Top 1 · #1 of 40 in Strategy
Brass: Birmingham
A heavyweight economic strategy game set around Birmingham during the Industrial Revolution, where you build industries, link them by canal and rail, and trade resources to expand your reach. Play runs through two eras, and the heart of the game is flipping your industry tiles to score. Fans of heavy euros routinely name it the best of the genre.
Rules
1. Setup
Lay out the main board and sort the Cotton Mill, Iron Works, Coal Mine, Pottery, Manufactured Goods and Brewery tiles onto each player mat according to the player count. Each player takes their starting money and a hand of eight cards.
2. Turn flow
The game runs through two eras, the Canal Era and the Rail Era. On your turn you discard one card per action and take two actions: Build, Network, Develop, Sell, Loan, or Scout.
3. Key rules
A tile only flips — which is what raises your income and scores points — when its conditions are met exactly: a Coal Mine must be connected to the network, an Iron Works works whether connected or not, and beer must come from your own or another player's network.
4. End condition
The Rail Era ends once the deck is exhausted and hands run out. Add up link points, points from flipped industry tiles, and the money left after loans are repaid; the highest total wins.
Rule summaries are reference content written by us, not quotations from the official rulebook. Always check the official rulebook for exact rules.
💡 Master tip
Beer is the key to both expanding in the Rail Era and selling your higher-tier industries. Securing a Brewery of your own ahead of time, or making tight use of an opponent's beer, is what decides the game.
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Tools you can request
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Income and loan interest tracker
Moves you down the income track when you take a loan and settles income automatically each round
Era scoring sheet
Totals link points and industry tile points by category at the end of the Canal and Rail Eras
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