Pipeline

Place the main game board in the center. Each player chooses a player board, worker, and matching disc. Place the round marker on the first year's leftmost space. Fill the crude oil market and the refined oil sections of each market with the appropriate oil cubes. Cover market spaces with fewer than four players using cover tiles. Separate contract tiles by oil grade (low, mid, high), shuffle each stack, and keep a number of contracts based on player count (4 for 2-3 players, 5 for 4 players), returning the rest to the box. Place these face-up next to the board, filling rows from right to left, leaving the leftmost space empty for fewer than four players. Separate order tiles by oil quantity, shuffle each stack, and fill the dedicated rows on the board, leaving the leftmost space empty for fewer than four players. Randomly select five upgrade types, place them by the board, and put five upgrade tokens face-up next to each level 1 upgrade card. Fill the machine and pipe zones with pump tiles and the tank and pipe zones with tank tiles. Shuffle pipe tiles face-down and place them next to the board, then fill each quadrant of the main board with pipe tiles. Reveal two pipe tiles for each player in the shop pipes area. Shuffle the four action tiles and place one on each dedicated space on the main board. Shuffle the nine refinery cost markers face-down and place them on the designated spaces. Shuffle the valuation cards and place three face-up next to the board, then place the valuation tiles next to them. Randomly choose the first player and place their disc on the leftmost space of the turn order track, with other players following clockwise. Create separate piles for penalty cubes, money, and oil cubes. Each player receives five tank tiles and places them on their player board, respecting rows but not columns. Each player places one oil cube of each color on the '0' space of the track at the top of their player board. Each player receives $40 and places their worker next to their player board.

The objective of Pipeline is to become the wealthiest oil baron by efficiently managing your refinery, refining crude oil, and selling refined products. Players must strategically build pipelines, acquire machines and tanks, fulfill contracts and orders, and upgrade their operations to maximize profits. The player with the most money at the end of three years wins the game.

A player's turn consists of two main phases: the Work Phase and the Machine Phase. During the Work Phase, a player performs one main action by placing their worker on any unoccupied space in the middle of the game board. They can optionally perform a secondary action by paying $10 and moving their worker to an adjacent space. A player can also choose to change their turn order by moving their disc to any desired position on the lower turn order track, which will take effect in the next round. During the Machine Phase, a player pays $15 to activate all pumps in their personal pipeline network. Machines refine oil that flows through connected pipes. All machines activate simultaneously, and pipes connected to multiple machines are only counted once. Contracts and orders can be fulfilled at any time during the year, but not during a main or secondary action. Contracts can be partially or fully completed, granting immediate payment. Orders must be fully completed at once, also granting immediate payment. Higher-grade oil can substitute for lower-grade oil in contracts and orders, but payment is based on the original requirement. Completed orders are removed from the game, while completed contracts are moved to the player's completed contracts area.

At the end of the game, after the third year's final round, players calculate their final scores. First, assess contracts: players with incomplete contracts receive a penalty cube for each, and all incomplete contracts are removed from the game. Any remaining oil barrels from contracts are also removed. Contracts in 'pause' are moved to the active zone. Next, players receive money for their remaining oil barrels based on the current market value shown on their player board. Then, players earn money for their pipelines: the value of each pipeline segment is determined by the highest grade of oil that can pass through it, as indicated on their player board. After that, players score based on the three valuation cards and any valuation tiles they possess, earning money for specific achievements like refined oil in tanks, pipeline length, tank tiles, and pipelines attached to machines. Finally, players subtract money for any penalty tokens received during the game. The player with the highest total money is the winner.

The game concludes after all players have completed their fourth turn in the third year. This means that once the round marker reaches the end of the Year 3 track, and each player has taken their final turn for that year, the game immediately proceeds to final scoring. There are no additional rounds or actions beyond this point.