Power Grid

My latest boardgame aquisition is Power Grid. As eurogames go, this one is middle-range in complexity. Success requires analysis and planning. I have played this game for several years, and a few weeks ago, I actually won for the first time! So I decided it was time I owned a copy.

The object of this game is to supply the most cities with power. To accomplish this goal players purchase power plants and the raw materials needed to run the plants. These materials include coal, oil, garbage, and uranium, but also includes wind and solar-powered plants. The winner of the game will create the most efficient network of plants powering the most cities. The base game comes with a map of the United States on one side:



and a map of Germany on the other:



Official game expansions include Italy, France and the Benelux countries:



However, many enterprising Power Grid fans have created their own maps, allowing them to play in Scandinavia:








...and Connecticut



As it often happens, I found something cool while looking for something else. GameInk.net is offering Power Grid (and other boardgame) themed T-shirts:



Power plant #44 in the game deck is one of the most desirable in the set, as it powers up to five cities, but because it uses solar and wind power, you do not need to purchase resources to burn.

"Money isn't everything, but it is a tie-breaker in Power Grid"

Game board images from BoardGameGeek.com

#227

The Balkanization of Belgium

Belgium is heading for a record 150 days with no government unless the Christian Democrat and Liberal election winners resolve a spat blocking their bid to form a coalition. [From The Independent].

Since the creation of the Belgian State there have been differences and disagreements between the Dutch speaking region of Flanders and the French speaking Walloon. Flemish separatists continue to talk of a Partition of Belgium. To draw attention to this dilemma, and spark debate, a Walloon TV station recently broadcast a "fake news" report about a Flemish declaration of independence, causing some consternation.

However, this is not the first such hoax. On April Fool's Day, 1992, the London Times reported that the nation had split. The Flanders region would join The Netherlands, and the Wallonia would join France. [From the Museum of Hoaxes] This report allegedely even fooled the British Foreign Office.

I have no opinion on what is right for Belgium. One separatist organization calls Belgium "the last artificial state in Europe". This is no doubt in reference to the unification of Germany, the division of Czechoslovakia, the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the break-up of the Soviet Union, all along ethnic lines. The Basque and Catalan of Spain may disagree with that statement (among others).

Your comments are welcome.