The board game Furnace casts you and your friends in the roles of 19th-century capitalists building their industrial corporations, striving to earn as much money as possible by purchasing companies, extracting resources, and processing them in the best possible combinations. The winner, of course, is the player who manages to amass the most wealth!
Each player begins the game with a random start-up card, the resources depicted at the top of that card, and four colored discs with values ranging from 1 to 4. The game is played over four rounds, and each round consists of two phases: Auction and Production.
During the auction, 6–8 establishment cards are laid out with their basic sides face up. Your task is to take turns placing one of your discs on these cards; however, you cannot place a disc on a card if a disc of the same value or color is already present. You will place discs on four different cards in this manner.
Once all discs are placed, the cards are resolved from left to right. Whoever placed the highest-value disc claims the card. However, before they do, everyone with a lower-value disc on that card receives compensation—either the depicted resources multiplied by the value of their disc, or a processing ability used as many times as their disc's value.
Once all cards have been claimed or discarded, players enter the production phase, using their cards in an order of their choosing. Each company card features one action—either production or processing—on its basic side, and two actions on its upgraded side. During the production phase, you can use each of your cards once to gain resources, process those resources into other materials or money, and upgrade your cards.
Furnace also includes Capitalist cards that contain unique effects; if you wish, you can deal one to each player at the start of the game. For an added challenge, you can require players to create a "production chain," where each newly acquired company card is placed somewhere in that chain and locked into that position for the remainder of the game!

Awards and Honors:
2022 GEEKS d'OURO Best Translated Board Game of the Year Nominee
2022 American Tabletop Strategy Games Recommended
2021 Japan Boardgame Prize Voters' Selection Nominee
2021 Geek Media Awards Best Russian Development Winner
2021 Geek Media Awards Best Russian Development Nominee
2021 5 Seasons Best International Strategy Nominee