Brass: Birmingham

How is scoring calculated in Brass: Birmingham?

"Brass: Birmingham" Scoring Rules

I. General Conclusions
- The game is divided into two eras: the Canal Era and the Railway Era. At the end of the Railway Era, the player with the highest prestige points wins.
- Prestige points are tallied at the end of each era, and only two types of tiles contribute to scoring: your Link tiles and the flipped Industry tiles you own.
- Income levels themselves do not translate into prestige points in official gameplay (this is a common misconception among beginners).

II. Scoring for Flipped Industry Tiles
- After a tile is flipped, its upper half turns black, and the prestige point value is displayed in the lower-left corner; score according to this value.
- Different tiles flip at different times:
- Cotton Mills, Manufacturers, Pottery Factories: Flip when performing the Sell action.
- Coal Mines, Ironworks, Breweries: Flip when the last resource on the tile is removed—often during an opponent's turn.
- Only flipped tiles count toward scoring; unflipped tiles do not earn points.
- Industry tiles of level 2 or higher are not removed at the end of the Canal Era, so if built early, they can score once in each era (potentially earning points twice).
- Tiles removed by Overbuild do not score; if your tile is Overbuilt by an opponent, you do not lose income or prestige points.

III. Scoring for Link Tiles
- Your Link tiles score at the end of each era (Canal Links score at the end of the Canal Era, Railway Links at the end of the Railway Era).
- Note: The Rulebook provides specific prestige point values for Link tiles in tabular form (e.g., as shown on the tile or track), while the text merely states that Link tiles score at the end of each era.

… (condensed here; full text on the cunleme Chinese page)

How is the income phase calculated?

Conclusion: There is no separate, standalone "Income Phase" in the game; income is settled once at the end of each round (Take Income), and no income is collected at the end of the final round. The method of settlement depends on your income level.

Specific Procedures

1. Amount Taken = Your Income Level
- Withdraw from the bank an amount equal to your income level.
- Income level = The number shown on the coin next to your income marker on the progress track.
- Example: If your income marker is on the space marked "10," take £10.

2. Negative Income → Pay the Bank
- If your income level is negative, you must pay that amount to the bank.
- Example: With an income level of -3, you must pay £3 to the bank.

3. What if You Cannot Cover Negative Income (Insufficient Funds)?
- You may remove industrial tiles from your board (but cannot remove linked tiles) to raise funds; each tile is worth half its cost (rounded down).
- Once you've raised enough, you must stop immediately—do not sell any more; keep any excess funds for yourself.
- Industrial tiles may not be sold for any other purpose.
- If you still cannot pay, you lose 1 VP for every £1 short (if applicable).

Conditions and Exceptions

• No Income Collected in the Final Round — At the end of the last round, the income settlement is skipped.
• Income Increase vs. Settlement Are Different: When your income increases, your income marker moves forward along the progress track by a certain number of spaces (not levels); your income level has an upper limit of 30.
• Loan Reduces Income Level, Not Spaces: A £30 loan will move your income marker back by 3 income levels (not 3 spaces), placing it on the highest available space within that lower level; loans cannot be taken if doing so would drop your income below -10.
• Income Is Not VP: Only at the end of the introductory game (playing only Canal Age) is your income level converted into VP (number of income levels equals VP; negative values result in losing VP); this conversion does not occur at the end of standard games.

… (condensed here; full text on the cunleme Chinese page)

How do you play Brass: Birmingham?

Brass: Birmingham – Game Overview

Game Objective
The game is played over two eras: the Canal Era (1770–1830) and the Railway Era (1830–1870). At the end of the Railway Era, the player with the most prestige points wins. At the end of each era, scoring occurs for your link tiles and flipped industrial tiles.

Setup Highlights
- Place the game board (with optional day/night sides).
- For fewer than 4 players, remove cards marked as exceeding the number of players and merchant tiles (indicated by icons in the lower-right corner of cards and on the top of merchant tiles). In a 2-player game, do not place Warrington or Nottingham merchants; in a 3-player game, do not place Nottingham merchants.
- Place the universal location card and universal industrial card face-up in their respective draw piles, and shuffle the remaining cards to form the draw deck.
- Fill each space in the coal market with one black token, leaving one £1 space empty; fill each space in the iron market with one orange token, leaving two £1 spaces empty.
- Place one beer barrel next to each non‑blank merchant tile; use the remaining cubes and beer barrels as general supplies.
- Each player receives: one player board, £17, one character tile, link and industrial tiles of their color (black side down, stacked in the corresponding slots on the board), a prestige marker set at "0," an income marker set at "10," draws eight cards into their hand, and then draws one additional card face-down to form the discard pile.
- Shuffle all character tiles and randomly place them on the round order track.

… (condensed here; full text on the cunleme Chinese page)

How is scoring done in the railway game where you drink beer and sell coal?

You're asking about "Brass: Birmingham" (the one where you drink beer and transport coal and iron). To start with the conclusion: The base game doesn't directly convert money or income into points; victory is decided solely by prestige points, and the player with the most prestige at the end of the railway era wins. Throughout the entire game, only two types of things grant you prestige points: flipped industrial tiles and your linked tiles.

Scoring Timing
- The game is divided into two eras: the Canal Era and the Railway Era.
- At the end of each era, scoring occurs once: you score your linked tiles plus your flipped industrial tiles, and the prestige markers advance along the progress track.
- After the Railway Era ends, there's one final scoring round, after which players compare their total prestige points—the highest scorer wins.
- Exactly how many points a tile is worth depends on the prestige value printed on it: for industrial tiles, look at the lower-left corner icon; for linked tiles, check the number printed directly on the tile itself.

Key Point: Industrial tiles must be "flipped" to score
- Unflipped industrial tiles do not score any points.
- There are two ways to flip an industrial tile:
- For cotton mills, manufacturers, and pottery factories, you flip them when you perform the Sell action.
- For coal mines, ironworks, and breweries, they flip when the last resource (coal/iron/beer) is removed—this often happens during an opponent's turn.
- Industrial tiles of Level 2 and above are not removed at the end of the Canal Era, so building them early allows you to score twice (for example, a flipped Level 3 cotton mill spanning both eras could earn you 18 prestige points).
- Tiles that are overbuilt and removed from the game do not contribute to your score, though players don't lose income or prestige points simply because their tiles get overbuilt.

… (condensed here; full text on the cunleme Chinese page)

Brass: Birmingham, build two tracks—can I use two tracks to complete the coal connection?

Conclusion: No.

In the Age of Railways, every single railway connection tile you place must be connected to a coal resource immediately upon placement. This check is performed individually and in real time; you cannot satisfy this condition by first laying two tracks and then connecting them to a coal mine later.

Specific conditions and procedures:

• When building a railway, each railway must consume one coal; furthermore, every railway connection tile placed must connect to a coal resource (once it has been placed).
• To consume coal, there must be a railway leading to a coal resource tile (after those tiles have been placed). Coal sources are prioritized as follows: take the nearest unflipped, already-connected coal mine (your own or another player's) with the shortest distance; if no such mine is available, you may purchase coal from the market (using the market trade icon, starting with the cheapest options; after the market is emptied, you can still buy at £8 per unit).
• Regarding building two railways at once: you may build up to two railways and pay £15 only if you consume one beer; this beer must come from the brewery and cannot be consumed next to the trader space. If you use a beer from another player's location, it must be for the second railway (once it has been placed). However, even when building two railways simultaneously, each railway must independently meet the requirement of being connected to a coal mine immediately after placement and must each consume one coal.

Therefore, if the first railway laid does not yet connect to any coal resource, that railway is invalid and cannot be retroactively made legal by adding a second railway later.

This information is provided for reference only; in case of conflict, please refer to the rulebook and consult experienced players.

Rules Overview for Brass: Birmingham?

"Brass: Birmingham" Basic Rules Explanation

I. Game Objective

"Brass: Birmingham" tells the story of entrepreneurs in the West Midlands competing during England's Industrial Revolution from 1770 to 1870. The game spans two eras:

• Canal Era (1770–1830)
• Railway Era (1830–1870)

At the end of the Railway Era, the player with the most Victory Points (VP) wins. At the end of each era, points are tallied for your Link tiles and flipped industrial tiles.

II. Board and Components

Board Setup

Place the board on either the day side or night side.

When playing with fewer than 4 players, remove all cards and merchant tiles that display a number greater than the current number of players (indicated by the lower-right corner of cards and the top of merchant tiles).

• 2-player game: Remove cards/merchants showing 2+
• 3-player game: Remove cards/merchants showing 3+
• 4-player game: Use all cards and merchant tiles

Market Setup

> 2-player game: Do not place merchant tiles in Warrington or Nottingham
> 3-player game: Do not place merchant tiles in Nottingham

Player Area Setup

Each player performs the following steps:

… (condensed here; full text on the cunleme Chinese page)

How do you act in the first round of Brass: Birmingham?

Conclusion

In the first round of Brass: Birmingham, each player performs only 1 action (normally there are 2 actions; this is the sole exception). The order is determined by the character tiles randomly placed on the round‑order track at the start—whichever tile is first gets to act first.

How to play the first round

1. When it's your turn, choose 1 action to perform
There are 6 possible actions (choose any one):
- Build: Place an industrial tile on a location on the board, paying the cost and consuming the required coal/iron.
- Network: Place a link tile to expand the canal network.
- Develop: Remove an industrial tile from your player board to unlock higher‑level tiles.
- Sell: Flip over a built cotton mill/manufacturing plant/pottery factory (you usually can't do this in the first round since none have been built yet).
- Loan: Take £30 from the bank, then move your income marker back 3 income levels.
- Scout: Discard a card to draw a wildcard.
You may also skip, but skipping still requires discarding a card.

2. Discard 1 card from your hand for that action
Each action requires discarding 1 card into your discard pile. The only exception is the wildcard—when discarded, it goes back to its draw pile instead of the discard pile.
Note: For the Build action, you must discard a "suitable" card (a location card, a wildcard location card, an industry card matching the relevant industry within the network, or a wildcard industry card); for all other actions, you may use any card in your hand.

3. After completing the action, draw enough cards from the draw pile to bring your hand back up to 8 cards.

4. Do not pay the money to the bank; instead, place it on your own character tile on the round‑order track.

Special features of the first round (very important)

… (condensed here; full text on the cunleme Chinese page)

Can the Brass: Birmingham railways be built without connecting to each other?

Conclusion: You cannot build links arbitrarily in isolation. Once a railway link (or canal link) is placed, it must be adjacent to a location that belongs to your network—meaning it must connect to your own network.

Specific procedures and conditions:

• When building a link, discard 1 card, place the link tile on an undeveloped route on the board, and ensure that the tile is adjacent to a location belonging to your network.
• A "location in your network" means either that the location already has one of your industrial tiles, or that it is adjacent to one of your link tiles. Thus, links extend by connecting to your existing network; they cannot be placed arbitrarily in areas completely unrelated to your network.
• In the Railway Era, you may only build railway links (not canal links). After placing each railway link, it must also connect to a coal source (requiring the consumption of 1 coal): In the Railway Era, you can build 1 railway link for £5, or build up to 2 railway links for £15 while additionally consuming 1 beer (the beer must come from a brewery and cannot be merchant's beer).

The sole exception: If you have no industrial tiles or link tiles on the board at the start of the game, you may discard any card and place a link tile on any undeveloped route on the board; however, when building a railway link, you must still consume coal.

Additionally, it's important to note: The rules only require that link tiles be adjacent to your network; they do not mandate that all railway links form a single continuous route. "Connecting" simply means that two locations can reach each other via a chain of link tiles controlled by any player.

This information is provided for reference only; in case of conflict, please refer to the rulebook and consult experienced players.

How much interest do I have to pay on the loan? When must it be repaid?

Conclusion: This game has no interest on loans, nor do you need to repay them. The cost of taking out a loan is a permanent reduction in your income level.

Specific Procedures and Restrictions for Loans
- Perform the "Loan" action: Take £30 from the bank, then move your income marker back 3 income levels along the progress track (it's "levels," not 3 spaces); place the income marker on the highest space within the lower level.
- Loans are settled not by repaying money, but by permanently lowering your income level.
- Exception: If this loan would drop your income level below -10, you cannot take out the loan.

Regarding "Interest"
- No mention of "interest" can be found in the rulebook. Loans neither require repayment of principal nor accrue interest; the only consequence is the aforementioned reduction in income level.

When Repayment Is Required
- Loans themselves have no specific repayment deadline—there is never any obligation to repay.
- Payments are required during the income phase only when your income level is negative—not as "loan repayment":
- At each round's income settlement, if your income level is negative, you must pay the corresponding amount to the bank.
- If you cannot afford it, you must remove industrial tiles from your board (excluding connecting tiles) to raise funds; each tile is worth half its construction cost, rounded down. Stop immediately once you've raised enough; any excess funds remain.
- If you still cannot raise sufficient funds, you lose 1 point for every £1 short (if points can still be deducted).
- No income is collected at the end of the final round.
- At the end of the game, your income level is converted into points: positive levels earn points, while negative levels deduct points.

This content is for reference only; in case of conflict, please refer to the official rulebook and advice from experienced players.

In the Age of Canals, I want to build two structures in Brass: Birmingham?

Conclusion: In Brass: Birmingham, you cannot place two of your industrial tiles—each location allows only one of your own industrial tiles per player.

Specific Conditions and Procedures:
- The rules for construction in Brass clearly state that each player may place at most one of their own industrial tiles at any given location; however, they may share a location with another player by placing one tile each (original text: "At most 1 industrial tile per location; in Brass, each player may place at most 1 of their own tiles per location").
- You can perform the "Build" action twice within the same round (the original text specifies that the same action can be carried out twice in one round), but these two builds must occur at different locations—you cannot build two tiles in Birmingham.
- During the Brass era, you also cannot construct tiles marked with the number ① on the left side of your player board.
- Each construction still requires: discarding one appropriate card (location cards can be built on locations indicated on the card, even if they are not part of your network; industrial cards require the location to belong to your network), paying the corresponding cost, and consuming the required coal/iron.

Exceptions/Related Notes:
- "Overbuild": You may overbuild your own industrial tiles at any time—but this involves replacing the original tile with a higher‑level version of the same type, leaving only one of your tiles at that location; it does not allow stacking two tiles in Birmingham.
- The Railway Era operates under a different set of rules: during that phase, multiple industrial tiles can be constructed at each location (and tiles marked with ② must first be removed through development). Therefore, "placing multiple structures at one location" applies only during the Railway Era.

No mention was found in the rulebook of any provision allowing players to place two industrial tiles in Birmingham during the Brass era.

This information is provided for reference only; in case of conflict, please refer to the official rulebook and consult experienced players.