# Brass: Birmingham ## General Info - **Year Published**: 2018 - **BGG Rating**: 8.6 - **BGG Rank**: #1 - **Players**: 2-4 (Best with: 4) - **Duration**: 60-120 min - **Weight**: 3.86 / 5 - **Designers**: Gavan Brown, Martin Wallace, Matt Tolman - **Artists**: Damien Mammoliti, David Forest, Gavan Brown, Gui Landgraf, Lina Cossette, Matt Tolman, Mr. Cuddington - **Publishers**: Roxley, Arclight Games, Board Game Rookie, BoardM Factory, CMON Global Limited, Conclave Editora, CoolPlay, CrowD Games, Dexker Games, Funforge, Gémklub, Ghenos Games, Giant Roc, Lanlalen, Lord of Boards, Maldito Games, PHALANX, Rebel Sp. z o.o., TLAMA games, White Goblin Games - **Categories**: Age of Reason, Economic, Industry / Manufacturing, Post-Napoleonic, Trains, Transportation - **Mechanics**: Chaining, End Game Bonuses, Hand Management, Income, Loans, Market, Multi-Use Cards, Network and Route Building, Ownership, Tags, Tech Trees / Tech Tracks, Tile Placement, Turn Order: Stat-Based, Variable Set-up ## Verdict If you enjoy economic games that make you think and plan every move, Brass: Birmingham is a feast! It's an evolution of the classic that appeals to both veterans and newcomers to the world of strategy games.Incredible strategic depthVery high replayabilityConstant tension and tough decisionsEvolution of the classic BrassSteep initial learning curveCan be a bit slowInteraction can be indirectHIGHLY RECOMMENDED ## Description Get ready to dive headfirst into the Industrial Revolution with Brass: Birmingham! This economic strategy game casts you as a visionary entrepreneur in the vibrant city of Birmingham between 1770 and 1870. It's an experience that expands and refines the classic Brass, offering rich and nuanced gameplay. Your goal? To build an industrial empire, develop your industries, and expand your transportation network, whether through canals or railways. You'll need to keep a close eye on fluctuating market demands and use your resources wisely. The game is divided into two eras: the Canal Era and the Rail Era, each presenting its own unique challenges and opportunities. Each round, you'll have two actions to choose from: build new industries, expand your network, develop technologies to increase the value of your ventures, sell your goods, or even take out a loan (when cash flow gets tight!). And there's more: a new 'Scout' action lets you discard cards to gain wild resources, providing that extra flexibility we all love. Scoring occurs at the end of each era, rewarding those who have built the best transportation networks and the most profitable, established industries. Brass: Birmingham is one of those games that challenges you to think ahead, plan every move, and adapt to market shifts. If you enjoy games with strategic depth, resource management, and an engaging historical theme, prepare to be captivated! ## How to Play Game Objective In Brass: Birmingham, players compete to build industries and networks during the Industrial Revolution. The goal is to accumulate the most Victory Points (VPs) by building and flipping industry tiles and establishing link tiles across the board. The player with the most VPs after the Rail Era is declared the winner. Setup Board: Place the board on either the day or night side. Cards and Tiles: If playing with fewer than 4 players, remove cards and merchant tiles showing a player count higher than the current number of players. Place the wild location and wild industry decks faceup on two card draw areas. Shuffle the remaining cards into the draw deck and place them facedown on the third area. Shuffle merchant tiles and place one faceup on each space marked for your player count. (In 2-player games, no tiles in Warrington and Nottingham; in 3-player games, none in Nottingham). Resources: Place 1 beer barrel on each space beside a non-blank merchant tile. Place 1 black cube on each coal market space (leaving one £1 space free) and 1 orange cube on each iron market space (leaving both £1 spaces free). Place remaining cubes, barrels, and money (the bank) beside the board as the general supply. Player Setup: Each player receives: A player mat (set to day or night side). £17 from the bank. A colored character tile and matching link tiles. Industry tiles (cotton mills, coal mines, iron works, manufacturers, potteries, and breweries) stacked on the player mat with the black top half facedown. A victory point (VP) marker on the 0 space of the progress track and a round income marker on the 10 space. A hand of 8 cards from the draw deck, plus 1 additional card placed facedown as a discard pile. Turn Order: Shuffle character tiles and place them randomly on the turn order track. Game Flow The game is played over two eras: the Canal Era (1770-1830) and the Rail Era (1830-1870). Each era consists of several rounds (exactly 8, 9, or 10 rounds for 4, 3, or 2 players respectively). Player Turns: Players take turns in the order shown on the turn order track. On your turn, you perform 2 actions (except for the first round of the Canal Era, where each player performs only 1 action). For every action, you must discard a card to your discard pile (wild cards return to their draw areas). After your actions, refill your hand to 8 cards from the draw deck. Money spent during the turn is placed on your character tile. End of Round: Determine Turn Order: The player who spent the least money goes first next round. Money is then returned to the bank. Take Income: Collect money from the bank equal to your income level. If income is negative, you must pay the bank. If you cannot pay, you must remove industry tiles (worth half their cost, rounded down) or lose 1 VP for each £1 short. Actions and How to Play On your turn, you may perform any of the following actions (including the same action twice): 1. Build Discard an appropriate card to place the lowest level industry tile from your player mat on an undeveloped space. Location card: Build any industry at the named location, even if not in your network. Wild Location card: Acts as any location card (except farm breweries). Industry card: Build the matching industry in a location that is part of your network. Wild Industry card: Acts as any industry card. Restrictions: In the Canal Era, max 1 tile per location. In the Rail Era, multiple tiles are allowed per location. Tiles with a specific icon (indicated in the manual) may not be built until Develop is used. Costs: Pay the tile's cost and consume required coal/iron. Coal mines and iron works produce resources immediately; if connected to a market, resources move to the market, and you collect money. If the tile is emptied, it flips and increases your income level. 2. Network Discard any card to place a link tile on an undeveloped line adjacent to your network. Canal Era: Build 1 canal link for £3. Rail Era: Build 1 rail link for £5 and 1 coal. Alternatively, build 2 rail links for £15 and 1 beer (from a brewery, not a merchant). Each rail link must be connected to a source of coal. 3. Develop Discard any card to remove 1 or 2 industry tiles from your player mat (lowest level first) to access higher-level tiles. Consume 1 iron for each tile removed. Pottery tiles with a lightbulb icon cannot be developed and must be built/removed via the build action. 4. Sell Discard any card to flip an unflipped cotton mill, manufacturer, or pottery tile connected to a matching merchant tile. You must consume the required beer. If you use a merchant beer, you collect a merchant beer bonus (Develop, Income, VPs, or Money). Flipping the tile increases your income level. 5. Loan Discard any card to take £30 from the bank. Move your income marker 3 income levels backwards. You cannot take a loan if it drops your income below -10. 6. Scout Discard 3 cards (the action card plus 2 additional) to take 1 wild location and 1 wild industry card. Resource Consumption Coal: Consumed from the closest connected unflipped coal mine (free) or purchased from the coal market (requires connection to a merchant icon). Iron: Consumed from any unflipped iron works (free) or purchased from the iron market. No connection is required. Beer: Consumed from your own unflipped breweries (no connection needed), an opponent's unflipped brewery (must be connected), or a merchant tile space. End of Game and Scoring An era ends when all players have exhausted the cards in their hands. At the end of each era: Score Links: Score 1 VP for each adjacent location for every link tile. Then, remove the link tiles. Score Flipped Industries: Score the VPs shown in the bottom left corner of flipped industry tiles. Unflipped tiles do not score. End of Canal Era Extras: Remove all level 1 industry tiles from the board, reset merchant beer, shuffle the draw deck, and draw new hands. Winning: After the Rail Era scoring, the player with the most VPs wins. Ties are broken by highest income, then by most money remaining. Tips for Winning Market Timing: Build coal mines or iron works when the markets are empty to collect money and flip your tiles faster for income. Network Strategy: Use the Rail Era double-link action (2 links for £15) to expand your network quickly, provided you have access to beer. Income Management: Use the Loan action to get a quick cash injection, but be mindful that it lowers your income level significantly. ## FAQ ### How many players can play Brass: Birmingham? The game is for 2 to 4 players. It plays well at all counts, but the dynamic shifts slightly depending on how many players are at the table. ### How long does a game take? A game of Brass: Birmingham typically takes between 60 and 120 minutes. More experienced players with fewer players might finish faster, while larger or learning groups might take longer. ### Is it very difficult to learn? Brass: Birmingham is considered a complex game (3.86/5 weight on BGG), but the addition of the 'Scout' action and other improvements over the original Brass make it a bit more accessible. Still, expect to dedicate some time to understanding all the nuances and strategies. ### What comes in the box? The box includes the main board, cards, industry tiles for each player, network markers (canals and rails), play money, and other components needed to simulate the Industrial Revolution in Birmingham. ### Who would you recommend this game for? We highly recommend it for anyone who loves economic games, network building, and a strong historical theme. If you enjoy long-term planning and making tough strategic decisions, you'll love it. ### Do I need to have played the original Brass to understand Birmingham? It's not required! Brass: Birmingham works perfectly as a standalone game. 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