

It’s a cheap, efficient industry with double link value. Still, it pays off to build that first coal mine. If you find yourself losing despite having a lot of money, chances are you built too many coal mines.

A good game of Brass: Birmingham is tight: You don’t want to waste resources on unproductive income but you don’t want to stop and take too many loans, either. Every mine built represents one less scoring opportunity.ĭon’t build too many coal mines and don’t do so unless you need the money. The largest limitation in Brass is not income but time. However, I think coal is much worse than the other three and should be used sparingly. This makes them a great tool to overcome the early stages of the game and a powerful alternative to loans in the railroad era.Ĭoal is often listed alongside beer, iron and railroads as the most important industries in Brass. Cheap and easy to play, they often recoup their cost on the spot. COAL MINESĬoal mines provide the largest increases of income levels, but also the lowest victory points. Some expert players go as far so as to overbuild their own breweries! Truly a testament to their power. Beer is so scarce that development denies yourself barrels. When I was less experienced I used to develop away the level I tiles as a matter of routine. Keep an eye on the horizontal line from Shrewsbury to Walsall and the vertical lines that join Birmingham with Stafford and Burton-on-Trent. An underdeveloped network will give you problems in the long run as you’ll be unable to secure beer and connections. It’s a good idea to aim for them when building railroads. Controlling the turn order can be useful in this scenario.īrewery spaces are limited and their tiles have double-link value.

Beer “teleports” if you own the barrels so you can use far-away locations like Utoxetter and Burton-On-Trent to secure your own supply. While flipping breweries is good, beer is too valuable to give away for free. Use the beer you place on the board as soon as possible. No matter the strategy, all players should build breweries. Beer is extremely useful and in such high demand other players will flip your tiles for you. They are remarkably efficient, both in income and points. When should we build them and why?īreweries are the most important industry in Brass: Birmingham. If we want to win, we need to understand how they work and how they interact with each other. Each one, from the powerful breweries to the risky potteries, plays a different role. Brass: Birmingham features six different industries, one more than its predecessor.
