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Brass: Birmingham
#1BGG8.6RATINGHOT #14
Updated Apr 27
2–4
PLAYERS
60–120
MINUTES
3
BEST WITH
3.9
HEAVY
DESIGNER CLARIFICATIONS13
Income tiebreaker uses track space position, not income leveldesigner
- CONTEXT
- Dispute over whether the income tiebreaker means the income track position (space number) or the income level (the £ amount, which can be the same across multiple adjacent spaces on the track).
- RULING
- "Looking at it from a pragmatic point of view, it is a rule that is designed to break ties, and more ties are broken by using the space number than the level number."
Discard pile visibility in casual vs. tournament playdesignerpublisher
- CONTEXT
- Prior publisher posts on this topic were contradictory; players sought a definitive ruling.
- RULING
- "The rule is do whatever suits your group. In a tournament setting, open. In a casual setting, last round should always be open. Rounds further back than that: up to the discretion of the player you are asking. IE, if you ask once in a game to search for a discard, no problem, if you asked 7 times in one game, you are dragging down the experience."
Building requires adjacency to a network location, not just a link connectiondesignerpublisher
- CONTEXT
- A player suspected "adjacent to a location in your existing network" was a typo inherited from Brass: Lancashire, which only required being linked (not adjacent) to an existing industry.
- RULING
- "In English it is correct (adjacent to location part of your existing network)"
Empty merchant tiles are destination spaces that accept no goodsdesigner
- CONTEXT
- Players unclear on the function of blank merchant tiles that display no industry icons.
- RULING
- "These are to provide destination spaces that do not want goods and cannot be shipped to in a given game (remember not to assign them beer barrels either)."
Gloucester merchant develop bonus does not require consuming irondesigner
- CONTEXT
- The Gloucester merchant beer bonus grants a Develop action. Player asked if this still requires consuming an iron cube as a standard Develop action would.
- RULING
- "No, definitely not. It just lets you remove a token, without needing to consume iron."
Beer source for selling is freely chosen — no mandatory priority orderdesigner
- CONTEXT
- Player asked whether beer must be consumed in a mandatory priority order (own brewery → opponent's → merchant) similar to the forced-order rules for coal and iron.
- RULING
- "You select any beer for which you are capable of using. Your own beer, anywhere on the board; your opponents beer you're connected to; the beer at the market you are selling to."
Goods requiring 2 beer may draw at most 1 beer from a merchantdesigner
- CONTEXT
- Selling Level 5 goods or Level 3/5 Pottery requires 2 beer. Player asked how many of those 2 beer could come from a merchant barrel.
- RULING
- "If you are selling the Level 5 goods or the level 3/5 pottery (requires 2 beer) you may only use one market beer, the other beer must come from a player (yours or opponent)."
One industry tile sells to one merchant — cannot access both merchant beers at a locationdesigner
- CONTEXT
- A selling location may have two separate merchant tokens, each with its own beer barrel. Player asked whether a single sale could use both merchant beers.
- RULING
- "You have to select which merchant (one of the cardboard tokens, not the location as a whole) you are selling to… You cannot select to sell a single token to two markets and thereby use both merchant beers. One Token goes to one merchant."
Overbuilding requires the same industry type as the tile being replaceddesignerpublisher
- CONTEXT
- A location may show multiple valid industry types. Player asked whether overbuilding permits placing a different industry type than the one currently on the space, as long as that type is also printed at that location.
- RULING
- "Same type only."
Beer barrels return to general supply when a brewery is overbuiltdesignerpublisher
- CONTEXT
- Rulebook specifies iron/coal cubes return to supply when their tile is overbuilt. Player asked if beer barrels on a brewery tile follow the same rule.
- RULING
- "Same for breweries" (beer barrels return to the general supply when a brewery tile is overbuilt)
Only industries with a goods market can be overbuilt by an opponentdesignerpublisher
- CONTEXT
- Player asked whether opponents can overbuild a brewery, since breweries (like coal mines and iron works) also hold physical resource markers that could theoretically leave a gap.
- RULING
- "It's not really an exception, only industries with a goods market can you overbuild an opponent with it."
Double rail at the start of rail era with no existing networkdesignerpublisher
- CONTEXT
- Players uncertain about the rules for building two rail links at the very start of the rail era when no personal network has been established yet.
- RULING
- "Each link must be connected to its own coal. The second link must be connected to beer unless the beer is your own. Each link must be connected to your network (the first link counts as your network for the second). If you have no network the first link can be built anywhere there's coal."
2/3-player "build anywhere" note does not waive network and card requirementsdesigner
- CONTEXT
- In 2 and 3-player games a rulebook note states players may build in any location. Player asked if this waives normal network and card requirements.
- RULING
- "You need to follow all the rules. Even in a 2 or 3 player game. All the note means is you can build anywhere on the board. Since, in a 2 or 3 player game you will not have location cards to build up north, you will have to use industry cards. You can extend your network up there and then use an industry card to build in those locations."
Q&A1
"Connected" for double-rail beer means network-reachable, not physically adjacentcommunity high-engagement
- QUESTION
- When consuming an opponent's beer for a double-rail build, does "connected to the second rail link (after it is placed)" mean physically adjacent to the brewery, or reachable via any rail network?
- ANSWER
- Connected means reachable via a rail network of any length, not physically adjacent. The check is performed after the second rail is placed; the beer source only needs to be traceable through links at that point. Only the second rail needs to be connected to a beer source — the first rail has no beer requirement.
Last researched: 2026-04-27
CATEGORIES
Age of Reason·Economic·Industry / Manufacturing·Post-Napoleonic·Trains·Transportation
MECHANICS
ChainingEnd Game BonusesHand ManagementIncomeLoansMarketMulti-Use CardsNetwork and Route BuildingOwnership
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An opponent's settlement blocks your road network — your road cannot be built through or past an occupied intersection.
◆ Catan — Roads & Building, p. 7
At the end of each round, the player with the most of the goal trait scores points equal to their amount; the player with the second most scores fewer.
◆ Wingspan — End of Round, p. 11
Null cards deal 0 damage regardless of base value or any bonuses applied.
◆ Gloomhaven — Attack Modifier Deck, p. 23
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