Brass: Birmingham

An Industrial Revolution

Brass: Birmingham tells the story of competing entrepreneurs in the West Midlands during England’s Industrial Revolution, between the years 1770–1870. During the game, you will expand your empire by establishing canals and rails, and building and developing various industries, including Cotton Mills, Coal Mines, Iron Works, Manufacturers, Potteries, and Breweries.

Video tutorials: roxley.com/brass-tutorial. Latest rulebook: roxley.com/brass-birmingham-rulebook.

Components

• 1 × Board
• 4 × Player Mats
• 4 × Character tiles
• 56 × Link tiles (14 per colour)
• 180 × Industry tiles (45 per colour): 11 Manufacturers, 11 Cotton Mills, 7 Breweries, 5 Potteries, 4 Iron Works, 7 Coal Mines
• 8 × Wild cards (4 Wild Location, 4 Wild Industry)
• 64 × Location and Industry cards
• 4 × Player Aids
• 4 × VP Markers
• 4 × Income Markers
• 18 × Iron cubes
• 30 × Coal cubes
• 15 × Beer barrels
• 77 × Money tokens (Deluxe Edition: 78 Iron Clays)
• 9 × Merchant tiles

Note: There are 3 blank tiles on one of the punchboards. These are not used anywhere.

Board Setup

1. Place the board on either the day or night side.
2. For a player count of less than 4, remove all cards and Merchant tiles that show a player count greater than your number of players, and return them to the box. The 2-player, 3-player and 4-player counts are shown in the bottom right corner on the front of the cards Ⓐ and along the top of the Merchant tiles Ⓑ.
3. Separate the Wild Location Ⓒ and Wild Industry Ⓓ cards and place them face up on 2 of the Card Draw Areas.
4. Shuffle the remaining cards and place them face down on the remaining Card Draw Area Ⓔ; this is the Draw Deck.
5. Shuffle the remaining Merchant tiles, and place 1 (face up) on each of the Merchant spaces marked with the number of players in your game Ⓕ, located near the edges of the board. Result: In a 2-player game, no Merchant tiles are placed in Warrington Ⓖ and Nottingham Ⓗ. In a 3-player game, no Merchant tiles are placed in Nottingham Ⓗ.
6. Place 1 beer barrel on each beer barrel space beside a (non-blank) Merchant tile Ⓘ.
7. Place 1 black cube on each space of the Coal Market Ⓙ, leaving 1 of the £1 spaces open.
8. Place 1 orange cube on each space of the Iron Market Ⓚ, leaving both of the £1 spaces open.
9. Place the remaining cubes and beer barrels beside the board; this is the General Supply Ⓛ. Note: The General Supply is limitless. If you need more of a resource, represent it with something else.
10. Place the money beside the board; this is the Bank Ⓜ.

Location Banners

In addition to helping players find locations on the board, the colours of the location banners also indicate which Location cards are in the Draw Deck. This varies with the player count:

• 2 players: blue Ⓝ and teal Ⓞ coloured Location cards are not in the Draw Deck.
• 3 players: teal Ⓞ coloured Location cards are not in the Draw Deck.
• 4 players: all Location cards are in the Draw Deck.

Player Area Setup

1. Take a Player Mat.
2. Take £17 from the Bank Ⓟ.
3. Choose a coloured Character tile.
4. Place the matching coloured Link tiles in your player area Ⓠ.
5. Stack the matching coloured Industry tiles (which consist of Cotton Mills Ⓡ, Coal Mines Ⓢ, Iron Works Ⓣ, Manufacturers Ⓤ, Potteries Ⓥ, and Breweries Ⓦ) on their appropriate slots on your Player Mat. The side of the tiles with the black top half should be face down.
6. Place your Victory Point (VP) Marker on the “0” space of the Progress Track Ⓧ.
7. Place your Income Marker on the “10” space of the Progress Track Ⓨ.
8. Draw 8 cards from the Draw Deck; this is your Hand. Do not reveal your Hand to other players.
9. Draw 1 additional card from the Draw Deck and place it face down in your player area; this is your Discard Pile.

After all players have set up their player area, shuffle all players’ Character tiles together and place them in a random order on the Turn Order Track Ⓩ.

Playing the Game

The Goal

The game is played over 2 eras: the Canal Era (1770–1830) and the Rail Era (1830–1870). The winner is the player who has the most Victory Points (VPs) following the end of the Rail Era. VPs are scored at the end of each era for your Link tiles and flipped Industry tiles.

Rounds

Each era is played in rounds, which continue until both the Draw Deck and players’ Hands are exhausted. There are exactly 8 / 9 / 10 rounds per era in a 4 / 3 / 2-player game. During each round, players take turns in the order of their Character tiles on the Turn Order Track.

Player Turns

On your turn, perform a total of 2 actions.

Exception: During the first round of the Canal Era, each player performs only 1 action.

• For each action you perform, you must discard a card from your Hand and place it face up on top of your Discard Pile. Exception: Wild cards are placed back onto their Card Draw Areas.
• After all of your actions have been completed, refill your Hand back up to 8 cards with cards from the Draw Deck.
• Place all money spent during your turn on top of your Character tile on the Turn Order Track.
• Once the Draw Deck has been exhausted, your Hand will decrease each round until you have no cards left.

Actions List

For each action, you may choose to perform one of the following (you may perform the same action twice):

1. Build – Place one of your Industry tiles onto the board, paying the appropriate cost and consuming any required coal / iron. Note: Only Build requires a specific card.
2. Network – Expand your canal or rail network by adding Link tiles to the board.
3. Develop – Gain access to higher-level industries by removing Industry tiles from your Player Mat.
4. Sell – Flip your built Cotton Mill, Manufacturer, and/or Pottery tiles, by selling to a Merchant, and consuming beer if necessary.
5. Loan – Take a £30 loan from the Bank, and move your Income Marker 3 income levels (not spaces) backwards.
6. Scout – Discard 2 cards from your Hand (plus the card required to perform the action) and replace them with 1 Wild Industry and 1 Wild Location card. Exception: You may not perform this action if you already have a Wild card in your Hand.

Passing

You may choose to pass instead of performing an action, but must still discard a card for each action you pass.

Spending Money

Any time you spend money to perform an action, you must place it on top of your Character tile Ⓐ on the Turn Order Track. Placing spent money here, rather than in the Bank, will allow you to determine the players’ turn order for the next round.

End of Round

After all players have taken their turn, perform the following steps before moving on to the next round.

1. Determine Turn Order for the Next Round

Rearrange the Character tiles on the Turn Order Track.

• The player who spent the least money this round will go first next round Ⓑ, and so on, while the player who spent the most will go last Ⓒ.
• If multiple players have spent an equal amount, their relative turn order remains the same Ⓒ.
• Afterwards, take all money from the Character tiles, and place it back into the Bank Ⓓ. This resets the money spent, ready for the next round.

2. Take Income

Take money from the Bank equal to your income level.

Exception: Income is not collected at the end of the final round of the game.

• Your income level is the number displayed on the coin beside your Income Marker’s current location on the Progress Track Ⓔ.
• If your income level is negative Ⓕ, you must pay that amount of money to the Bank.
• If you have a shortfall when paying negative income, you must acquire money by removing one or more of your Industry tiles (not Link tiles) from the board; each being worth half of its cost, rounded down. The removed tile is removed from the game. You keep any excess money.
• If you have no way to pay a shortfall, lose 1 VP (if possible) for each £1 you are short.

Note: You may remove any of your Industry tiles, but must stop as soon as you have acquired enough money to cover the shortfall. You may not sell Industry tiles for any reason other than paying for a shortfall.

End of Era Maintenance

End of Canal & Rail Era

Each era ends following the round in which all players use the final cards in their Hands. When this occurs, perform the following steps:

1. Score Canal/Rail Links. For each of your Link tiles Ⓖ, score 1 VP for each link icon displayed in adjacent locations, by advancing your VP Marker along the Progress Track Ⓗ. Remove Link tiles from the board as they are scored.
2. Score Flipped Industry Tiles. After all players have removed their Link tiles, score the VPs shown in the bottom left corner of your flipped Industry tiles (those with a black top half) on the board, by advancing your VP Marker along the Progress Track Ⓗ. Unflipped Industry tiles Ⓘ do not score.

Note: If you score more than 100 VPs, record the additional points by starting another loop of the Progress Track.

End of Canal Era

Perform the following additional steps at the end of the Canal Era:

3. Remove Obsolete Industries. Remove all level 1 Industry tiles from the board Ⓙ (not from Player Mats), and return them to the box. All level 2 or greater Industry tiles remain on the board Ⓚ.
4. Reset Merchant Beer. Place 1 beer barrel Ⓛ on each empty beer barrel space beside a (non-blank) Merchant tile Ⓜ.
5. Shuffle Draw Deck. Shuffle all players’ Discard Piles together and place the cards face down on the appropriate Card Draw Area Ⓝ. Remember: The bottom card of each Discard Pile will be face down, and needs turning over before shuffling. (Don’t start the Rail Era with a card face down in your discard.)
6. Draw New Hands. Each player draws 8 cards from the newly shuffled Draw Deck.

Winning the Game

After performing Rail Era scoring:

• The player with the most VPs is declared the winner.
• Ties are broken, first by the highest income, and then by the most money remaining.
• If still tied, those players draw.

Gameplay Concepts

Flipping Industry Tiles

At the end of each era, flipped Industry tiles score VPs. When flipped, they have a black top half and a VP icon in the bottom left corner.

Different Industry tiles are flipped in different ways:

• Cotton Mills, Manufacturers, and Potteries: Flip when you perform a Sell action.
• Coal Mines, Iron Works, and Breweries: Flip when the last resource is removed from the tile. This often happens during an opponent’s turn.

Increasing Your Income

Whenever one of your Industry tiles is flipped your income is increased. To increase your income, immediately advance your Income Marker along the Progress Track Ⓐ by the number of spaces (not income levels) shown.

Exception: You cannot increase your income level above level 30.

Your Network

A location on the board is considered to be a part of your network if at least one of the following is true:

• The location contains one or more of your Industry tiles Ⓑ;
• The location is adjacent to one or more of your Link tiles Ⓒ.

Connected Locations

Two locations are considered “connected” to each other if you can trace a route of Link tiles (owned by any player) from one location Ⓓ to the other Ⓔ.

Consuming Coal

Coal is required to build rail Links and certain Industry tiles. To consume coal, a rail Link or Industry tile must be connected to a source of coal (after it is placed).

Coal must be consumed from:

1. The closest (fewest Link tiles distant) connected unflipped Coal Mine Ⓕ (owned by any player). If multiple Coal Mines are equally close, choose one. If a Coal Mine runs out of coal, and you need more, choose the next closest Coal Mine. Consuming coal in this way is free.
2. If you are not connected to an unflipped Coal Mine, you can purchase coal from the Coal Market Ⓖ, starting at the cheapest price. This requires a connection to a Merchant connection icon (shown on the Warrington, Shrewsbury, Nottingham, Gloucester, and Oxford Merchants around the edge of the board). If the Coal Market is empty, you can still purchase coal for £8 per cube.

Consumed coal cubes are placed back into the General Supply.

Historical Note: Coal was required in large quantities, so a robust transportation network was critical.

Consuming Iron

Iron is required to perform the Develop action, and to build certain Industry tiles. To consume iron, an Industry tile does not need a connection to a source of iron.

Iron must be consumed from:

1. Any unflipped Iron Works Ⓗ (owned by any player); it does not have to be the closest. If you need more than 1 iron, you can consume each iron from a different Iron Works. Consuming iron in this way is free.
2. If there are no unflipped Iron Works, you can purchase iron from the Iron Market Ⓘ, starting at the cheapest price. If the Iron Market is empty, you can still purchase iron for £6 per cube.

Consumed iron cubes are placed back into the General Supply.

Historical Note: These industries generally required iron in low volumes, so it could also be transported via horse and wagon.

Consuming Beer

You may be required to consume beer when selling cotton, manufactured goods, or pottery; or when performing the Network action during the Rail Era. The amount required, if any, will be shown in the top right corner of the Industry tile.

Beer may be consumed from any of the following sources:

1. Your unflipped Breweries Ⓙ. These do not need to be connected to the location where the beer is required.
2. An opponent’s unflipped Brewery Ⓚ. These must be connected to the location where the beer is required.
3. The space beside a Merchant tile that you are selling to (see Sell Action).

When multiple beer barrels are required, each beer may be consumed from a different source. Consumed beer barrels are placed back into the General Supply.

Historical Note: Unpolluted drinking water was in short supply in expanding settlements, so beer was often the purest and safest drink available.

Build Action

Performing the Build action allows you to place Industry tiles onto a location on the board.

To perform the Build action:

1. Discard an appropriate card. Unlike other actions, which allow you to use any card from your Hand, the Build action requires an appropriate card be discarded face up onto your Discard Pile. Exception: Wild cards are placed back onto their Card Draw Area.

   • Location card: May be used to build any Industry tile at the location named on the card, even if the location is not a part of your network.
   • Wild Location card: May be played as any Location card. This does not include the 2 Farm Breweries (see Farm Breweries).
   • Industry card: May be used to build the Industry tile matching an icon shown in the top corner of the card, in a location that is a part of your network.
   • Wild Industry card: May be played as any Industry card.

   Note: In 2/3-player games you may still build in any location.

2. Take the lowest level tile Ⓛ of the chosen industry from your Player Mat and place it (the side with the black top half face down) on an undeveloped space in your chosen build location, obeying the following rules:

   • If possible, place it on a space displaying only that industry’s icon Ⓜ.
   • Otherwise, place it on a space displaying that industry’s icon with another industry’s icon Ⓝ.
   • If no undeveloped spaces display your industry’s icon, you may not place it in that location. Exception: see Overbuilding.

3. Pay. The cost of the Industry tile you are building is displayed, to the left of its slot, on your Player Mat Ⓞ. Pay money onto your Character tile on the Turn Order Track, and consume any required iron and coal Ⓞ. Remember: If coal is required, the location you are building in must be connected to a source of coal (see Consuming Coal and Connected Locations).

4. If you built a:

   • Coal Mine or Iron Works: Place coal or iron (from the General Supply) onto the Industry tile, equal to the quantity shown in the bottom right corner of the tile.
   • Brewery: Place 1 beer barrel on the Industry tile if it is built during the Canal Era, or 2 beer barrels if it is built during the Rail Era.

Moving Coal and Iron to the Market

If you build either a:

• Coal Mine that is connected to any Merchant space (even those without Merchant tiles); or
• Iron Works, regardless of whether or not it is connected to a Merchant space:

1. You must immediately move as many cubes as possible from the Industry tile to available spaces in its associated Market (filling the most expensive spaces first).
2. For each cube moved, collect the corresponding amount of money displayed on the coin to the left side of its Market space Ⓟ.
3. If the last cube is moved from your Industry tile to its Market, flip the Industry tile Ⓠ and advance your Income Marker along the Progress Track by the number of spaces shown in the bottom right corner of the tile.

Note: Coal and iron cubes may only be sold to their Markets during the action when their Industry tile is built. They are never sold to their Markets in later turns.

Building If You Have No Tiles on the Board

If you have no Industry or Link tiles on the board, you may also (as an action) discard:

• An Industry card to build the matching Industry tile in any location with an undeveloped space displaying that industry’s icon;
• Any card to build a Link tile on any undeveloped line on the board.

Farm Breweries

There are 2 unnamed locations, each with 1 space displaying a Brewery icon; these are Farm Breweries.

• You may only build in these locations using a Brewery Industry card or a Wild Industry card.
• A Link tile is required to connect Cannock to the Farm Brewery to its left.
• A Link tile placed between Kidderminster and Worcester also connects both locations to the Farm Brewery to their left. A second Link tile is not required; nor may it be placed there.

Canal Era Building

• You may have a maximum of 1 Industry tile per location, but may have an Industry tile in the same location as other players.
• Industry tiles with a Canal Era restriction icon (black half-circle) to the left of their slot on your Player Mat may not be built.

Rail Era Building

• You may build multiple Industry tiles in each location.
• Industry tiles with a Rail Era restriction icon (blue half-circle) to the left of their slot on your Player Mat may not be built. To remove these tiles (and access the higher-level tiles) you must perform the Develop action.

Overbuilding

Sometimes you are allowed to replace an already placed Industry tile with a higher-level tile of the same industry type (you must still pay the necessary build costs). This is known as Overbuilding. When Overbuilding:

If the tile you are replacing is your own Ⓐ:

• You may Overbuild any Industry tile.
• If there are any iron / coal / beer on the tile being replaced, place them back into the General Supply.

If the tile you are replacing is owned by an opponent Ⓑ:

• You may Overbuild only a Coal Mine or an Iron Works.
• There must be no resource cubes on the entire board, including in its Market, of the same type as the Industry tile being replaced.

Remove overbuilt Industry tiles from the game, and return them to the box (they will not score VPs). Players do not lose previously gained income or VPs if their Industry tiles are overbuilt.

Network Action

Performing the Network action allows you to place Link tiles, which expand your network and gain you access to new locations.

To perform the Network action:

1. Discard any card from your Hand, and place it face up onto your Discard Pile. Exception: Wild cards are placed back onto their Card Draw Area.
2. Place a Link tile on an undeveloped line on the board Ⓗ. The placed Link tile must be adjacent to a location that is a part of your network (see Your Network). Exception: If you have no Industry or Link tiles on the board, you may place a Link tile on any undeveloped line (you must still consume coal if building a rail Link).

Network During Canal Era

• You may not build rail Links.
• You may build canal Links on undeveloped canal lines Ⓘ.
• You may build a maximum of 1 canal Link for £3.

Network During Rail Era

• You may not build canal Links.
• You may build rail Links on undeveloped railroad lines Ⓙ.
• You may build 1 rail Link for £5.
• In a single Network action, you may build a maximum of 2 rail Links for £15, if you also consume 1 beer. This beer must be consumed from a Brewery (not a Merchant beer). Remember: If consuming beer from another player’s Brewery, it must be connected to the second rail Link (after it is placed).
• You must consume 1 coal for each rail Link built (see Consuming Coal). Remember: Each rail Link is placed separately and must be connected to a source of coal (after it is placed).

Develop Action

Performing the Develop action allows you to remove Industry tiles from your Player Mat. This allows you to gain access to higher-level Industry tiles without having to build all of the lower-level tiles of that industry.

To perform the Develop action:

1. Discard any card from your Hand, and place it face up onto your Discard Pile. Exception: Wild cards are placed back onto their Card Draw Area.
2. Remove 1 or 2 Industry tiles from your Player Mat, and return them to the box. Each Industry tile is removed separately and does not need to be of the same industry, but must be the lowest level tile of the chosen industry (as it is removed) Ⓖ.
3. Consume 1 iron for each tile removed (see Consuming Iron).

Potteries and the Lightbulb Icon

Pottery tiles that show a lightbulb icon may not be developed. These tiles may only be removed from your Player Mat through use of the Build action. They must be removed before you can access the higher-level Pottery tiles.

Sell Action

Performing the Sell action allows you to flip built Cotton Mill, Manufacturer, and Pottery tiles. Selling requires:

• Connection to a Merchant tile.
• Beer (usually).

To perform the Sell action:

1. Discard any card from your Hand and place it face up onto your Discard Pile. Exception: Wild cards are placed back onto their Card Draw Area.
2. Choose 1 of your unflipped Cotton Mill, Manufacturer Ⓒ, or Pottery tiles, that is connected to a Merchant tile featuring that industry’s icon Ⓓ.
3. Consume the required amount of beer, shown in the top right corner of the Industry tile. If there is a beer barrel Ⓔ on the space beside the Merchant tile you are selling to, you may consume this beer as part of the Sell action, and collect the Merchant beer bonus (see Merchant Beer Bonuses).
4. Flip the Industry tile and advance your Income Marker along the Progress Track by the number of spaces shown in the bottom right corner of the tile.
5. You may go back to step 2 and repeat the process for each of your unflipped Industry tiles (including those of a different industry).

Note: You cannot perform the Sell action if you cannot consume the required beer (see Consuming Beer).

Merchant Beer Bonuses

Merchant beer may only be consumed as part of a Sell action. If you consume a Merchant beer, you also receive the bonus displayed beside that Merchant tile’s location:

• Develop (Gloucester): Remove 1 of the lowest level tiles of any industry from your Player Mat (for no iron cost). Exception: You cannot remove a Pottery tile showing a lightbulb icon (see Potteries and the Lightbulb Icon).
• Income (Oxford): Advance your Income Marker 2 spaces along the Progress Track.
• Victory Points (Nottingham and Shrewsbury): Advance your VP Marker along the Progress Track by the number of spaces indicated.
• Money (Warrington): Receive £5 from the Bank.

Loan Action

Performing the Loan action allows you to acquire more money. Loans are never repaid, but instead lower your income level.

To perform the Loan action:

1. Discard any card from your Hand, and place it face up onto your Discard Pile. Exception: Wild cards are placed back onto their Card Draw Area.
2. Take £30 from the Bank, and move your Income Marker 3 income levels (not spaces) backwards down the Progress Track Ⓕ. Place your Income Marker on the highest space within the new lower income level. Exception: You cannot take a loan if it will take your income level below −10.

Scout Action

Performing the Scout action allows you to acquire Wild cards, which provide increased flexibility in where you may build. The Wild Industry card can be played as any Industry card. The Wild Location card can be played as any Location card. When discarded, a Wild card is placed back onto its Card Draw Area, not onto your Discard Pile.

To perform the Scout action:

1. Discard any card from your Hand, plus 2 additional cards and place them face up onto your Discard Pile.
2. Take 1 Wild Location and 1 Wild Industry card. Note: You may not perform this action if you already have a Wild card in your Hand.

Things to Remember

• Discard 1 card for every single action you perform, including passing.
• Only Build actions need a specific card.
• You can perform the same action twice in a turn. For instance, you may place 1 or 2 rail Links with the Network action, then use the Network action again to place 1 or 2 rail Links.
• During the Canal Era, each player may place a maximum of 1 of their Industry tiles in each location.
• You may Overbuild any of your Industry tiles without restriction.
• You may also Overbuild opponents’ Coal Mines / Iron Works, but only when there are no coal / iron cubes left on any Industry tiles or in the Market.
• You must be connected to a Merchant connection icon to sell cotton, manufactured goods, or pottery; and to consume coal (but not iron) from the Market.
• You do not need to be connected to consume your own Breweries’ beer, but must be connected to other players’ Breweries, or to Merchant beer (only available when selling).
• A location must be a part of your network for you to build there (unless you use that specific Location card or a Wild Location card).
• Unlike the other level 1 Industry tiles, the level 1 Pottery tile may be built during the Rail Era.

Beginner Tips

• Do not be afraid of taking loans. Your income level at the end of the game is not worth VPs. It is not uncommon for experienced players to win the game despite having a low income level.
• Level 2 or greater Industry tiles are not removed at the end of the Canal Era, so could score twice if built early. A flipped level 3 Cotton Mill would score a whopping 18 VPs over both eras. The Develop action is your friend.
• Be careful when developing Breweries. Remember that beer is required to perform the Sell action, so having no access to beer that belongs to you can be devastating to your long-term strategy.
• Tiles with a Rail Era restriction icon to the left of their slot on your Player Mat cannot be built during the Rail Era. Try to build or develop at least 1 Coal Mine and 1 Iron Works during the Canal Era, so that you do not have to use a Develop action during the Rail Era to clear these industries from your Player Mat.
• Figuring out how best to expand your network at the beginning of the Rail Era can be difficult for beginners. Expand your network by building rail Links to sources of coal. If you don’t have access to any coal, build a Coal Mine.

Understanding Your Networks

This diagram will help you better understand the concept of “your network” and the rules behind the Network action.

• The red tiles denote your Link and Industry tiles.
• The blue shades denote your network; your network is any location that includes any of your Industry tiles and any locations adjacent to one of your Links. As you have a Link from Birmingham to Redditch, Redditch is part of your network, even though you don’t own an Industry tile there.
• The yellow shades denote valid Link placement as they are all rails adjacent to your network.
• If you performed the Network action to build rail Link Ⓐ, it would be possible to build a second rail Link Ⓑ in the same Network action (as long as you could pay the required cost, and consume the necessary coal and beer).

Note: You can expand over the board quickly by networking (placing Links) and avoiding placing Industry tiles.

Introductory Game

Since Brass is such a deep game, some players may prefer to play a shorter introductory game for their first experience. The introductory game plays exactly like the full game, except you only play the Canal Era and there are additional scoring rules to make players’ scores more closely reflect their success in the Canal Era.

To play the introductory game, first play the entire Canal Era as normal, including the end of Canal Era scoring. Players then score additional points as follows:

1. Money: Score 1 VP for every £4 in your player area (up to a maximum of 15 VPs).
2. Income level: Score VPs equal to your income level. If your income level is negative, you lose VPs.
3. Industry tiles: Score the points a second time for all your level 2 or greater Industry tiles.