ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ค. 2024
- The sequel to Brass Lancashire, Brass Birmingham, has its players taking on the roles of entrepreneurs, building up railways and locations to sell manufactured goods over the course of two eras (all in one board game session)! This gets you victory points, kinda expected for a euro tabletop game, but the catch is that many developments affect the board state and they're there for everyone to use! Everyone has a hand of cards used to build on locations, but those cards come from a deck that, once it runs out, starts the next era! The strategy for Brass Birmingham is immense, with simple yet depthful mechanics that keep your tabletop board game nights running smoothly turn after turn, round after round; on top of amazing components without fiddly visual clutter! That is, once you know how to play the game. There's definitely some finicky jank going on with symbols, iconography, and the rulebook that you have to get through before you can dive in and start making plays.
Thanks to A.T. Wolfe for the intro voiceover!
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Table of Contents:
Intro - (0:00)
Overview - (0:40)
How to Play - (0:59)
Pros - (3:31)
Cons - (21:42)
Recommender Score - (25:12)
Ashton's Personal Score - (29:55)
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Links to our other stuff:
Ashton's Channel: / ashtonwu
Daniel's Channel: / doyduh2
Stuff Used:
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• Age of Empires II: The...
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#boardgames #tabletop #review - เกม
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Quick fixes from our commenters:
1) When taking a loan, you go down 3 income levels, NOT 2.
2) The person who spent the LEAST amount of money in the previous round will go first. This still doesn't change the interaction level!
3) When coal is taken, it needs to be closest to the building location -Ashton
Is it a more relaxing game if you only go down 2 income levels instead of 3? I heard the loans in this game are stressful.
@@grog3514 Just saw this! I would imagine it would be way more forgiving, yet I never found the loans to be very stressful. More stress comes from someone sniping your beer before ya can sell! -Ashton
Ah good ole Glow Kester, definitely a gem in Her Majesty's crown. :P
Our first game of Brass B, playing the intro game, went over amazingly! Everyone loved it but then we played a full game with both eras and almost everyone in my group hated the second era.
This is one of the best rulebooks for this kind of complex games. Really clearly laid out and well explained.
I have to disagree. Without lets plays and how to play videos i would never have learned the rules correct.
Fiddely rules. Explaining network last. I had tp read it 4x. Watching 1 lets play and a how to play twice. Not a game easy to learn. And NO WAY these rules are anyway thematic. Thats was not really helpful. 😅
The bit where you reeled off a few of the town's names, and concluded it not with a punchline but just that they sound cool to you, really made me smile. It was a simple little thing you shared with us, but it's not often I hear people from other countries talk about mine in such a light, positive way.
ahaha thanks man! The names just really do stick with me in this game, and I really can't say that about many games that don't have a previously established IP! Now I want to play again :) -Ashton
Great review, I agree with you on basically everything, and it's quite synthetic yet detailed. Good job!
I've watched many Brass Birmingham reviews. This one has me the most excited about why I would enjoy playing this game. :-)
10/10 review. Nice job!
Heyo awesome that this helped! If you haven't played the game yet, you're in for a good time :) -Ashton
That "outside learning aid" as depicted is now going to haunt my dreams. 😆
Your reviews are top tier. You really explain the details in such a succint way; you really paint a picture as ti how the game would pan out. Fantastic work.
thank you! More stuff coming as always :D -Ashton
You guys are my new favorite gaming channel. I love the speed and efficiency of the videos yet still tossing in some humor. No rambling at all. I also like the more critical thoughts, not afraid to list cons which helps me make a decision to buy.
I was iffy on this game for years, but am buying this today based off this video.
You guys will be the #1 channel in due time. Congrats!!
Yo, awesome to hear man! We're coming out with so many reviews for you guys :) Cheers!!! -Ashton
Great review. Your tactical discussion is making me really really REALLY want this game. I like the whole "cooperative screwage" concept. Love it!
Great review! This has become my go-to 3-4 player game. It is hard to imagine one taking its spot.
You really put so much work into your videos and wonderful review. I definitely want to check out this game because I know I’ll love it.
Thank you, just trying to do the best I can for the vids! The game is awesome, really hope you get to give it a go soon -Ashton
Great review! My interest in the game just keeps growing. I might have to get it soon.
I came here to make sure you had the correct opinion. You will be happy to know that I approve of your video.
This game is on my list to buy. Because it sounds great and i have lived in the Black Country my whole life. You pronounce Gloucester- Gloster- by the way. I love your reviews. The best compliment i can give you, is that i will watch one of your in-depth videos even if I’m not interested in the game AT ALL. Your scoring system is unique and yourselves and No Pun Included are now the only Board game review channels i look forward to watching. Great to see my home town in a successful game.
hey awesome to hear mate! I have found out today that I have been pronouncing Gloucester wrong for quite some time ahaha. Cheers, see ya around! -Ashton
Ah Gloster! Thank you for that! I've been suffering with how to pronounce that for a long long time!
And we generally don't pronounce the h in places ending in ham. Birming'm
It's now been a routine to just watch these videos every morning I'm off from work with a cup of coffee.
cheers man, enjoy the coffee :) -Ashton
Great Review! Some friends and I are planning to play this game for the first time this weekend. Really looking forward to it!
Thank you! Best of luck with the game! Remember to make sure you got the rules down pat, and use the introductory game if necessary -Ashton
This is legit my favorite board gaming channel.
Cheers man, we got more stuff coming :) -Ashton
All I can say is yep. Great review. This is a masterpiece.
Wow Shelfside
I think you convinced me to finally get this game, thanks!
I was the same, didn't think this would be my thing and then LOVED this, it's now one of my favourites ever.
It just has a certain magic to it- it doesn't necessarily look that interesting from afar, but the money just flows so smoothly, the economic gears just click into place... mmm! what a game. -Ashton
Awesome review, well done!
thank you! More reviews coming soon! -Ashton
I really enjoy how you describe my favorite board game! 🍻
cheers! Great taste x) -ashton
Didn’t really understand why it was on third place on board game geek until now thank you guys for this review!
Same here and I've watched several reviews of Brass Birmingham.
And now it's 1st
Great review. Details and entertaining. As a British guy, I love how you nailed pronouncing the weird British cities' names. Im gonna back you for making content as engaging and informative as this.
Thanks man! I'm fairly certain I got Gloucester incorrectly, but the rest I have my fingers crossed! It's just so fun saying them while playing -Ashton
I have always had a great game sense (not calculating the game per say) to feel the flow of a game and figure out where and how things are going. This is probably the perfect game for me to feel out where the economy is going and take advantage without pissing others off (which in other games I do because its more direct confrontation).
masterpiece!!! cheers, mate👍
I started watching/listening to this video while at work. But this deserves a full sit down, shut up, and watch time.
awesome to hear! Can't wait to play to this game again :) -ashton
Excellent, you are the best!
cheers man, glad you enjoyed! -Ashton
Oh man, I've got this one on my shelf of opportunity (not shame yet only had it for a few weeks) and its next on the list to get played, also picked up the iron clays for other economic games we have. Great Review!
Hopefully it blows you away as much as it did for me! May you have an exciting game night when its whipped out, cheers! -Ashton
@@Shelfside definitely will, watched a bunch of rules videos, printed out 3rd party player Guides, but starting with the Canal Era only introduction section first is great advice. Thank you
I bought this game for the petty reason of my city being on the board but it has quickly become one of my favourites. I'm addicted!
game is awesome!!! Definitely did not disappoint me with the purchase. Beer away! -Ashton
I really enjoyed my plays of Brass Birmingham but find it hard to table because of the game length. But I can totally see its potential and why it’s so well rated and praised.
On a random note, I would love to see you guys do a review of Inis/Seasons of Inis. It’s such a fun game and really excels at player interaction and clever card play.
I appreciate Inis but I personally found it a little too dry/rigid in gameplay for my tastes, but I recall it being very soundly designed.
-Daniel
@@Shelfside Ah, ok. What were your thoughts on Brass Birmingham, Daniel? Did you agree with Ashton?
Great video. I love this game, I went for the deluxe with the poker chip money! Rules were difficult, watched Rodney's video like 3 times. I recommend small individual bags for every type of tile separated by color and industry for easier setup.
oh that's a good idea for organization! I was actually thinking of getting the deluxe one day too, that's just how much I love this game -Ashton
@@Shelfside The largest benefit of the deluxe version is the Iron Clays to replace the cardboard money, which you can buy separately! I picked some up and they quickly became my favorite board game upgrade, I use them as often as possible with any game that involves currency in matching denominations.
Love the intro with Age of Empires sounds 👌
One of the best games ever!!!! Aoe2 was the stuff of legend -Ashton
Superb review guys, like always super informative and fun, i was not sure to get this because the full "Euro" game stigma, but after seeing that it actually have player interaction in a meaningful way and not crazy book keeping, I'm getting it, thank for this and keep the good work.
Thanks man! Really hope you do have a blast with it, just remember to take the first game a little slower! Cheers! -Ashton
Euro game stigma? Wtf
@@arthursimsa9005 Full Euro = sodoku puzzle with 0 interaction, of course that's wrong but is how many people see it
@ Maybe in the US. I'm in Europe, where it's in reverse: when I bring even euro-ey dudes on a map games (like Inis), I might get weird glances, at least at first. And nearly everyone wants to avoid 'confrontational" games.
@ it's sad how "euro" is synonymous with "weak interaction and crazy bookkeeping" nowadays, considering early 2000s Eurogames were known for being the opposite. Same happened with worker placement, which went from "the mildly interactive cut-throat euro mechanism" to regular complaints like "I hate worker placement because they're not interactive" nowadays
Sure multiplayer solitaire and spreadsheet simulators are fine given the rise of cozy gamers or brain burn addicts, but when they dominate the scene with barely any counter to the stigma...
Totally agree with this review. Definitely one of my favourites, only being dethroned by Gaia Project. But Gaia project is a massive pain to setup, so for a quick easy euro Brass is my go-to.
awesome, thanks for sharing! Gaia Project review coming soon actually! -Ashton
I am the one, who really loved the rulebook and really wouldnt care for table of content, as it was really short one and every action was together, so i would find everything with a few seconds. And loved the ones they added at the end, becouse when new players want to check Connection thing, they can easly see it in the back. Only thing difficult is to teach new players that coal needs to be connected and iron not.. i have found that this is hardest part for new player to wrap their head around, and it really shows in the start of the railroad era, when railroads need coal 😁
I completely agree. And yes, I also found teaching how coal vs iron are accessed was probably the trickiest piece...but really not too bad at all. The rulebook worked great for me but I appreciated Ashtons points. He's right. For such a flawless game, it is kinda silly to have a less than flawless rulebook.
@@chimster1234 also those historical facts Are great for teaching mostly iron and coal one, people can wrap their heads around rules little bit easier 😊
The intro made me subscribe
haha cheers mate! -Ashton
@27:10 I played Brass Birmingham once, and it did feel punishing. It was a while ago, but I remember someone getting in my way and making things harder for me even though I was way in last place. The first place player was running away with the win, but the other player was saying that the cards she had didn't allow her to play against the winning player. So I was trying to keep my head above water while second place pounded on me and the rules-teacher skated to the W.
But he was also one of those people who withhold some information during the teach so that he can maintain an edge. I remember asking a couple times how to do something, and he would not answer. Like I was trying to get him to reveal his deepest secrets. So maybe it was the teacher. Not the game?
heyo! That does certainly sound more of the case of the person affecting the experience. The game is still long, and rather complicated, so it will be the case that first games will still be rough. Would recommend giving it another go with any group if possible if the mechanics interested you! -Ashton
Yeah, that sounds like a miserable experience. There are way too many fiddly rules in Birmingham for the game teacher to withhold information like that. Eck.
Would recommend you try it again. For an economic game and a sequel of sorts to Brass (which was notoriously unforgiving, I have heard), Birmingham is typically quite gentle with the players.
Bought Brass Lancashire and Brass Birmingham combined for 150% and sold Lancashire for 100%. This means i got the KS-version at half price, with Iron Clays.
Played the old version of Brass also. The new rulebook is a god gift compared to the old one. That was one ongoing text.
The skit in the recommender score section is hilarious
it's totally true right!!?? Those rules are kind of wonky at first x) -Ashton
Would love to see a review on scythe. Amazing
It's on the list to get going :3 -Ashton
I like the AOE2 music at the beginning
that music never gets old -Ashton
"It is interactive but not cutthroaty." - Agreed! I think this is why it is such a hit with me and my brother. We love interaction and economics, but we usually game at 2 players, and definitely prefer them less on the mean side. As such I think I'd recommend Birmingham at two players (in addition to 3-4) - which I probably would not do for any other economic game (though take my recommendation with a grain of salt as I don't think BGG agrees with me on this!)
Also, you are spot on with the rulebook. Looks gorgeous and is well-written. But the organization is all over the place. I think they repeat some rules 3 or 4 times. I thought I was going crazy reading it.
Cheers man! My first game of BB was actually at 2p, and I fell in love immediately. Yeah the rulebook is really irritating giving the overall delight of the game. -Ashton
What games do you find too mean?
Thanks for reviewing this game, while it seems like one I would like, I don't currently have a group of friends who would enjoy it.
glad you enjoyed it! it definitely weighs on the heavier side of things, but hope you get to experience this awesome game one day :D -Ashton
thanks!
cheers! -Ashton
This is a really nice video 👍👍. However I am unable to decide between this brass and well known 2 player games namely 7 wonders duel and santorini. Though they recommended at 2 player counts, I am afraid they might be too shallow and short, because I am actually looking for a deeper game that can still be enjoyed at 2 players! Would like to know if brass is still feasible!
Thanks matthew! I haven't played santorini, I've played 7 wonders duel once. But those are gonna be a lot simpler than Brass Birmingham, by at least a multitude of a couple of hours ahaha. Brass works great at 2 players for sure! The economy isn't as diverse/wide as 3/4p, but the back and forth is really gripping. Lemme know if you have any other questions -Ashton
You sold me
Great Review! Can you tell us other 10/10 games for you?
thanks! TI4, Brass Birmingham, Civilization, and Mansions of Madness are 10/10 with the right player count for me right now. Still on the lookout for the next 10/10s -Ashton
Also, the DiceTroyers organizer for this game is absolutely awesome.
With it setup takes 5 minutes instead of 25. Tear down takes almost the same because you have to re-order the tiles.
But man, if you use the game a lot it will be a big time-saver.
Useless to say I love the game, but I have doubts on 4 player (tried twice, played a lot in 2)
sweet! I'll have to take a look, since I play this game quite a bit. Was there just too much downtime in 4P? Or not enough control of the map/economy? -Ashton
@@Shelfside Yeah, more down-time + the less actions (probably because I was used to the 39 actions that you get in 2 vs the 27 ((I hope i did the math right)) that you get in 4).
But still, it's an awesome game and 3 might be the sweet-spot. Sadly I still have to try it in 3....
Also, the game is more a challenge with yourself than with the enemies, so more players = less actions = harder challenge 😂
@@lucaframba3730 Gotcha! Thanks for sharing your experience man. I think I like it best at 3P as well :) -Ashton
Great review, some small errors but you know how to tell a good story.
Brass Birmingham, the best boardgame to date imo.
I think to rulebook is great, had no problem with it at all.
Level 1 industry problem in the canal era? Use overbuild, problem solved.
7:49, you need to take coal closest to the building location.
10:56, the less money you spent the earlier you go in the next round.
14:10, dropping 3 income levels.
Thank you mate! I did not know about the coal closest to the building location, I will put that in the pinned comment with the error corrections.
Overbuilding is something we have to play around with- when we tried it in our first couple of games, it seemed inefficient, but hey, I can totally see it working under the right circumstances. -Ashton
@@Shelfside Coal and iron closest to the building location gives the game an extra layer of hard decision making to the game. If both resources on the board are the same distance away you may choose which to take.
In my first plays the overbuild also seemed inefficient but it can be a powerfull move. Sometimes you need to have a fast coal/irom/beer resource and build the level 1 industry (a develop action may not be the best option to take at the moment). The benefit of overbuilding is that it can raise your income fast in the game if flipped. Overbuilding will add new resources on the same location and if it's a strategical location for the train era you won't loose the industry on that location. If you are also able to flip the level 2 industry before the ending of the canal era you will gain income a second time. The only downside is that you won't gain the points of the level 1 industry tile at the ending of the canal era.
@@UnCompress_ never thought about how it would raise your income really fast. Sounds so fun, now I'm gonna try that next game! Thanks mate! -Ashton
I own poker chips and substituted those in for the currency. It works beautifully, made handling money much less clunky, and made the experience even better.
save a good deal of real person money by doing that instead of buying iron clays! Cheers! :)
@@Shelfside Trust me, these are casino quality chips; there was no money saved. 😂
I really want to get this game but how long are turns? I play with some heavy AP players and I hate waiting a lot and then when they finally do their turn they miss 1 buck and they have to reset everything (looking at you rummy)
this definitely can be a concern for AP prone players, but that is probably the case with games for more complexity in general. If you really want to go HARD in thinking in BB, you could keep re-thinking the usage of every card in your hand -Ashton
I actually thought the rulebook for Brass was good. I recommend people to start with Lancashire which is still amazing and trims down the rules a bit while still teaching the core game. It also plays in a shorter time. You might consider this one yourself!
Also, nothing feels better than orchestrating 4 actions in a row by taking two cheaper actions than everyone else followed by two more great ones. Get wrecked!
If you want the game to look/sound/feel even better, grab yourself a set of Iron Clays.
This is one I would like to try at some point with others that know the game well. I don't think my usual game group would be interested in this, so can't justify buying it first just because I want to try the 3rd ranked game of all time (on BGG). And the theme isn't exactly fun.. it looks thematic and historic, but not a fun theme for me. Hopefully some day I will play this
You'll definitely be able to play with people at some point since the game is so popular! Good of you not buying into things just because of their ranking though, hope you get to play it soon! -Ashton
Seems relaxing and an all-around great game, just worried about the interactivity since it just seems to friendly which does not seem very conducive to the moments I look forward to in gaming...tense action, sudden surprise moves placing your opponent in jeopardy, narrow escapes and lots of LAUGHTER!
This is a standard Euro. Euros don't really have such things.
@@rafhalimaxd So Euros don't have fun. I see.
@@geekworthy7938 Not the kinda fun you're looking for
@@rafhalimaxd Yeah. It's not fun, abundantly clear!
Great review!! Love the pronunciations 🙂. To be fair though English place names can be difficult for non British. Birmingham is pronounced 'Birming-um'
Wow, I did not know that at all. Ok well I feel like an idiot, time to say it differently from now on -Ashton
@@Shelfside no way are you an idiot! It's just like a none American having trouble pronouncing 'Arkansas' if they'd never seen the word before! Good work on the video. Brilliant work as always.
@@Emsworth377 ahaha thanks man! Thanks for the pronunciation tips too :) -Ashton
Which version do you have? Your rules have different sections than mine. Are there rules differences?
that's interesting! I bought the game in early 2021, and from what I recall, has the same exact wording as the one on Roxley's website. Unfortunately the website is down right now, but ping me again here if there's more questions that come up! -Ashton
Wow Shelfside
Talking about train building games I’ve always seen ticket to ride next to dominion but I’ve never seen you mention it except for one second in the snob .
So what is your opinion on ticket to ride and why do you not talk about it
heyo! I've only played TTR once actually, I actually want to make a video on it one day for sure. It just never comes up in discussions for our group :) -Ashton
Well it just came up now
Have you tried Architects of the West Kingdom? Based your your Euro game complaints, I think you would like it.
Not yet, it's been on my radar from browsing BGG! Will have to take a look soon -Ashton
Me at the start of the video: 'lol haha that's not what people from Birmingham sound like, but I get it, they're American, they're doing a bit, no harm done'
Me at 2:35: 'Glow... kester? GLOWKESTER? GOD FUCKING DAMMIT'
ahaha, it seems like my pronunciation is not the best :) -Ashton
In your tier list video from 4 months ago, you rated Brass Birmingham as A tier, possibly because you admitted that you had not played the game that many times. Now, after many plays, would this game still be in your A tier or has it moved to S tier?
definitely S tier. At that point in time, I had only played it twice 2 player, and needed to test it multiplayer to see if it really made the cut. And it did, this game is pure amazing :) -Ashton
11:00 its actually whoever makes the least amount of money goes first. I like to take 2 loans on the last round at the end of the canal era, that way Im juiced up and ready to go AND get first choice in the rail era.
heyo! I'm just going off of page 6 in the rulebook that says whoever spent the least money this round will go first in the next round. Cheers man! -Ashton
@@Shelfside Sorry I mean spend, not make. But at the time stamp you said whoever spends the most money gets to go earlier.
@@ryanjackson4888 oh, I see what you mean! I can't believe I didn't catch that, I will put this in the pinned comment to help everyone! Cheers man! -Ashton
What's a game with a really good FAQ?
A couple of Fantasy Flight Games nail this pretty well with their reference sheet, like Eldritch Horror, Unfathomable. The Law of Root for Root also does a pretty good job. -Ashton
Me like make beer and choochoo trains :)
it take me 4 games before getting the rules right lol
14:12 actually three income levels :)
dang, nice catch. Will pin something on this! -Ashton
I couldn't fall in love with this game as much as I wanted to. It's absolutely beautiful, the box fits everything so nicely, but I just don't feel anything playing it.
I believe Gloucester is pronounced glaw-ster
ahaha, someone else pointed this out too! Well now all of our games will have slightly different pronunciation -Ashton
Love these reviews but as a Brit that pronunciation of Gloucester hurt
ahaha I'm working on it! Also I have pronounced birmingham incorrectly too. Thanks to you guys for expanding my pronunciations! -Ashton
I usually dislike euros but, this one surprised me.
it really has some magic to it eh? -Ashton
It’s the best game. Period. However it’s so tense that I don’t feel like playing it often. You have to plan so much. So I disagree. It was a HUGE brain burner for us
I can totally relate 😂 I can play 3 Wingspan or Raiders of Scythia in a play session, but I can only play just one Brass: Birmingham. Haha.
There is Your Favorite Game. There IS no "best" game, unless you are going to list a series of objective criteria that EVERYONE agrees makes one game better than another.
@@chuckm1961 I don’t have the say „for me“ after every sentence. How stupid is that?
I am probably in the minority but I prefer Lancashire.
Nice British Accent.
Cool game, just not my speed.
Accent is from my friend, cheers! -Ashton