Furnace

Categories: Card Game, Economic, Industry/Manufacturing, Post-Napoleonic

Mechanics: Action Queue, Auction Compensation, Auction: Fixed Placement, Auction: Multiple Lot, Auction/Bidding, Constrained Bidding, Multi-Use Cards, Open Drafting, Turn Order: Progressive, Variable Player Powers, Variable Set-up

Players: 2–4

Ages: 12+

Playtime: 30–60 Min

Furnace is a captivating engine-building Eurogame where players step into the shoes of 19th-century industrialists striving to maximize their wealth. In this game, you build and expand your industrial corporation by purchasing companies, extracting resources, and processing them in optimal combinations.

At the start of the game, each player receives a random start-up card, the corresponding resources, and four colored discs valued from 1 to 4. The game unfolds over four rounds, each divided into two key phases: Auction and Production.

Auction Phase: Six to eight company cards are displayed with their basic sides facing up. Players take turns placing their discs on these cards, but a disc of the same value or color cannot be placed on a card if it already has a disc of that type. Each player will place discs on four different cards. Once all discs are placed, the cards are resolved from left to right. The player who placed the highest-valued disc on a card claims that card, while those with lower-valued discs receive compensation, which could be resources multiplied by their disc value or a processing ability (exchange X for Y) based on the disc’s value.

Production Phase: After the auction, players enter the production phase, using their acquired company cards in any order. Each company card features one action on its basic side and two actions on its upgraded side. During this phase, players can utilize their cards to gain resources, convert resources into money or other resources, and upgrade their cards.

At the end of four rounds, the player with the highest amount of money wins. Furnace also introduces capitalist cards with unique effects, which can be dealt to players at the beginning of the game for added variety. For a greater challenge, players can create a "production chain" where newly acquired company cards must be placed in a fixed sequence for the remainder of the game.