The Ludarium Academy · Masterclass · Free

Canals, Coal, and Beer

An unofficial Brass: Birmingham course

Learn and teach Brass: Birmingham in one sitting, then master both eras, coal, iron, and beer, loans, and the link math that decides close games.

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Brass: Birmingham setup for four players: the board with the draw deck and the face-up wild cards, merchant tiles, three of them blank, with beer barrels beside the others at Warrington, Nottingham, Shrewsbury, Gloucester, and Oxford, the coal market with one £1 space empty, the iron market with both £1 spaces empty, the turn order track, and markers on the progress track. Below the board sit the general supply and the bank, and beside it one player's area: player mat, £17, 14 link tiles, a hand of 8 cards, and a face-down discard.Free printable teach sheetSetup, a turn, scoring, and three tips on one page.

Six levels, 21 lessons

Start with lesson one

  1. Level 0 · Learn to play

    Navvy

    After this level: Set up, teach, and play a full two-era game with every coal, iron, and beer rule right.

    1. 01How to Play Brass: Birmingham
    2. 02How to Teach Brass: Birmingham
    3. 03Brass: Birmingham Coal, Iron, and Beer Rules

  2. Level 1 · Beginner

    Bargeman

    After this level: Skip the classic first-game mistakes, sell with merchant beer on purpose, and plan a Canal Era that carries into the Rail Era.

    1. 04Your First Three Games of Brass: Birmingham
    2. 05Selling in Brass: Birmingham: Merchants, Beer, and Bonuses
    3. 06Brass: Birmingham Canal Era Strategy
    4. 07Brass: Birmingham Rail Era Strategy

  3. Level 2 · Intermediate

    Mill Owner

    After this level: Time loans and turn order, count a link before you place it, and choose industries and Develops by what they return.

    1. 08Brass: Birmingham Loans, Income, and Turn Order
    2. 09Brass: Birmingham Link Scoring Math
    3. 10Brass: Birmingham Industries Compared, Level by Level
    4. 11The Develop Action in Brass: Birmingham: Which Tiles to Skip

  4. Level 3 · Advanced

    Ironmaster

    After this level: Open with a plan, manage your cards across both eras, read the shared board, and adjust for two or three players.

    1. 12Brass: Birmingham Cards and Hand Management
    2. 13Brass: Birmingham Openings: The First Three Rounds
    3. 14Reading the Table in Brass: Birmingham
    4. 15Two-Player and Three-Player Brass: Birmingham

  5. Level 4 · Tournament ready

    Engineer

    After this level: Plan the last rounds to the action, finish a four-player game inside three hours, and review every game for the swings you missed.

    1. 16Brass: Birmingham Endgame Planning
    2. 17Playing Brass: Birmingham Inside Three Hours
    3. 18How to Review a Game of Brass: Birmingham

  6. Level 5 · The championship path

    Magnate

    After this level: Enter a WBC heat knowing how it scores, find serious games online and nearby, and train with a six-week plan.

    1. 19Competitive Brass: Birmingham at the WBC
    2. 20Where to Play Brass: Birmingham: Online, Local, and Beyond
    3. 21A Practice Plan for Tournament Brass: Birmingham

Every lesson is free to read here, any time. Sign up and they also arrive by email, one at a time, so the course keeps you learning between game nights.

Who it is for

  • New players who want the rules clear before the first canal goes down.
  • Hosts who teach heavy games and want a clean, accurate teach of this one.
  • Players who know the rules and want to understand beer, coal, loans, and link math.
  • Anyone curious about Brass tournaments at the World Boardgaming Championships.
Players
2 to 4
Play time
60 to 120 minutes
Ages
Ages 14 and up
Rules as of
Brass: Birmingham rulebook v2018.11 (Roxley Games), the latest English rulebook on Roxley's product page

Questions

Where does beer come from in Brass: Birmingham?

From three places. Your own breweries need no connection. A rival's brewery must be connected to where the beer is used. The barrel beside a merchant can only be used when you sell to that merchant, and it earns that merchant's bonus.

Do you need a connection to buy coal from the market?

Yes. First you must take coal from the closest connected coal mine that has coal, whoever owns it, for free. Only if none is connected can you buy from the coal market, and that needs a connection to a merchant location. Iron never needs a connection.

How do canals and rails score in Brass: Birmingham?

At the end of each era, each of your links scores 1 VP for every link icon in the two locations it touches. Flipped industry tiles show link icons, whoever owns them, and each merchant location shows 2. Unflipped tiles show none.

Should you take loans in Brass: Birmingham?

Often, yes. A loan gives £30 now and lowers your income by 3 levels. Final income and money only break ties, so a loan that funds a strong build is usually worth it, and the later in the game you take it, the less it costs.

What happens at the end of the Canal Era?

Links score, then flipped industry tiles score. All links leave the board and level 1 tiles are removed, but level 2 and higher tiles stay. Empty merchant beer spaces refill, the discards become a new deck, and everyone draws 8 cards.

Teach sheet · PDF · Rules as described in the Brass: Birmingham rulebook v2018.11 (Roxley Games), the latest English rulebook on Roxley's product page; official rules.

Unofficial. Not affiliated with Roxley Games. Brass: Birmingham is a trademark of Roxley Games.