Overview of Power Players

Power Players is a game in which seven energy companies compete for limited space for development. Two to six players control the growth and life of these companies. These players may be human or computer controlled.

The world consists of 108 land grants, which are laid out in a board 12 grants wide and 9 tall. Each land grant is designated by it's vertical and horizontal distance from the land grant in the upper left corner. The horizontal components start at A, the left edge of the board, and end at I, the right edge. The vertical components start with 1, the top of the board, and end with 9, the bottom. The designation for an land grant is the vertical component followed by the horizontal component. Thus A-1 is the upper left corner of the board and I-9 is the lower right hand corner of the board.

Though 108 land grants exist, only a limited number may be developed at any given time. The Department of Energy randomly selects which land grants may be developed. Each player controls up to six undeveloped grants at any one time. Each player must develop one land grant each turn, regardless of the benefit or harm it does to the player.

A company is formed if two unused land grants are developed next to each other. The person developing the most recent grant receives one free share of stock in the company created.

The value of the company's stock is based upon two factors: the size of the company and the product of the company. For the exact value of the company's stock, see the Information Window which is available by clicking the Info button in the main window. The following is a list showing the companies and their initial stock prices when they are two land grants in size. Also included is the color of the company marker and stock certificates.

   Artesian Geothermal     $200

Brown

   Seattle Solar

       $200

Blue

   Wolf Timber

         $300

Green

   Deeptrench Coal

      $300

Orange

   Blue Flame Natural Gas
 $300

Pink

   Petrolane Oil

       $400

Yellow

   Whoops Uranium

$400

Purple

Each company may sell up to 25 shares of stock. The object is to obtain a large enough number of shares to receive a majority or minority (2nd place) holder's bonus if that company merges into another one while not buying so many that you are unable to purchase stock in additional companies.

Developing a land grant which joins two or more companies merges those companies together. Bonuses are given to the 1st and 2nd place holders of the merging company's stock. Each player holding stock in the merging company also has the option of selling or trading the stock for that of the company the company merged into.

The game is over when all of the companies are greater than ten land grants in size or when one of the companies exceeds forty land grants in size. At the end of the game each company is liquidated, majority and minority bonuses are awarded and all stock is sold. The winner of the game is then determined.

That, in a nutshell, is how to play Power Players. See the detailed rules that follow for complete instructions.

Have fun!!!