Brass: Birmingham Review

Intro

Brass: Birmingham drops you into the grimy, ambitious world of Industrial Revolution England, where you're a budding entrepreneur trying to build the most profitable empire between 1770 and 1870. This isn't your typical "place cubes, get points" euro game. Martin Wallace's 2018 sequel to his acclaimed Brass forces you to think several moves ahead while adapting to what other players are doing right now.

The game works brilliantly with 2-4 players, though it really shines with 3-4 people at the table. Expect to spend about two hours wrestling with tough decisions, and fair warning: this one sits firmly in "heavier strategy game" territory. With an 8.58 rating on BoardGameGeek and a pile of awards including the 2018 Golden Geek Best Strategy Game, it's clearly struck a chord with serious gamers.

How It Plays

The game unfolds across two distinct eras: the Canal Era (1770-1830) and the Rail Era (1830-1870). Between these periods, the board gets a dramatic makeover as canals become less important and railways take over. It's like playing two connected games.

Each turn, you get two actions from a menu of six options. You can build industries like cotton mills, breweries, or iron works. You can expand your network of canals or rails. You can develop existing industries to make them more valuable. You can sell goods to various markets. You can take out loans when cash runs tight. Or you can scout for better cards by discarding three to get wildcards.

Here's where it gets interesting: your industries don't just sit there looking pretty. They need to consume resources from other players' buildings to function, and when they do, those buildings "flip" and become more valuable. This creates a fascinating web of interdependence where helping opponents might be your best move.

The card-driven system adds another layer of tension. Your hand of cards determines where you can build and what industries you can construct. Sometimes you're flush with options; other times you're scraping together whatever you can manage.

Highlights

The two-era structure is genuinely brilliant. Just when you think you've got your engine humming, everything changes. Canals become obsolete, new industries appear, and suddenly your carefully laid plans need major adjustments. It keeps the game fresh and prevents anyone from settling into a comfortable routine.

The interconnected economy creates some of the most interesting decisions I've encountered in a strategy game. Building a coal mine might seem like it only helps you, but if it supplies iron to another player's foundry, they benefit too. These symbiotic relationships lead to moments where you're genuinely unsure whether a move helps or hurts your position.

Wallace has crafted something special with the market dynamics. Different goods have different demand levels, and timing your sales perfectly can make or break your game. The beer market, in particular, adds delightful complexity as breweries need both coal and established networks to function effectively.

The production quality deserves mention too. The board is gorgeous, the components feel substantial, and everything fits the theme perfectly. When you're placing iron works and pottery kilns on a map of industrial Birmingham, you really feel like you're building something meaningful.

Criticisms

Let's be honest: Brass: Birmingham can be absolutely brutal to newcomers. The learning curve is steep, and your first game will likely involve several "Oh, I should have done that differently" moments. The rulebook, while comprehensive, doesn't always make the interconnections clear until you've played a few times. If your group prefers lighter fare, this might gather dust on your shelf.

The card dependency can occasionally feel frustrating. Sometimes the cards just don't cooperate with your plans, leaving you with suboptimal moves through no fault of your own. While the scout action helps mitigate this, it costs you precious actions that could be used more productively. Some players find this randomness at odds with the otherwise strategic nature of the game.

Analysis paralysis is a real concern with certain groups. With so many interconnected systems and the weight of long-term consequences, players prone to overthinking can slow the game to a crawl. Two hours can easily become three or four, which tests everyone's patience and enthusiasm.

Conclusion

Brass: Birmingham rewards players who enjoy complex economic puzzles and don't mind a significant rules overhead. If you love games where every decision ripples through multiple systems, where timing is crucial, and where you need to balance cooperation with competition, this is probably going up your alley.

It's perfect for groups that want something meatier than your typical euro game but aren't ready for the most punishing economic simulations. The theme actually enhances the gameplay rather than just sitting on top of abstract mechanisms, which is rarer than it should be.

Just make sure your gaming group is ready for the commitment. This isn't a game you break out casually, but when the stars align and everyone's engaged, Brass: Birmingham delivers some of the most satisfying strategic gameplay available. It earned those awards for good reason.