How to Play Brass: Birmingham
Brass: Birmingham is an economic network-building board game set in England’s Industrial Revolution. You develop industries, connect cities, and use shared resources while competing for points and income. This guide gives a practical starting explanation; for more tabletop guides, visit Playmore.
Quick facts
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Edition covered | Brass: Birmingham retail edition by Roxley Games |
| Players | 2–4 |
| Structure | Canal Era followed by Rail Era |
| Core industries | Coal, iron, beer, cotton, manufactured goods, and pottery |
Objective
Earn the most victory points by building and flipping valuable industry tiles, creating canal and rail links, and taking advantage of merchant bonuses. Income is not victory points, but it determines how much money you can spend each round. The game is competitive rather than cooperative: other players may use your resources and benefit from the network you help create.
Setup
Place the Birmingham board, merchant tiles, resource markets, industry supplies, link tiles, money, and era markers as shown in the retail rulebook. Each player takes a color, player mat, industry tiles, links, income marker, victory-point marker, and starting hand of cards. The board has a dynamic setup, so merchant locations and available starting information can differ between games. Use the player-count setup printed for your edition. Brass: Birmingham is a standalone sequel to Brass: Lancashire, not a campaign or legacy game; do not combine their boards, cards, or industry tiles.
Core turn and round flow
- Determine turn order. At the start of a round, players act from lowest to highest money spent in the previous round. Ties retain their earlier relative order. This variable order is central: spending less can let you act earlier next round.
- Take two actions. On your turn, perform two actions, choosing the same action twice if legal. The main actions are Build, Network, Develop, Sell, Loan, and Scout. Discard one card after each action, then refill your hand at the end of your turn.
- Build industries. Play a matching location or industry card, or use a wild card, then pay the tile’s money and resource costs. Your network can also give access to connected locations. Coal generally must be connected to its source or market; iron can be taken from an eligible iron works or bought from the market.
- Develop and sell. Develop removes lower-level tiles from your mat and can unlock stronger industries. Sell cotton, manufactured goods, or pottery to a matching merchant. Selling usually requires beer and may require coal; when the tile’s conditions are met, flip it and adjust income as shown.
- Build links. Network places a canal in the Canal Era or rail in the Rail Era. Rail links require coal, and building two rails in one action requires beer as well. Links connect locations and later score based on the industries they touch.
- Finish the round and era. After everyone takes two actions, pass the first-player marker and begin the next round. At the end of the Canal Era, score links, flip eligible industries, remove canals, and prepare the Rail Era. The Rail Era uses the same broad action system with rail-specific costs and scoring.
How the game ends and is scored
The game ends after Rail Era maintenance. At the end of each era, score your links according to the values of connected locations and score flipped industries. During final maintenance, apply the relevant merchant bonuses and any printed end-game scoring. Add victory points from the track and industry tiles. The player with the most victory points wins; if tied, the player with more money wins, with a shared result if the tie remains.
Beginner tips
- Plan around beer early: it fuels sales and powerful double-rail turns.
- Use other players’ networks and resource industries when the rules allow it; cooperation in the supply chain can still produce a personal advantage.
- Develop deliberately. Removing weak tiles can make room for higher-level industries before the Rail Era.
- Do not spend every pound automatically. Cash spent affects next round’s turn order, and loans reduce income.
- Remember that links can score from industries owned by any player, so placement matters even when you are not building immediately.
FAQs
Is Brass: Birmingham the same game as Brass: Lancashire?
No. Birmingham is a standalone sequel with its own board, industries, merchants, and rules emphasis. It is not a campaign, legacy, or faction-based edition.
Can I use another player’s coal, iron, or beer?
Often, yes, but the access conditions differ by resource. Connected coal and beer sources matter, while iron has broader access rules. Check the resource icons and source restrictions before paying.
What should I teach first?
Explain the two-action turn, variable turn order, the difference between income and victory points, and how networks provide both access and scoring. Then demonstrate one Build, one Sell, and one Network action.