Burn Rate

About this board game

Burn Rate is a 45-minute game for 2–4 players, putting each player in the role of a dot-com CEO fighting to keep a startup in business while losing money as slowly as possible.

Every turn, your bank account is debited according to your current situation, creating your startup’s burn rate. The challenge is to stay solvent while opponents try to accelerate your collapse with costly projects, excessive hiring, and incompetent vice presidents.

The game’s mechanics are built around employee and action cards. Each employee has a skill number, and that skill determines which actions they can play. For example, a FUNDING card with a skill prerequisite of 2 requires a Finance employee with a minimum skill of 2.

• Manage employees with different skill numbers.
• Play action cards by meeting their skill prerequisites.
• Track your bank account as your burn rate drains your funds.
• Use money-wasting pressures to force opponents toward a flameout.

Success in Burn Rate is not about becoming profitable; it is about remaining in business longer than everyone else. Watch your available money, deal with the consequences of your current situation, and avoid being overwhelmed by expenses before your rivals run out of cash.

The winner is the last player whose startup still has money. With its dot-com setting and focus on employee skills, spending pressure, and dwindling funds, Burn Rate turns startup survival into a direct contest of financial endurance.