In general, things I see winning players do include getting a lot of iron out in canal without having to build connections, getting multiple high level cotton out in canal, monopolizing the north (around Uttoxeter) with rails, and getting all their beer out by the end of the game.īeer is incredibly cost efficient and worth a lot of points it is hard to win the game if you don't spend effort trying to get as much beer out on the board as possible. There are some engine building elements, but a lot of games are won with relatively low income (7-12 lbs. Lots of people build too much coal and end up with a very high income and nothing to spend it on. The difficulty here is that people will almost certainly not help you make the canal connections to do that easily.ĭon't overdo it on coal. Pottery I is generally weak to play in canal because it's worth 10 points whether or not you drop it in canal or rail era, but if you can drop both Pottery I and III in canal era, you're in good shape. Developing into cotton II/III in canal is a common and powerful strategy since they will score multiple times. As second player, you can, for example, follow up by dropping a canal/coal (connected to the ironworks), or by developing multiple times.ĭeveloping pays off. As first player, you can guarantee yourself to be the first person to drop an iron in round 2 by either taking a loan or scouting as your first action. Actions are your most precious resource, and you should force other players to build a canal before dropping iron if you can.
If you are going to put a canal down for points, try to make it worth at least 5 VPs.ĭon't give anybody free iron if you don't have to in the canal era. The less you lay canals, the more actions you have to develop for more points and economy later. I will say that I prefer the community map included in Lancashire for the 2-player game.Try to lay as few canals down as possible in the canal era. Lanacshire definitely is more punishing… but in my opinion more rewarding because your long-term planning has more impact.Īlso, I’ll point out that these games do have alot of similarities, so the differences might be overemphasized in comparisons… even mine ). They wanted to always have something to do regardless of their strategy. I also like the push-your-luck element in the distant market and the extra elegance in the rules (largely due to fewer industries).īy the way, I’ll point out that SHUD disliked the original Brass because they felt the tightness was too constraining. I’ve owned both and prefer Lancashire because I like the extra tenseness from the extra player interaction. In a nutshell, I’d say that Lancashire plays more like a classic euro while Birmingham plays more like a modern euro. Birmingham adds extra industries so makes players less likely to fight over the same thing. Birmingham is a modified version with less player interaction and slightly more complexity. Lanacshire is basically the original game with slight changes and new art.
FWIW I have both, still play both in a fairly even rotation, but if I had to pick one it'd be Lancs: it's better at 2 and a bit more streamlined, if less open with possibilities. They are both really good games and most people enjoy the one they get. If you prefer the setting and that will see you love the game, then get Lancs. Brass is/was a great game and so is Lancashire (and so is Birmingham). If anything it's more intuitive and easier to get to the table (though less variable and certainly more punishing of bad decisions). SUSD was wrong in my opinion: there is nothing about Brass/Lancashire that is less playable than Birmingham. I don't know if that matters to you, but it is a significant difference between the two as Birmingham only has the "Roxley" 2 player (which is good, don't get me wrong just not as good IMO). The latter is the best way to play Brass at 2 in my opinion.
One is a "Roxley" variant which plays on a full map with a thinned deck, the other a "community" variant that plays with a limited map and adjusted deck. Where Lancs is significantly different to original Brass is that it comes with two 2-player variants, whereas the original game didn't officially accommodate that count. Brass Birmingham is fairly significantly different to both. There are a few edge tweaks, but it's essentially the same game.
At 3-4 players Lancashire is basically the same as original Brass, the artwork aside.