Power Struggle

We had been meaning to play Power Struggle for ages, but it kept getting left out: it needs five players, and every time we tried to gather that number, someone would bail along the way. When we finally managed it, my first thought was that it could easily have been called “Public Utility Company: The Board Game.” It has that delightful absurdity of a large corporation, so familiar that it almost made me feel as if I were back at my permanent job — only with better company and fewer consequences.

It is a simple, clean blend of area control and negotiation. We are trying to seize control of different parts of a large company by controlling the individual departments within each division. The central idea is immediately understandable, and the game flows smoothly without burying me under unnecessary procedure.

What really brings it alive is the table atmosphere: there is noise, bargaining, and the necessary friction as everyone tries to gain influence where it benefits them most. It is not tiring; on the contrary, it produces some great moments precisely because it makes the group constantly watch what everyone else is doing and move between territorial control and negotiation.

The mechanisms are neat and well integrated, but the scoring is clearly the weak point. It gave me a little of that Greed Incorporated effect, which is a shame, because the rest of the experience has plenty of spirit. Even so, Power Struggle is very pleasant to play — provided you keep it strictly for five players.