

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. VPs are counted at the end of each half for the canals, rails and established (flipped) industry tiles.īirmingham features dynamic scoring canals/rails. The game is played over two halves: the canal era (years 1770-1830) and the rail era (years 1830-1870). (This action replaces Double Action Build in original Brass.) Birmingham tells the story of competing entrepreneurs in Birmingham during the industrial revolution, between the years of 1770-1870.Īs in its predecessor, you must develop, build, and establish your industries and network, in an effort to exploit low or high market demands.Įach 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):ġ) Build - Pay required resources and place an industry tile.Ģ) Network - Add a rail / canal link, expanding your network.ģ) Develop - Increase the VP value of an industry.Ĥ) Sell - Sell your cotton, manufactured goods and pottery.ĥ) Loan - Take a £30 loan and reduce your income.īrass: Birmingham also features a new sixth action:Ħ) Scout - Discard three cards and take a wild location and wild industry card. not for any practical difference just because it make the board look pretty on both sides! 5*****īrass: Birmingham is an economic strategy game sequel to Martin Wallace' 2007 masterpiece, Brass. To top everything off the art is beautiful there is a day and night side of the board. I enjoy the mechanism of piling money earned in a round on my character token and using that determine turn order, being where you want to be on that turn track every round is a crucial part of the game. The card system seems rather elegant to me, as you watch the deck get lower and lower and game end approaches, everything comes out even cardwise. It's a very satisfying game, flipping tiles to receive the rewards of your plans, and moving the markers along the two trackers. I find the game completely absorbing and the fastest couple of hours you'll ever spend at the game table. But your strategy may need to be flexible to adapt to what others are doing around you. Aside from the cards you are dealt there is no luck. You will never have enough time to do everything you want.
WHERE TO BUY BRASS BIRMINGHAM PRO
Every turn is vital and you have to weigh up the pro and cons of the actions available to you in that turn. I also have Ticket to Ride and at a superficial level (laying track to make your route its similar but there is so much more to Brass: Birmingham.

I defy you not to manipulate these chips in your hand as you unravel the complex web of connections and industries you and your friends are building in your quest for economic dominance.Ī stunning game which should probably have a place in every gamer’s collection.I consider it one of the best games in my collection. It helps that this is one of the most beautiful games I’ve ever seen, with such indulgent touches as day-time and night-time boards (which one you use is purely an aesthetic choice) and, in the Deluxe Edition, some lovely solid, chunky, heavy poker chips as money.

And Brass: Birmingham is one of those games that manages to not only impress with its clever systems, but also make you feel like you’re in the thick of its theme: in this case the grimy, smelly, smoky world of the industrial revolution 1770-1870, surrounded by your very own dark satanic mills. The more ‘Euro’ style of game doesn’t usually get a huge amount of attention on the EOG, but I do enjoy a finely crafted game of any stripe, as long as it’s clever and immersive. The story of competing entrepreneurs in Birmingham during the industrial revolution.
