On the last page of the rulebook for currently no. 20 on BGG, Brass Lancashire, even publisher Roxley has courted the fans, so we have an official, fun-made variant. One of 3 variant how you can play BL, unlike no. 1 on BGG, which has only the primary. This is the first difference and a slight lead for BL, which will only increase as this text progresses.
So, when at the beginning of this century M. Wallace created Brass, he invented perhaps the best economic simulation in board gaming ever. Brass – whatever, isn’t game about trains, canals, railways, but about economic development, taking a loan at the right moment, technological achievements and progress. Railways are then a logical consequence and all that and above all with the help of beer 😉 ….Not! With the help of brass.
Wallace almost made the best board game ever, but objectively, a better player (from 2-4 at the same level and gaming experience) will not win most of the time, but the one who was lucky on the cards, so that is first “imperfection”. Brass also lacks something else….fun, in the literal sense of the word (i.e. unpredictable events or some similar mechanism can override this probably, but then the whole Wallace simulation would fall like a tower of cards and would not be what it is).
So, key differences 🙂 …
It’s not just trains, there are also ships – “push your luck” mechanism. You can, if you want to, risk that instead in your own or other players ports, try to sell cotton on unpredictable distant markets, whose illustrations are irresistibly reminiscent of the “East India Company”.
Brass is metal alloy of copper and zinc and known for its excellent workability and machinability. If you look at B Lancashire or B Birmingham (there will be more sequels) both have that word in a title. Not the beer, which gets too mixed ups in everything in BB. In Lancashire’s tech three, there is little ore, very little, especially “iron works” tiles, so dilemma of when and where to build that industry is a constant enigma even after dozens of gameplays, and because of:
Overbuild action – what exists in BB only in rulebook and almost never in practice. What it is? Well, about the fact that you can remove other players “iron works” or “coal” tiles, and put your own in their place when brass or coal are no longer on the game board (and there are cc 50% less of them in BL). A sneaky thing, but a thing that serves to distract and tighten the otherwise tighter map.
The map, game board, double-sided, clearer, brighter and probably more beautiful. There is also the sea 🙂 One side – fun made for 2. Other for 2-4 players.
I mentioned the loan. You can always take it in BB. In BL, when you see Nathan Rothschild tile, in last 4 rounds – not. So think about money on time.
One of the best board games ever, Brass Lancashire remains the subject of my analysis, as does BB. But, in B Lancashire I evaluate opponent more and in B Birmingham, beers and boxes. Every time 🙂
