Friedemann Friese first released Power Grid (2F-Spiele/Rio Grande Games) in 2004. It proved to be a modern classic board game; so much so that it's retained a high ('top 100') ranking on BoardGameGeek for the past two decades. Over that time there have been numerous expansions and alternative boards representing the power grids in various different countries, as well as standalone reworkings and spin-offs of the game. At its heart, Power Grid brings together auction and network-building mechanics, and both those mechanics are very evident in Power Grid Outpost, which is the latest reworking of the original Power Grid game; this time with a space-themed science fiction setting. Designer Friedemann Friese has explained tho' that the standalone game Power Grid Outpost doesn't just revisit the mechanics of the 2004 Power Grid game, it is also a nod to the 1991 game Outpost (Stronghold Games).
Power Grid Outpost is a standalone game using the essential mechanics from the original 2004 Power Grid game. The 2-6 players compete for power plants, settlements and technologies in auctions, seeking to expand their network on a tight map of a moon. It's played on a board showing interconnected space pods. This gives it a rather more abstract look that, notwithstanding the art from Lars-Arne 'Maura' Kalusky, some will find less appealing than the geographic map boards of the original Power Grid game and its many expansions. In Power Grid Outpost the connections between each pod are randomised with tiles, making the board different with every play. In this game, it's your workers who are your key resource: players will be using their workers to ensure that their power plants are powered up. When you build a shelter it permanently accommodates a worker, so shelters give you, in effect, 'free' workers but if you don't have enough shelters to meet the demands of your power plants you'll need to hire seasonal workers, and as more of your workers move into the shelters your seasonal (unaccommodated) workers become more expensive.
As with original Power Grid, there are various well-calibrated catch-up mechanisms to ensure that it’s not possible to become a runaway leader, and at times it could be in your best interests to buy no power plant and not expand your network. If you're used to the original Power Grid you'll note that settlements and technologies are new. Replacing Power Grid's diverse resources with a single worker resource makes things simpler but also removes a strategic choice that added a lot to the original.
Power Grid Outpost always feels competitive: you have to keep an eye on each other player and the varying value of everything to others before making your strategic choices. You must also expand in sync with your rivals and choose when to make a break. Go too soon and the catch-up mechanism will drag you back into the pack, bruised and battered! To some this makes it an exercise in accounting – and it can often be annoying to be just one electro short of executing your masterplan – but for me this just makes it even more satisfying when things come off as intended. The catch-up mechanism doesn’t mean the outcome is random – better, more experienced players will win more often – but it may not be obvious until near the end who’s in or out of contention...
Are there aspects I don’t like about Power Grid Outpost? Yes. The futuristic font has been universally derided as hard to read by those I’ve played the game with. The moon map is pretty bland and less atmospheric than the country maps used in the original game. Some of the rules don’t follow logically; for example, I can build, demolish and rebuild a power plant from turn to turn at no cost. Some of the rules are a little opaque and it helped playing my first game with some German speakers who could check the included German rules for true clarity. There’s also an early game technology which reduces the cost of your winning auction bids by 5 electros for the rest of the game. That is too cheap and comes out too early. In our three four-player games the purchaser of this technology came first, first and second. Personally, I would recommend a house rule to double this tech's initial bid and not include it as one of the auction cards to emerge early. This would means it was less powerful and players would have more money to bid it up to fair value later.
The original Power Grid was split into three steps which were generally of equal length but in Power Grid Outpost the second step seems to have been almost eliminated as there are more auction cards bought each round. This also means that there are barely enough auction cards to get through the game with players almost always choosing to buy each round.
There is a two-player variant included in the rules, which is fine and streamlined, but this game is clearly at its best with four or five players, ensuring healthy competition but still without an overlong playtime. Power Grid Outpost is a very enjoyable gaming experience but, for me, it hasn't eclipsed the original game, which I still prefer, not least because, unlike original Power Grid, Outpost isn't compatible with the numerous expansions I've bought over the years.
(Review by Paul Moorshead)