Furnace

To set up Furnace, each player receives a random startup card, their set of capitalist discs (numbered 1-4), and starting resources as indicated on their startup card. The round marker is placed on '1', and the company deck is shuffled. A first player is chosen at random, and the game proceeds through four rounds, each with an auction and a production phase.

The primary objective in Furnace is to accumulate the most money by the end of the game. Players achieve this by mining resources, converting them into more valuable resources, and ultimately turning them into cold hard cash through the efficient operation of their industrial companies.

Each round has two phases: the auction phase and the production phase. In the auction phase, a number of company cards (equal to the number of players plus four) are drawn and laid out. Players take turns placing one of their numbered capitalist discs on an available company card, adhering to two rules: a player cannot place a disc on a card where they already have one of their color, and they cannot place a disc with a number that is already present on that card. Once all discs are placed, cards are resolved from left to right. The player with the highest disc on a card wins that card, and other players with discs on that card receive a compensation bonus (resources multiplied by their bid disc's number). In the production phase, players simultaneously activate the bottom parts of their acquired company cards, using resources to gain more resources or money, and can use upgrade tokens to flip cards to their more powerful side. Each card can be activated once per production phase.

Scoring is primarily based on the amount of money a player has at the end of the game. Money is generated during the production phase by activating company cards that allow for the conversion of resources (ore, coal, oil, steel) into currency. Compensation bonuses received during the auction phase also contribute to a player's resource pool, which can then be converted into money.

The game concludes after four full rounds have been played. At this point, all players tally their total money. The player who has accumulated the most money is declared the winner. In case of a tie, the player with the most resources remaining wins.