentially allowing others to access to superior equipment merely by purchasing at all. Additionally, players must acquire the raw materials, like coal, oil, garbage, or uranium, to power said plants (except for the highly valuable ’renewable energy’ wind/solar plants), making it a constant struggle to upgrade your plants for maximum efficiency while still retaining enough wealth to quickly expand your network to get the cheapest routes.

So far, I've only played it once, with Haele as a two-player game, but I think it'll be a lot more fun with more players. The strategy, I believe, is to keep your number of cities just ahead of your capacity for powering them. At least, that worked for me.

It's really quite a good game, and fairly easy to learn.