Description
Designers |
Gavan Brown Matt Tolman Martin Wallace |
Publisher | Roxley |
Players | 2-4 |
Playtime | 60-120 mins |
Suggested Age | 14 and up |
Honors |
2019 Origins Awards Best Board Game Nominee 2019 International Gamers Award - General Strategy: Multi-player Nominee 2018 Golden Geek Board Game of the Year Nominee 2018 Golden Geek Best Strategy Board Game Winner 2018 Golden Geek Best Strategy Board Game Nominee 2018 Golden Geek Best Board Game Artwork & Presentation Nominee |
Accessory | Folded Space - Brass Lancashire & Birmingham |
Additional Info |
224517/brass-birmingham
http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/224517/brass-birmingham/forums/63
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Brass: Birmingham is an economic strategy game sequel to Martin Wallace' 2007 masterpiece, Brass. Birmingham tells the story of competing entrepreneurs in Birmingham during the industrial revolution, between the years of 1770-1870.
As in its predecessor, you must develop, build, and establish your industries and network, in and effort to exploit low or high market demands.
Each round, players take turns according to the turn order track, receiving two actions to perform any of the following actions (found in the original game):
1) Build - Pay required resources and place an industry tile.
2) Network - Add a rail / canal link, expanding your network.
3) Develop - Increase the VP value of an industry.
4) Sell - Sell your cotton, manufactured goods and pottery.
5) Loan - Take a £30 loan and reduce your income.
Brass: Birmingham also features a new sixth action:
6) Scout - Discard three cards and take a wild location and wild industry card. (This action replaces Double Action Build in original Brass.)
The game is played over two halves: the canal era (years 1770-1830) and the rail era (years 1830-1870). To win the game, score the most VPs. VPs are counted at the end of each half for the canals, rails and established (flipped) industry tiles.
Birmingham features dynamic scoring canals/rails. Instead of each flipped industry tile giving a static 1 VP to all connected canals and rails, many industries give 0 or even 2 VPs. This provides players with the opportunity to score much higher value canals in the first era, and creates interesting strategy with industry placement.
Iron, coal, and cotton are three industries which appear in both the original Brass as well as in Brass: Birmingham.
New "Sell" system
Brewing has become a fundamental part of the culture in Birmingham. You must now sell your product through traders located around the edges of the board. Each of these traders is looking for a specific type of good each game. To sell cotton, pottery, or manufactured goods to these traders, you must also "grease the wheels of industry" by consuming beer. For example, a level 1 cotton mill requires one beer to flip. As an incentive to sell early, the first player to sell to a trader receives free beer.
Birmingham features three all-new industry types:
Brewery - Produces precious beer barrels required to sell goods.
Manufactured goods - Function like cotton, but features eight levels. Each level of manufactured goods provides unique rewards, rather than just escalating in VPs, making it a more versatile (yet potentially more difficult) path vs cotton.
Pottery - These behemoths of Birmingham offer huge VPs, but at a huge cost and need to plan.
Increased Coal and Iron Market size - The price of coal and iron can now go up to $8 per cube, and it's not uncommon.
Brass: Birmingham is a finely brewed sequel to one of history's most industrial economic games. It offers a very different story arc and experience from its predecessor. Many of the tried and true strategies of the original are no longer as powerful as they once were, and other interesting new strategies are waiting for you to discover.
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Customer Reviews
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Frank C.
Verified Buyer
Oct 31, 2020
Oct 31, 2020
Beautiful, elegant, deep, fun game!
Gorgeous game with great game-play. The rules are actually pretty straight-forward once you learn what constitutes your network, and remember the need to be connected to markets f...view moreor coal-use & goods-selling.
The depth & complexity comes from the array of decisions available, and how player interaction can affect things. Sometimes you'll want other players to use up your coal, iron, or beer to help you flip a tile quicker, but sometimes you'll want it for yourself to place other tiles. Sometimes you'll hesitate to help other players by using their coal, iron, or beer, but decide that you'll receive a greater overall benefit if you do. So much fun to watch your network grow and see an interconnected web of opportunities arise. I've only played it as a 2-player, and it's excellent.
Both sides of the board are beautiful. Everything about the game looks great. Buying the extra Iron Clay poker chips isn't necessary to play, but adds even more visual & tactile elegance. Excellent game! view less
The depth & complexity comes from the array of decisions available, and how player interaction can affect things. Sometimes you'll want other players to use up your coal, iron, or beer to help you flip a tile quicker, but sometimes you'll want it for yourself to place other tiles. Sometimes you'll hesitate to help other players by using their coal, iron, or beer, but decide that you'll receive a greater overall benefit if you do. So much fun to watch your network grow and see an interconnected web of opportunities arise. I've only played it as a 2-player, and it's excellent.
Both sides of the board are beautiful. Everything about the game looks great. Buying the extra Iron Clay poker chips isn't necessary to play, but adds even more visual & tactile elegance. Excellent game! view less
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Zain A.
Verified Buyer
Sep 6, 2020
Sep 6, 2020
Amazing strategy game
One of the best strategy games I've played, every move you make is important, planning it out doesn't always come to fruition due to other players' own strategies. It's a really fu...view moren game, rules and mechanics are somewhat complicated but after everyone in the groups gets the gist of the game its very fun, view less
0
Sarah S.
Verified Buyer
Apr 14, 2020
Apr 14, 2020
Must-Have Strategy Game
This game is a must have for strategy lovers. Each decision you make is important and can have an impact on your game. I've learned that I need to develop more tiles during the can...view moreal era if I am going to have any chance at being successful in the rail era. Hoping to work on my strategy to maybe someday finally win a game. But even though I always come in last place, I still love this game. view less
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