Official Brass: Birmingham Rules

Last Updated on February 26, 2026 by The Official Game Rules Team

Brass: Birmingham is a strategy board game set during the Industrial Revolution, where players build networks of canals and railways, develop industries, and compete for the most prosperous economic empire. With its intricate economy and focus on resource management, the game offers a rich and challenging experience for players.

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How to Play Brass: Birmingham

Due to the rules being quite long and complex, we’ve done our best to summarize them below. That being said, we do recommend taking a look at the official instruction PDF at the top of the page or watching the video tutorial at the bottom.

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Game Setup

Before diving into gameplay, here’s how to set up the game:

1. Game Board: Place the game board centrally where all players can access it. The board shows different cities, their industries, and the network routes (canals and railroads).
2. Player Components: Each player takes a player mat, 8 industry tiles, and a starting income marker. The income marker should be placed at 0 on the income track.
3. Cards: Shuffle the deck of location cards and deal 8 cards to each player. These cards correspond to the cities where players can build industries. Each player may also have a few more cards they can hold in hand.
4. Resources: Set out the resource tokens: coal, iron, and beer. Place these in their respective supply areas on the board. This is important because resources are essential for building and upgrading industries.
5. Loans: The loan markers are placed next to the income track, and players can take loans at certain points during the game.
6. Starting Coal and Iron: Every player receives a starting supply of 1 coal and 1 iron. This is used for early industry construction and expansion.

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Playing the Game

The Goal

The game is won by having the most Victory Points (VP) at the end of the Rail Era. VP are primarily earned by:

• Flipping your Industry tiles.
• Linking towns and cities with rail.
• Achieving bonus VP shown on your Personal Goal tile.

Rounds

Each era (Canal and Rail) consists of a number of rounds. In each round, every player takes two actions. The number of rounds in an era is determined by the number of players:

• 2 Players: 8 Rounds
• 3 Players: 7 Rounds
• 4 Players: 6 Rounds

Player Turns

On your turn, you perform 2 different actions. You can perform the same action twice. The available actions are listed under “Action List”.

The order of play proceeds clockwise around the table.

Action List

On your turn, you must perform two different actions. You can perform the same action twice.

1. Build: Pay the cost and place a Canal tile (Canal Era) or a Rail tile (Rail Era) on the board, connecting two adjacent locations along a valid route.
2. Network: Increase your income by 1 level and place one of your Link tokens on a town or city that is part of your network and does not already have one of your Link tokens.
3. Develop: Pay the cost to advance one of your Industry tiles to the next level. Place the new tile on top of the old one.
4. Loan: Take a loan of £30. Immediately decrease your income by 3 levels. Place your Loan Taken marker on the Loan Track.
5. Build & Develop: Perform one Build action and one Develop action.
6. Sell: Choose one of your flipped Industry tiles that produces goods. You must be connected to a Merchant tile of the matching color (or any Merchant tile if you have a wild link). Consume the required resources (Coal and/or Beer) and gain the income shown on the Merchant tile. Flip the sold Industry tile back to its unflipped side.
7. Scout/Borrow/Rent:
   • Scout (Canal Era only): Pay £1 to draw the top two Canal tiles from the deck. Keep one and discard the other.
   • Borrow (Rail Era only): Pay £2 to take one Rail tile from the face-up display.
   • Rent (Rail Era only): Pay £3 to take one Rail tile from the top of the Rail tile deck.

Planning – Spending Money

During your turn, you can spend any amount of money you have. There is no limit to the amount of money you can hold.

End of Round

The round ends after each player has taken two actions. Proceed with the following steps in order:

1. Advance Round Marker: Move the Round marker one space along the Round Track.
2. Check for End of Era: If the Round marker reaches the end of the current era’s track, proceed to the “End of Era Maintenance” phase.
3. First Player Token: Pass the First Player token clockwise to the next player.
4. Start Next Round: Begin the next round with the new First Player.

End of Era Maintenance

Perform the following steps at the end of each era (Canal and Rail):

End of Canal & Rail Era

Perform the following for each player in turn order:

1. Score Canal/Rail Links: Each player scores 1 VP for each town and 2 VP for each city connected by their Canal (Canal Era) or Rail (Rail Era) links.
2. Flip Unflipped Industry Tiles: Any unflipped Industry tiles owned by the player are now flipped to their scoring side.

End of Canal Era

Perform the following steps in order:

1. Remove Canals: All Canal tiles are removed from the board and returned to the box.
2. Reset Merchant Tiles: All Merchant tiles are flipped back to their unflipped side.
3. Return Scouted Canal Tiles: Any Canal tiles held by players from Scouting are returned to the bottom of the Canal tile deck.

End of Rail Era

Perform the following steps in order:

1. Score Merchant Bonus: Each player scores the bonus VP shown on any unflipped Merchant tiles they are connected to with their rail links.
2. Score Personal Goal: Each player reveals their Personal Goal tile and scores the VP shown if they have met the condition.
3. Shuffle Discarded Rail Tiles: Shuffle all discarded Rail tiles back into the Rail tile deck.

Winning the Game

The game ends after the End of Rail Era maintenance. The player with the most Victory Points is the winner.

In case of a tie, the player with the most money wins. If still tied, the tied players share the victory.

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Game Concepts

Flipping Industry Tiles

At the conclusion of each era, a flipped Industry tile provides Victory Points (VP) equal to the value displayed. These tiles are distinguished by a black upper half and a VP icon situated in the bottom left corner.

How Different Industry Tiles Are Flipped

• Cotton Mills, Slaughterhouses, and Potteries: These are flipped when a Sell action is performed.
• Coal Mines, Iron Works, and Breweries: These are flipped when their last resource is taken. This often occurs during an opponent’s turn.

Increasing Your Income

Whenever your income level goes up, immediately move your Income Marker along the Progress Track by the same number of steps as the income increase.

• Important: Your income level cannot exceed 30.

Your Network

A location on the game board is considered part of your network if at least one of these conditions is met:

• The location contains one or more of your Industry tiles.
• The location is adjacent to one or more tiles that you have linked.

Connected Locations

Two locations are considered “connected” if a path of linked tiles owned by any player can be traced from one location to the other.

Consuming Coal

Coal is necessary for building rail links and certain Industry tiles.

To use coal, a rail link or Industry tile must be connected to a source of coal after it has been placed.

Sources of Coal

1. The nearest (fewest link distances) unflipped Coal Mine owned by any player. If multiple Coal Mines are equally close, you can choose which one to use. If a Coal Mine starts with coal, and you subsequently build more coal on the next closest Coal Mine, using coal in this manner is free.
2. If you are not connected to an unflipped Coal Mine, you can buy coal from the Coal Market, starting with the lowest-priced option. This requires a connection via a rail link (indicated on the Warrington, Shrewsbury, Nottingham, Gloucester, and Stafford Merchant’s around the board’s edge). If the Coal Market is empty, you can still purchase coal for £6.

Used Coal cubes are returned to the General Supply.

Historical Context: The need for coal was substantial, making a reliable transportation network vital.

Consuming Iron

Iron is needed to perform the Develop action and to construct certain Industry tiles.

Unlike coal, an Industry tile does not need to be connected to an iron source to consume iron.

Sources of Iron

1. Any unflipped Iron Works that you own (regardless of its distance). It doesn’t have to be the closest one. If you need more than one iron, you can use iron from different Iron Works you own. Using iron in this way is free.
2. If you don’t have any unflipped Iron Works, you can buy iron from the Iron Market, beginning with the cheapest price. If the Iron Market is empty, you can still purchase iron for £6.

Used Iron cubes are returned to the General Supply.

Historical Context: These industries typically required smaller amounts of iron, allowing for transport by horse and wagon.

Consuming Beer

You might need to consume beer when selling specific manufactured goods (like pottery) or when performing the Network action during the Rail Era. The required amount, if any, will be indicated in the top right corner of the relevant tiles:

Sources of Beer

1. Your own 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 needed.
3. The space next to a Merchant tile you are selling to (refer to “Action – Sell”).

When multiple beer barrels are required, each barrel can be taken from a different source.

Used beer barrels are returned to the General Supply.

Historical Context: Clean drinking water was scarce, particularly in industrial areas, making beer a significant and readily available beverage.

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Actions

Canal Era Building:

• Pay the cost shown on the chosen Canal tile.
• Place the Canal tile on the board, connecting two adjacent locations along a valid route.
• Your first Canal tile placed is free.

Rail Era Building:

• Pay the cost shown on the chosen Rail tile.
• Place the Rail tile on the board, connecting two adjacent locations along a valid route.
• Your first Rail tile placed is free.

Overbuilding

You can overbuild one of your own Industry tiles with a higher-level Industry tile of the same type. The costs and effects are as follows:

• Pay the build cost of the new Industry tile.
• Place the new tile on top of the old one.
• The VP value of the Industry tile is now the VP value shown on the new tile.
• The income of the Industry tile is now the income value shown on the new tile.
• The old Industry tile is removed from the board and returned to the box.

If the tile you are replacing is connected by any links:

• Your own links remain connected to the new tile.
• Opponents’ links are removed from the board and returned to the box.

There is no cost to overbuild an Industry tile on the same turn that you built it.

Sell Action

• Choose one of your flipped Industry tiles that produces goods (Cotton, Manufactured Goods, Pottery).
• You must be connected to a Merchant tile of the matching color (or any Merchant tile if you have a wild link).
• Consume the required resources (Coal and/or Beer).

To perform the Sell action:

1. Pay the required Coal (if any) by consuming it from a connected Coal Mine or by purchasing it from the Coal Market.
2. Pay the required Beer (if any) by consuming it from one of your Breweries (no connection required), an opponent’s connected Brewery, or the space beside the Merchant tile you are selling to.
3. Gain the income shown on the Merchant tile you are selling to. Advance your Income Marker along the Progress Track by this amount.
4. Flip the sold Industry tile back to its unflipped side.

The number of spaces you advance your Income Marker along the Progress Track is equal to the income value shown on the Merchant tile.

If the Merchant tile is unflipped, flip it to its scoring side after you sell to it.

Merchant Tile Bonuses

When a Merchant tile is flipped to its scoring side, it may provide one or more of the following bonuses:

• Develop (Ironworks): Allows you to immediately perform one Develop action on an Iron Works for free.
• Income (Increase): Immediately increase your income by the indicated number of levels along the Progress Track.
• Victory Points (Buildings and Shipyards): Score the indicated number of Victory Points at the end of the Rail Era for each of your flipped Buildings and Shipyards.
• Money (Borrow/Repay): Immediately gain or pay the indicated amount of money.

Loan Action

Taking a loan allows you to gain a significant amount of money quickly, but at the cost of reduced future income.

To perform the Loan action:

1. Take £30 from the bank.
2. Immediately decrease your income by 3 levels. Move your Income Marker 3 spaces backward along the Progress Track.
3. Place your Loan Taken marker on the Loan Track as a reminder that you have an outstanding loan.

You may only take one loan during the entire game.

Develop Action

The Develop action allows you to upgrade your Industry tiles to higher levels, increasing their VP and income potential.

To perform the Develop action:

1. Pay the cost shown on the higher-level Industry tile you wish to build.
2. Consume the required Iron by taking it from one of your unflipped Iron Works (no cost) or by purchasing it from the Iron Market.
3. Place the new, higher-level Industry tile on top of the existing, lower-level Industry tile of the same type at the same location.

Progress and the Publication Track

Some Merchant tiles and Personal Goal tiles may instruct you to advance your marker on the Publication Track.

When instructed to do so, move your marker along the Publication Track by the indicated number of spaces.

Network Action

The Network action allows you to expand your influence on the board, potentially increasing your future income and connecting to valuable locations.

Network Building (Canal Era):

1. Increase your income by 1 level. Move your Income Marker one space forward along the Progress Track.
2. Place one of your Link tokens on a town or city that is part of your network and does not already have one of your Link tokens.

Network Building (Rail Era):

1. Increase your income by 1 level. Move your Income Marker one space forward along the Progress Track.
2. Place one of your Link tokens on a town or city that is part of your network and does not already have one of your Link tokens.

Remember that a location is part of your network if it contains one of your Industry tiles or is adjacent to one or more of your linked tiles.

Scout Action

The Scout action (available only during the Canal Era) allows you to look ahead at the available Canal tiles, giving you more strategic options for building.

To perform the Scout action:

1. Pay £1 to the bank.
2. Draw the top two Canal tiles from the Canal tile deck.
3. Choose one of the drawn tiles to keep and add to your hand.
4. Discard the other drawn Canal tile face-up next to the Canal tile deck.

You may hold a maximum of three Canal tiles in your hand at any time. If you draw a fourth Canal tile, you must immediately discard one of the Canal tiles in your hand.

Borrow Action

The Borrow action (available only during the Rail Era) allows you to immediately acquire a Rail tile from the face-up display.

To perform the Borrow action:

1. Pay £2 to the bank.
2. Take one Rail tile of your choice from the face-up display and add it to your hand.
3. Immediately replace the taken Rail tile by drawing the top tile from the Rail tile deck and placing it face-up in the empty space.

Rent Action

The Rent action (available only during the Rail Era) allows you to acquire a Rail tile directly from the top of the deck, providing an element of surprise.

To perform the Rent action:

1. Pay £3 to the bank.
2. Draw the top Rail tile from the Rail tile deck and add it to your hand.

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Tips and Variants

Things to Remember

• Each single action you perform requires discarding one card.
• You can perform the same action twice in a single turn. However, if you do, for the second action, you must either use the Network action or place a second canal link at a location connected to your existing network.
• During the Canal Era, each player can have a maximum of one of their Industry tiles in each location.
• You are not allowed to build over any of your own Industry tiles at any point in the game.
• You are also not allowed to build over your opponents’ Coal Mines/Iron Works, but you can build on locations where there are no Coal/Iron cubes left in the Market.
• To sell cotton, manufactured goods, or pottery, and to consume coal (but not iron) from the Market, you must have a connection.
• You don’t need to be connected to consume your own Breweries’ beer, but you must be connected to other players’ Breweries, or to a Merchant beer (only available when selling).
• A location must be part of your network for you to build there (unless you are using a specific Location card or a Wild Location card).
• Unlike the higher-level Industry tiles, the level 1 Pottery tile may be built during the Rail Era.

Beginner Tips

• It’s generally not a good idea for new players to take out loans. Your income level at the end of the game is what determines Victory Points (VPs), so having a low income level can be detrimental.
• Level 2 or greater Industry tiles removed at the end of the Canal Era can score twice if built early. For example, a flipped level 3 Cotton Mill would earn a significant 18 VPs at the end. Consider this development as a friendly suggestion.
• Pay close attention when developing Breweries. Remember that beer is required to perform the Sell action, so ensure you have access to beer that aligns with your long-term strategy.
• Tiles with a → symbol to the left of their slot on your Player Mat must 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 you don’t have to take a Develop action during the Rail Era to clear these industries from your Player Mat.
• Figuring out the optimal way to expand your network at the beginning of the Rail Era can be challenging for beginners. It’s often helpful to extend your network by building Rail Links towards sources of coal. If you don’t currently have access to any coal, consider building a Coal Mine.

Introductory Game

Since Brass is a complex game, new players might benefit from a shorter introductory game for their first experience. The introductory game follows the full game’s rules, except you only play the Canal Era. There are also additional scoring rules to help players score more accurately and better understand what leads to 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 Victory Point (VP) for every £4 in your player area (up to a maximum of 15 VPs).
2. Income Level: Your Victory Points are equal to your income level. If your income level is negative, you lose VPs.
3. Industry Tiles: Score the points indicated on all your level 2 or greater Industry tiles.

Key Strategies

1. Balancing Resources

• Coal, iron, and beer are critical to your success. Coal is necessary for building networks, iron for industries, and beer for selling goods. Efficiently managing and trading resources is key to gaining an edge.

2. Develop Early and Often

• Removing inefficient industries and upgrading to better ones allows you to build an efficient empire that scores well at the end of the game. Don’t neglect the Develop action, as it opens the door to high-level industries and better scoring opportunities.

3. Expand Your Network

• The more cities you connect with your network, the more points you can earn from links. Consider building links in the Canal Era to set up lucrative opportunities for the Rail Era.

4. Don’t Over-extend

• While expanding your network is important, don’t overextend yourself. Focus on maximizing your connections to coal and beer first, and build efficiently.

5. Loans are not Evil

• Taking loans early can accelerate your strategy. The earlier you take a loan, the cheaper it is to pay back, as your income starts low in the early stages.

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Victory Conditions

At the end of the game, players tally their points from various sources:

1. Industries: Points are awarded for industries built and flipped (if the tiles are connected to a network).
2. Networks: Points are awarded based on the links you have between cities.
3. Income: Your final income level gives you additional points at the end of the game.

The player with the highest total points wins.

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Brass: Birmingham is a highly complex game that rewards long-term planning and adaptability. Understanding the importance of resource management, developing your industries, and maintaining a strong network are crucial to success. By mastering these elements and making strategic decisions, you’ll be well on your way to becoming an industrial powerhouse.