Brass Birmingham - Rulebook
Brass Birmingham - Rulebook
Brass Birmingham - Rulebook
CREDITS
Game Design: Martin Wallace
Game Development: Gavan Brown & Matt Tolman
Illustration & Graphic Design: David Forest & Lina 4 × Player Mats
Cossette, Damien Mammoliti, Gavan Brown
Expert Player Advisor: Edward Chen
Rulebook Writing & Editing: Simon Rourke, Gavan 67 × Money tokens
Brown, Matt Tolman, Michael Van Biesbrouck, Orin 4 × Income Markers 18 × Iron cubes (Or Deluxe Edition: 70 Iron Clays)
Bishop, Ricky Patel, Daniel Danzer
Rulebook Feedback & Criticism: Adam Allett, Dan
Le, Dave Thomas, David Goldfarb, David Werner,
Gimo Barrera, Graeme Edgeler, Jeff Lee, Jered Biard,
John Merlino, Jørgen Grøndal, Mark Nichols, Mikolaj
Sobocinski, Sam Lambert 4 × Character tiles
Historical Advisor: Judith Bennett
Rulebook Lead Translators: Alexandre Limoges 7 Coal Mines
11 Manufacturers 11 Cotton Mills 7 Breweries 5 Potteries 4 Iron Works
(French), Ketty Galleguillos (Spanish), Daniel Danzer
(German), Andrea Mondani & Guido Marzucchi
(Italian)
Rulebook Translation Feedback & Criticism:
Raphaël Biolluz, Marielle Dessel, Andréa Trépanier,
Marco Ghitti, Marco Paccagnella, Raffaele Mesiti,
Nicolas De les Essarts, Christophe Fergeau, Xabier
Pérez, and Daniel Gómez 56 × Link tiles (14 per colour) 180 × Industry tiles (45 per colour) 9 × Merchant Tiles
Isambard Kingdom Brunel George Stephenson Sir Henry Bessemer Eleanor Coade
(9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) (19 January 1813 – 15 March 1898) (3 June 1733 – 16 November 1821)
At the age of 15, Brunel’s father Marc was After the death of his wife and daughter, Like Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s father, Bringing her up a devout Baptist, Coade’s
sent to a debtors’ prison, but his debts the 25-year-old Stephenson, having no Bessemer’s father Anthony was forced to parents were both successful merchants.
were paid by the British government formal education, left for Scotland to find flee France during the French Revolution. Her grandmother Sarah Enchmarch had
when he made it known that the Tsar had work but returned to West Moor when his Anthony had become a member of run the family textile business in Tiverton
the Académie des sciences at 26 for his
offered him a position as an engineer in father was blinded in a mining accident. improvements on the optical microscope, with 200 employees, using spies to acquire
Russia. Brunel studied in France under When he offered to improve the mine’s and made his fortune in Britain with a new manufacturing techniques, and was
the clockmaker Abraham Louis Breguet. deficient pumping engine, Stephenson process for making gold chains. Bessemer’s known for travelling around town in a
Upon returning to England he became was made enginewright and became first innovation mirrored his father’s sedan chair. After Coade’s family moved
an assistant on Marc’s project to create a an expert in steam-engine technology. affinity for gold. After carefully analyzing to London, she ran her own linen draper
tunnel under the Thames, but a nearly- His Northumberland accent made him bronze powder from Nuremberg, used in business at age 30. Six years later she
fatal flooding incident put the 22-year-old unpopular with the scientific community, the manufacture of gold paint, he reverse purchased an artificial stone business from
out of commission for several months. and when he presented his design for a engineered the process and created a series the struggling Daniel Pincot, but fired him
This didn’t stop Brunel from becoming safer mining lamp that would not cause of six steam-powered machines that could within two years for “representing himself
one of the most prolific engineers in explosions, the Royal Society accused manufacture the powder. He later developed as the chief proprietor.” Her ceramic
history, creating tunnels, bridges, railways, a him of stealing the concept from parallel- a cheap system of creating steel by blowing stoneware called “Coade’s Lithodipyra”
portable hospital, and a vacuum-powered inventor Humphry Davy. But Stephenson’s air through molten pig iron to burn off went on to be used in over 700 sculptures
impurities. The goal was initially to reduce
‘atmospheric railway’, though unfortunately big claim to fame was his contribution to the cost of military ordnance, but this across the globe, many of them overseen
for the latter the leather flaps sealing the rail transport, and the invigoration of the technique of affordable steel revolutionized by the sculptor John Bacon, though she
vacuum pipes were eaten by rats. His ‘Great rail industry. At age 40 he began work on structural engineering and made bridges worked with a number of high-profile
Western’ was the first steamship to conduct the first public railway, and his locomotive and railroad tracks, previously reliant designers and architects as it allowed her to
transatlantic service, and his ‘Great Eastern’ known as ‘Stephenson’s Rocket’ won a on wrought and cast iron, much safer. produce multiple copies of their designs.
was the largest ship ever built up to that competition by achieving the record speed Bessemer pioneered over 100 inventions The South Bank Lion may be Coade’s
time, but Brunel died of a stroke at 53 just of 36 miles per hour, which led some to in the fields of metalworking and glass, most iconic piece, but her product was
before her maiden voyage. Brunel is known fear that such speeds would cause women’s including a steamship cabin on gimbals also used for the Gothic screen of St
today as an engineering giant. uteruses to literally fly out of their bodies. intended to stay level to prevent seasickness George’s Chapel, and in the restoration of
Thankfully this did not occur. which was sadly lost at sea, and he gained Buckingham Palace.
considerable commercial success leveraging
his innovations.
2 3
BOARD SETUP 6 Place 1 beer barrel on each beer
barrel space beside a (non-blank)
PLAYER AREA SETUP 6 Place your Victory Point (VP)
Marker on the “0” space of the
Merchant tile I . Progress Track X .
G 1 Take a Player Mat.
Place the board on either the day or 7 Place 1 black cube on each space of 7 Place your Income Marker on the
1 the Coal Market J , leaving 1 of 2 Take £17 from the Bank P . “10” space of the Progress Track
night side.
the £1 spaces open. Y .
2 For a player count of less than 4, 3 Choose a coloured Character tile.
remove all cards and Merchant tiles 8 Place 1 orange cube on each space 8 Draw 8 cards from the Draw Deck;
that show a player count greater than of the Iron Market K , leaving both this is your Hand. Do not reveal
of the £1 spaces open. H 4 Place the matching coloured Link your Hand to other players.
your number of players, and return tiles in your player area Q .
them to the box. Place the remaining cubes and beer Draw 1 additional card from the
9 Stack the matching coloured 9
The 2-player ( ), 3-player ( ), barrels beside the board; this is the D I 5 Draw Deck and place it face down
General Supply L . Industry tiles (which consist of in your player area; this is your
and 4-player ( ) counts are E Cotton Mills R , Coal Mines S ,
shown in the bottom right corner on Discard Pile.
10 Place the money beside the board; Iron Works T , Manufacturers U
the front of the cards A and along this is the Bank M . , Potteries V , and Breweries W ) After all players have set up their player
the top of the merchant tiles B . on their appropriate slots on your area, shuffle all players’ Character tiles
Player Mat. The side of the tiles together and place them in a random order
with the black top half should be on the Turn Order Track Z .
face down.
B
L
C
J K
D U
3 Separate the Wild Location C and
Wild Industry D cards and place
them face up on 2 of the Card Draw
Areas.
Shuffle the remaining cards and Y
4
place them face down on the
remaining Card Draw Area E ; this
is the Draw Deck. M T
R V
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 F ,
located near the edges of the board.
S
Result: In a 2 player game, no
Merchant tiles are placed in
LOCATION BANNERS N W
4 5
P L A Y I N G T H E G A M E E N D O F E R A M A I N T E N A N C E
THE GOAL ACTION LIST END OF ROUND END OF CANAL & RAIL ERA END OF CANAL ERA
The game is played over 2 eras: For each action, you may choose to perform After all players have taken their Each era ends following the round in which Perform the following additional steps at the
the Canal Era (1770-1830) and one of the following (you may perform the turn, perform the following before all players use the final cards in their Hands. end of the Canal Era:
the Rail Era (1830-1870). The same action twice): moving on to the next round: H
When this occurs, perform the following
winner is the player who has the
1 Build - Place one of steps: 3 Remove Obsolete
most Victory Points (VPs) following the end 1 Determine turn Industries
your Industry tiles onto order for the next Score Canal/Rail Links
of the Rail Era. VPs are scored at the end 1 Remove all level 1
of each era for your Link tiles and flipped
the board, paying the
round Rearrange the
£ 20 For each of your Link tiles G , Industry tiles from
appropriate cost and C score 1 VP for each displayed in
Industry tiles. Character tiles on the Turn B the board J (not
consuming any required adjacent locations, by advancing your
Order Track. from Player Mats),
coal / iron. VP Marker along the Progress Track
• The player who spent the least and return them to
2 Network - Expand N H . Remove Link tiles from the
£ 6 the box. All level 2 or
ROUNDS your canal or rail
network by adding Link
money this round will go first
next round B , and so on, B
C board as they are scored. greater Industry tiles remain on the
board K .
Each era is played in tiles to the board. while the player who spent the D 2 Score Flipped Industry
rounds, which continue
most will go last C . Tiles 4 Reset Merchant Beer
until both the Draw Deck 3 Develop - Gain • If multiple players have spent After all players have Place 1 beer barrel L on each
access to higher-level an equal amount, their relative
£ 20 removed their Link
and players’ Hands are empty beer barrel space beside a
industries by removing turn order remains the same C tiles, score the VPs
exhausted. There are C (non-blank) Merchant tile M .
Industry tiles from your C . shown in the bottom
exactly 8/9/10 rounds per
Player Mat. left corner of your
era in a 4/3/2-player game. • Afterwards, take all money L
During each round, players Sell - Flip your built flipped Industry tiles (those with a
4 from the Character tiles, and
black top half), by advancing your
take turns in the order of Cotton Mill, place it back into the Bank D .
their Character tiles on the Manufacturer, and/or This resets the money spent, VP Marker along the Progress Track
H . Unflipped Industry tiles I do
Turn Order Track. Pottery tiles, by selling ready for the next round. M
to a Merchant, and not score.
consuming beer if necessary. Note: If you score more than 100
I 5 Shuffle Draw Deck
5 Loan - Take a £30 loan VPs, record the additional points Shuffle all players’ Discard Piles
from the Bank, and move 2 Take Income • If you have a shortfall by starting another loop of the together and place the cards face
your Income Marker 3 Take money from the Bank equal to when paying negative Progress Track. down on the appropriate Card Draw
PLAYER TURNS income levels (not spaces)
backwards.
your income level. **Exception:
Income is not collected at the end of
income, you must acquire
money by removing one
Area N .
Remember: The bottom card of
On your turn, perform a total of 2 actions. the final round of the game.** or more of your Industry
6 Scout - Discard 2 additional tiles (not Link tiles) from each Discard Pile will be face down,
**Exception: During the first round of cards from your Hand and replace • Your income level is the number G K
the board; each being worth and needs turning over before
the Canal Era, each player performs only 1 them with 1 Wild Industry and 1 displayed on the coin beside your
half of its cost, rounded shuffling.
action.** Wild Location card. Income Marker’s current location on the
Progress Track E . down. You keep any excess
• For each action you perform, money. G
**Exception: You may not perform
you must discard a card from
your Hand and place it face
this action if you already have a Wild
card in your Hand.**
• If you have no way to pay
a shortfall, lose 1 VP (if G J
WINNING THE GAME
up on top of your Discard possible) for each £1 you are After performing Rail Era scoring:
Pile. short.
**Exception: Wild cards are placed back • The player with the most VPs is declared
Passing - You may choose to pass E the winner.
onto their Card Draw Areas.** instead of performing an action, but must Note: You may remove any of your
still discard a card for each action you pass. Industry tiles, but must stop as soon as • Ties are broken, first by the highest
• After all of your actions income, and then by the most money
have been completed, refill Spending Money • If your income level is negative F , you you have acquired enough money to
must pay that amount of money to the cover the shortfall. You may not sell remaining.
your Hand back up to 8 Any time you spend money A
cards with cards from the to perform an action, you Bank. Industry tiles for any reason other than G • If still tied, those players draw.
Draw Deck. must place it on top of your paying for a shortfall.
• Place all money spent during your turn Character tile A on the
on top of your Character tile on the Turn Order Track. Placing
Turn Order Track. spent money here, rather
• Once the Draw Deck has been than in the Bank, will allow
exhausted, your Hand will decrease each you to determine the
players’ turn order for the F
round until you have no cards left.
next round.
6 B
7
G A M E P L A Y C O N C E P T S A C T I O N S
CONSUMING COAL The cost of the Industry tile you are side of its Market space P . these are Farm Breweries.
D is not a part of your 3
C network. building is displayed, to the left of its If the last cube is moved from
CONSUMING BEER 3 • You may only build in
Coal is required to build rail slot, on your Player Mat O . Pay your Industry tile to its Market, flip these locations using a
Wild Location
INCREASING YOUR INCOME
• money onto your Character tile on
Links and certain Industry tiles. card the Industry tile Q and advance Brewery Industry card or a
You may be required to consume beer when the Turn Order Track, and consume your Income Marker along the Wild Industry card.
To consume coal, a rail Link or Industry tile selling cotton, manufactured goods, or May be played as any any required iron and coal O .
Whenever your income is Location card. This does Progress Track by the number of • A Link tile is required to
increased, immediately advance must be connected to a source of coal (after pottery; or when performing the Network Remember: If coal is required, the spaces shown in the bottom right
your Income Marker along the
Progress Track A by the
it is placed).
CONSUMING IRON action during the Rail Era. The amount
required, if any, will be shown in the top
not include the 2 Farm
Breweries (see “Farm
location you are building in must be
connected to a source of coal (see
corner of the tile.
connect Cannock to the Farm Brewery
to its left.
Coal must be consumed from: Iron is required to perform the Develop right corner of the Industry tile. Breweries”). “Consuming Coal” and “Connected
number of spaces (not income
levels) shown. The closest (fewest Link tiles distant) action, and to build certain Industry tiles. • Industry card Locations”).
1 Beer may be consumed from
connected unflipped Coal Mine F To consume iron, an Industry tile does not May be used to build the If you built a:
**Exception: You cannot increase your (owned by any player). If multiple any of the following sources: Industry tile matching 4
need a connection to a source of iron.
income level above level 30.** Coal Mines are equally close, choose Your unflipped Breweries J . an icon shown in the top Coal Mine or
one. If a Coal Mine runs out of Iron must be consumed from: 1 corner of the card, in a Iron Works
These do not need to be connected
coal, and you need more, choose the to the location where the beer is location that is a part of Place coal or iron
1 Any unflipped Iron Works H onto the Industry • A Link tile placed between
YOUR NETWORK next closest Coal Mine. Consuming
coal in this way is free.
(owned by any player); it does not
have to be the closest. If you need
required.
An opponent’s unflipped Brewery •
your network.
Wild Industry
tile, equal to the quantity
shown in the bottom
Kidderminster and Worcester also
connects both locations to the Farm
A location on the board is considered to be If you are not connected to an more than 1 iron, you can consume
2 P
2 K . These must be connected to card right corner of the tile. Brewery to their left. A second Link
a part of your network if at least one of the unflipped Coal Mine, you can each iron from a different Iron the location where the beer is tile is not required; nor may it be placed
May be played as any Brewery
following is true: purchase coal from the Coal Market Works. Consuming iron in this way required. there.
Industry card. Place 1 beer barrel on
G , starting at the cheapest price. is free.
• The location contains one or more of The space beside a Merchant tile that the Industry tile if it is
your Industry tiles B ;
This requires a connection to a
If there are no unflipped Iron
3
icon (shown on the 2 you are selling to (see “Action - built during the Canal
• The location is adjacent to one or more Works, you can purchase iron from Sell”). Era, or 2 beer barrels if
Warrington, Shrewsbury,
of your Link tiles C . the Iron Market I , starting at the it is built during the Rail Era.
Nottingham, Gloucester, and When multiple beer barrels are required,
cheapest price. If the Iron Market is
Oxford Merchants around the edge each beer may be consumed from a different
empty, you can still purchase iron for
of the board). If the Coal Market is £6 / source. O
.
CONNECTED LOCATIONS empty, you can still purchase coal for
£8 / . Consumed iron cubes are placed back into Consumed beer barrels are placed back into
the General Supply.
L
Q
Two locations are considered “connected” the General Supply.
Consumed coal cubes are placed back into
to each other if you can trace a route of the General Supply. Historical Note: These industries generally Historical Note: Unpolluted drinking
Link tiles (owned by any player) from one required iron in low volumes, so it could also water was in short supply in expanding Note: Coal and iron cubes may only be sold
location D to the other E . Historical Note: Coal was required in settlements, so beer was often the purest and to their Markets during the action when their
be transported via horse and wagon.
large quantities, so a robust transportation safest drink available. Industry tile is built. They are never sold to
network was critical. their Markets in later turns.
8 9
A C T I O N S A C T I O N S
10 11
T I P S A N D V A R I A N T S
INTRODUCTORY GAME
Players then score additional points as
follows:
Since Brass is such a deep game, some
1 Money
players may prefer to play a shorter
introductory game for their first experience.
Score 1 VP for =
every £4 in your
The introductory game plays exactly like the player area (up to a
full game, except you only play the Canal maximum of 15 VPs).
Era and there are additional scoring rules
to make players’ scores more closely reflect 2 Income level
Score VPs equal to
their success in the Canal Era.
your income level. If =
To play the introductory game, first, play the your income level is
entire Canal Era as normal, including the negative, you lose VPs.
end of Canal Era scoring.
3 Industry tiles
Score the points a second
time for all your level 2 or
greater Industry tiles.
12