Brass Birmingham & Lancashire - Review & Which One I Prefer

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Brass: Birmingham is an economic strategy game sequel to Martin Wallace' 2007 masterpiece, Brass. Brass: Birmingham tells the story of competing entrepreneurs in Birmingham during the industrial revolution, between the years of 1770-1870.

As in its predecessor, you must develop, build, and establish your industries and network, in an effort to exploit low or high market demands.

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TimeStamps:
0:00:00 - Overview
0:10:14 - Ease of Play
0:10:44 - Player Count
0:11:20 - What I Like
0:18:41 - What I Don't Like
0:20:04 - What I Can See Others Not Liking
0:22:28 - Final Thoughts
0:24:45 - Differences & Preferences Between The Two
0:27:57 - Recommendations

5.0 - My absolutely favorite games. You can pry them out of my cold dead hands.
4.5 - Love this game! At the same time missing something that would make it a 5. Could be hard to table, lacking variability, a little light, etc.
4.0 - Really great game, almost always keeping, although has meaningful complaints as to what takes away from the experience.
3.5 - Really enjoyed, don't love it, may lose out to better games but the idea of never playing again is a bit sad.
3.0 - A good game, would play and suggest with the right people, if I never played it again wouldn't lose any sleep.
2.5 - A game I'd play again , but will never suggest it myself
2.0 - A game I don't want to play again
1.5 - A game I can't find any reason to recommend
1.0 - A game that is just bad.

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[oTiMMeYo]

Brass:Birmingham is still my favorite game. The interaction feels so rewarding and thematic. Love it. Thanks for the Video.

[deano]

Brass Birmingham makes all the places I've lived and grew up in look like they're in Mordor which I enjoy very much!

[BoardGameDave]

(Small note: I believe the artists for these new editions are Lina Cossette, David Forest, and Damien Mammoliti.)

[justacynic]

Got Brass Birmingham on sale and owned it a year before tabling it. Instant top 10 game for me. Love the historical context for everything, the art, the different avenues to points, etc. and the games usually end up being quite close. Played it 5 times so far and three games were decided by three points or less.

[fredericbarbe]

I thought I was crazy about having a similar feeling playing Anno 1800 and Brass, but I now feel validated 🙌

[sidneyleejohnson]

I have how many versions of Zombicide but I can only keep one Brass... Sigh :P

[theblart]

I own both, love both, and regret nothing. Brass is one of my top euro games and will gladly play either any time.

[ModernPlague]

As primarily a 2p gamer, I think both of these are great. I can see how they are probably better at 3p/4p, but they're still great at 2p.

My research made me think Birmingham would be better, but we ended up preferring Lancashire. The extra stuff in Birmingham is mostly bloat that doesn't add as much meaningful variability as it looks like it would. Lancashire's port tiles and Distant Market make it more interesting & thinky than Birmingham, IMO.

[jeffersonwu]

Looking at Brass, I think Roxley should do the new version of Castle of Burgundy.

[PeteQuad]

I played Birmingham first and loved it but preferred Lancashire as I was glad to have the restriction of needing beer all the time removed. Beer always felt in short supply in my group and not being able to finish my plans because there wasn't a beer barrel around was not as satisfying.

[fabiostief]

I own both and I prefer Lancashire just a little bit more as it plays better with 4 people. However, in a 3 player game I’d choose Birmingham. Brass is my favorite game of all time and I’d never refuse to play it.

[elqord.]

Almost every time stamp in this video begins with “as far as”. Once you notice it…can’t ignore it!

[void]

Brass Birmingham in one of my favorite games and you did a great job describing all the intricacies and experiences of this game.

[michaelmartland]

Played both, love both but I am very biased towards Lancashire because all the towns and cities are local to me.

[bushibayushi]

Lancashire on the reverse side of the board is way better for 2 players than Birmingham. The market is shorter (more options for overbuilding when no resources), the board is tighter and the race for key spots more fierce ;).

[Exozik]

Lancashire for 2 and 4 players.
Birmingham for 3 players.

[aSyphodias]

I wanted to own one of the two without a chance to try them before. I decided Lancashire after watching a lot of videos. It looked cleaner/tighter which I usually enjoy. Unfortunately I have not had the chance to table it yet!

[ScytheNoire]

Art is by Mr. Cuddington: Lina Cossette & David Forest

[sethwinslow]

I agree with all, except the decision to get rid of Lancashire and keep only one. You can always get a bigger home or lose a kid! Seriously, I agree with everything there. Both of the kids that I have met (however briefly) are lovely,

On another note - Brass is set up as a historical simulation, and that affects the variability just as you said, although as you said, it's not a deal breaker. I wonder what the potential is for adding variability through expansion "maps, " say to capture industrialization in other nations/regions (USA, Germany). It's easier to add maps if the differentiating game is more abstract (Power Grid, Age of Steam) than for the more historically accurate games (Brass). Still... Wallace is a genius, and I think he's capable. Whether there is a market for other boards/maps is another question.

[ChadHensley]

I love both of these games but struggle to get them to the table. Every experience is so enjoyable for me but most of the people I play games with either don't like the heavy experience or the time commitment. Even if I only get them to the table once in a year, the experience is so good that I see both games staying in my collection for a the foreseeable future. If I had to pick one to keep it would be Birmingham and for the same reasons you listed. Thanks for your opinions!