<p>After D won the first auction, Player A is obligated to choose a plant again. You may have missed this on page 3 of the rules:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>When the auctioning player wins the auction and gets the power plant, the next player in turn order takes his turn at offering a power plant for auction, if he has not already purchased a power plant this round. If he has, the next player in turn order may start an auction, and so on. <strong>When a player other than the player who started the auction wins the auction, the auctioning player may choose a new plant to auction from the actual market or pass.</strong></p>
</blockquote>

<p>Since the exception says everyone <strong>must</strong> buy a power plant first round, Player A may not pass.</p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/I9IFZ.jpg" alt="You Shall Not Pass"></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-31T16:11:23.217Z
You are right, I wasn't aware of this rule. Makes more sense now, thank you.
beam022
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-08T00:32:47.427Z
I played my first game 2 days ago and made D pick the powerplant and bought bad powerplant and bad rate. Thank you for clarification :)
Usman Zaheer
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-31T16:05:51.943Z
2012-10-31T16:15:49.620Z
2012-10-31T16:15:49.620Z
ghoppe
<p>Ok, let's say we just started Power Grid game for 4 players: A, B, C and D. We will be focusing on <code>Step 1st</code>/<code>Phase 2nd</code>, which is the first <strong>Auction Power Plants</strong> phase in the game. We have (randomly) determined initial player order, which we can assume is now ABCD.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Exception: In the first round of the game, each player <strong>must</strong> buy a power
  plant.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Ok, so let's assume that this is what happens in the first round's Auction Phase:</p>

<ol>
<li>A selects Power Plant, D wins the first auction.</li>
<li>B selects Power Plant, B wins the auction.</li>
<li>C selects Power Plant, C wins the auction.</li>
</ol>

<p>Now, this would be D's turn to select the Power Plant, except he has already bought one, so he cannot bid nor offer a plant at auction.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Once a player has purchased a power plant in a round, he cannot bid in
  another auction in the same round, nor can he offer a plant at
  auction.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Does that mean we are back to A, and he selects Power Plant as the last player this round and therefore buys it at a starting price? Or was he obligated to choose plant again after D won the first auction?</p>

<p>Side note: I was quoting <a href="http://www.riograndegames.com/uploads/Game/Game_5_gameRules.pdf">Official Rules found on RioGrandeGames.com</a>.</p>

<power-grid>
First Auction Power Plant in Power Grid?
beam022
# First Auction Power Plant in Power Grid?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2012-10-31)

Ok, let's say we just started Power Grid game for 4 players: A, B, C and D. We will be focusing on `Step 1st`/`Phase 2nd`, which is the first **Auction Power Plants** phase in the game. We have (randomly) determined initial player order, which we can assume is now ABCD.

> Exception: In the first round of the game, each player **must** buy a power
> plant.

Ok, so let's assume that this is what happens in the first round's Auction Phase:

1. A selects Power Plant, D wins the first auction.
2. B selects Power Plant, B wins the auction.
3. C selects Power Plant, C wins the auction.

Now, this would be D's turn to select the Power Plant, except he has already bought one, so he cannot bid nor offer a plant at auction.

> Once a player has purchased a power plant in a round, he cannot bid in
> another auction in the same round, nor can he offer a plant at
> auction.

Does that mean we are back to A, and he selects Power Plant as the last player this round and therefore buys it at a starting price? Or was he obligated to choose plant again after D won the first auction?

Side note: I was quoting [Official Rules found on RioGrandeGames.com](http://www.riograndegames.com/uploads/Game/Game_5_gameRules.pdf).

**Tags:** power-grid


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2012-10-31. Score: 16 | Accepted answer

After D won the first auction, Player A is obligated to choose a plant again. You may have missed this on page 3 of the rules:

> When the auctioning player wins the auction and gets the power plant, the next player in turn order takes his turn at offering a power plant for auction, if he has not already purchased a power plant this round. If he has, the next player in turn order may start an auction, and so on. **When a player other than the player who started the auction wins the auction, the auctioning player may choose a new plant to auction from the actual market or pass.**

Since the exception says everyone **must** buy a power plant first round, Player A may not pass.

![You Shall Not Pass](https://i.sstatic.net/I9IFZ.jpg)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: You are right, I wasn't aware of this rule. Makes more sense now, thank you.  
> **username_2**: I played my first game 2 days ago and made D pick the powerplant and bought bad powerplant and bad rate. Thank you for clarification :)  

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