Brass: Lancashire

We have played “Brass: Birmingham” a few times before we bought this game. This one gave us another brilliant idea on Brass.

Hello!!!Brass: Lancashire is a great game, a legendary game for me. I started my hobby with a similar game Brass Birmingham she's in my top five games!!! We often play this game. Brass: Lancashire is ideal for two players, huge respect for Roxley for such a delicious reissue. I advise those who love serious economic strategies. Now the game ranks 20th in the list of the best games of all time and 14th place among strategy games. I would like to emphasize that this is Martin Wallace's top game.

In Brass: Lancashire, players are rewarded for being social...that is by paying attention to what the other players may need to develop their networks and industries. In this economic strategy game, the tight hand management and interdependency of players' networks and resources are what makes this game stand out. The publisher also includes two official 2-player variants that players can use, featuring a double-sided board with gorgeous art.

Best with 4 players although there is an excellent 2-player variant. Plays in about 3hrs. Not for the inexperienced or faint-of-heart. It helps if the players have any interest in the industrialization of England. Wow what a game. This solves my few small nitpicks of Brass: Birmingham (which is also excellent) while providing a more streamlined design. The history is palpable, there is the push-pull of supply and demand across several markets and there is quite a bit of both competition and cooperation with your fellow entrepreneurs in a welcome change from the multiplayer solitaire style that has been the rage among Euro games for the last decade. This is in no way purely a train game, it is as much about the growth of industries as it is about the creation of lines of communication and logistics. An excellent game that combines thoughtful game play and economic history in a surprisingly playable and rich package. As a note, I like the cardboard money tokens included in this retail version and don't feel that I am missing the iron clays seen in many online reviews.

I am a huge fan of Brass: Birmingham and had to pick up Lancashire as well. While I think Birmingham plays just slightly better with the addition of the beer mechanic and additional factory options, Lancashire still holds up as a classic network/route building and economic engine game. Lancashire is definitely more streamlined and cut-throat than Birmingham, and sometimes that's just what my group and I are in the mood for. The re-design by Roxley is simply gorgeous. If you own and love Birmingham, and need more Brass in your life, it's an easy decision.