Brass: Birmingham
162 questions players ask about Brass: Birmingham, answered in plain words and graded by where the answer comes from. See also the full rulebook.
Updated 2026-10-23.
162 questions players ask about Brass: Birmingham, answered in plain words and graded by where the answer comes from. See also the full rulebook.
Updated 2026-10-23.
The designer ruled that all resources are infinite, and the rulebook's setup note says the General Supply is limitless.
No — the General Supply is unlimited. If you run out of cubes, barrels or coins, use a substitute. The designer's suggested stopgap for iron is to borrow cubes temporarily from the top (most expensive) spaces of the Iron Market and put them back there as they are consumed. Running short never stops you from building a Coal Mine or Iron Works with its full load of cubes.
The designer confirmed that printed tiles are a hard limit, matching the component list.
Yes — each player has only the 14 Link tiles and the Industry tiles printed for their colour. Unlike the resource supply there is no substitute for them, so once your links are all on the board you cannot place more.
The designer stated there is no functional difference between the two sides.
No — the two sides are functionally identical and differ only in artwork. Use either side at any player count.
The designer confirmed the full board is always used, and setup only removes cards and Merchant tiles.
No — every player count uses the full map. Fewer players only means fewer cards in the deck and fewer Merchant spaces with tiles, as marked on the board.
The designer answered this directly.
Ten. The cube drawn at the very top of the Iron Market is just an illustration, not an extra space.
The rulebook's setup step explains the removal; the resulting deck sizes come from players' counts.
Remove every card (and Merchant tile) whose player-count marking in the bottom-right corner is higher than your player count — go by those markings, which also cover some Industry cards, rather than by banner colour alone. Players report this leaves 64 cards with 4 players, 54 with 3 (10 removed) and 40 with 2; the Wild cards are kept apart in their own stacks either way.
It is intentional, not a misprint. With 3 players one Uttoxeter card stays in the deck; with 4 players both are used.
The designer ruled there is no restriction on building in or linking to those locations.
Yes — the whole map stays in play; only the cards are taken out to tighten the game. You can reach those locations with a Wild Location card, or with an Industry card once the location is in your network, and you may build links into them as usual.
The designer explained the tiles stay face up where they were dealt for the entire game.
No — they are shuffled and dealt face up at setup, so everyone can see them, and they stay in place for the whole game. They are not reshuffled for the Rail Era and they do not flip or run out when goods are sold to them.
The designer confirmed empty merchants get no beer, and the rulebook says beer goes beside non-blank tiles.
No — beer is only placed beside Merchant tiles that show goods. An early online rulebook illustration and an early digital demo showed beer next to an empty or blank merchant; both were mistakes, and the printed rules are correct.
The Sell action requires a Merchant tile showing your industry's icon, and players agree on how blanks work.
You cannot sell to a blank tile. Blank tiles randomise which merchant spaces buy goods in each game; a space holding one accepts nothing and gets no beer, but its location still connects you to the Coal Market.
Several players agree; no official ruling.
Yes — tiles are placed at random, so duplicates can land together. They still count as two separate merchants, each with its own beer barrel.
Several players agree, and it follows from how cubes move to the market.
Yes — they are only empty at the start. When a new Coal Mine or Iron Works sends cubes to the market, those spaces fill like any other, and the cubes there are bought at the price shown.
The designer ruled that face-down cards may not be looked at.
No — nobody may look at it, including its owner. It stands in for a card taken out of the Canal Era and is only turned face up when the discard piles are shuffled for the Rail Era.
The rulebook's setup describes the extra card, and players consistently explain its purpose.
It is not part of your hand: you hold 8 cards, plus that 1 extra card drawn straight to your discard pile. It balances the first Canal Era round, in which everyone takes only one action, so that all hands run out together at the end of the era. It is not repeated in the Rail Era.
The rulebook places the marker on the 10 space and defines income as the coin value beside it.
No — the space marked 10 on the Progress Track is income level 0, so you start with no income. Your income is the coin value beside the marker, not the space number.
Several players point out the illustration contradicts the actual mats and tiles.
£8, as printed on the player mat and tile. The player mat illustration on page 5 of the rulebook showing £14 (and +7 income) is wrong.
Several players confirm the printed cost; no official ruling.
Yes — £0 is correct. They give little income and few points; they are mostly stepping stones you develop past, or cheap tiles that hold a Pottery spot for a later overbuild.
They preview the back of that tile: the VPs, income and link icons it gives once flipped. You pay only the cost on the left when building and gain nothing from the right side until the tile flips.
The designer acknowledged the icon as an error in 2018 and again in 2024.
No — it can only be built in the Rail Era, so it always gets 2 barrels. The 1-barrel icon on that tile is a printing leftover that the designer acknowledged.
The rulebook states this exception under Player Turns.
One — each player takes a single action in the very first round and then draws one card back up to 8. Every later round, including the first round of the Rail Era, gives two actions per turn.
The rulebook's action list and Things to Remember both allow repeating an action.
Yes — any action may be repeated, provided you can pay for each one. You could build two industries, or take two Network actions in the Rail Era for up to four rail links. Scout is the only one with an extra condition: you cannot take it while holding a Wild card.
The rulebook notes that only the Build action requires a specific card.
No — every action costs one card, but only Build cares what the card shows. For Network, Develop, Sell, Loan, Scout or passing, any card will do, and it does not restrict where you place links.
The rulebook's Passing rule covers this.
Yes, but you still discard one card for each action you pass. Skipping without a discard would leave you with extra cards at the end of the era.
The rulebook's Player Turns section says to refill after all actions.
At the end of your turn, after all your actions are done. Once the Draw Deck is empty you stop refilling, and your hand shrinks each round until everyone runs out together.
Several experienced players agree; no official ruling on this exact case.
No — actions are resolved one at a time, and each must be fully legal and paid for when you take it. Place the link first and then build, not the other way round.
The rulebook fixes the number of rounds per era, and players consistently trace mismatches to these errors.
That only happens after a mistake — played correctly, every player takes the same number of turns (8/9/10 rounds with 4/3/2 players) and all hands empty in the same round. Common causes: leaving higher-player-count cards in the deck, skipping the face-down discard each player makes at the start of the Canal Era, or taking an action without discarding a card for it.
The rulebook says an era continues until both the Draw Deck and all hands are exhausted.
No — play continues from the cards in hand, two actions per turn, until every player's hand is empty. The era ends after the round in which the last cards are played.
The rulebook's Rail Era setup says to draw 8 cards and not to start with a card face down.
No face-down card this time — each player simply draws a fresh hand of 8 from the reshuffled deck. Before shuffling, turn over the face-down card at the bottom of each discard pile so it goes back into the deck. Players explain that the face-down card only exists to offset the single action everyone takes in the first Canal Era round; the Rail Era starts with two actions per turn.
The rulebook says Wild cards return to their Card Draw Areas.
No — Wild cards never enter discard piles. A played Wild card goes straight back to its own stack on the board, so only the regular cards are reshuffled.
The designer addressed this several times, most recently in 2021.
It is up to your group. The designer's 2021 guidance: fully open in tournaments; in casual play, the cards played in the most recent round should be shown on request, while digging further back is at the owner's discretion. The face-down setup card is never looked at.
The designer answered this directly.
Yes — all money is public knowledge and should not be hidden.
The designer gave this fix directly.
Work out who missed the discard and have them discard a card now (redrawing if appropriate), so that hands and the deck come out even again at the end of the era.
The rulebook says any money spent performing an action goes on your Character tile.
Yes — everything you pay during your turn, market purchases included, goes on your Character tile and counts as money spent. Money you receive during the round, such as from selling cubes to a market, does not reduce that total.
The rulebook sets turn order before income and sends negative income to the Bank.
No — negative income is paid to the Bank during the income step, after turn order for the next round has already been set. Only money spent on actions goes on your Character tile.
The rulebook's turn-order step applies at the end of every round.
The same as any other round: by money spent in the previous round, which is the last round of the Canal Era. Nothing resets between eras.
The rulebook's End of Round section lists these steps.
A round ends once every player has taken a turn. Then rearrange turn order (least money spent goes first, ties keep their order), return spent money to the Bank, and everyone collects income. The next round begins after that.
The rulebook defines income as the coin value and says flips move the marker by spaces, not levels.
The income level: the number on the coin beside your marker, not the space number. Flipping a tile moves your marker forward by spaces, and higher on the track several spaces share one income level, so income grows more slowly than the spaces suggest — e.g. a level 2 Coal Mine (+7 spaces) from the start takes you to £4 per round, not £7.
The rulebook's only exception to collecting income is the final round of the game.
Yes — income is collected at the end of every round, including the final Canal Era round. The only round without income is the very last round of the game.
The rulebook's Take Income section spells out the shortfall procedure.
You pay the Bank your negative income every round. If you are short, remove any of your Industry tiles (flipped or not, but never links) for half their cost rounded down, stopping once the shortfall is covered; removed tiles leave the game and any cubes on them go to the supply. If you still cannot cover it, lose 1 VP per £1 short, as far as possible.
Two players agree; nothing in the rules moves the marker on payment.
No — paying does not move the marker at all. It only moves when your tiles flip, when you take a loan, or with the Oxford merchant bonus.
The rulebook gives income on flipping and scores flipped tiles at era end.
Income, yes — you advance your Income Marker the moment the tile flips. VPs, no — flipped tiles score only at the end of each era, and only if still on the board then. Building a tile gives neither until it flips.
The rulebook says these tiles flip when emptied, often on an opponent's turn, and flipping raises its owner's income.
The owner of the tile. It flips and its owner advances their Income Marker, even though it happened on someone else's turn.
The rulebook raises income whenever one of your Industry tiles is flipped.
Yes — every Industry tile, Breweries included, raises your income by the amount shown when it flips.
The rulebook answers this in "Overbuilding".
No — income already gained is kept. Income never drops when tiles leave the board, and it does not reset between eras.
The rulebook's Remove Obsolete Industries step covers this.
All Link tiles (as they are scored) and every level 1 Industry tile on the board, flipped or not. Level 2 and higher tiles stay exactly as they are. Level 1 tiles still on your player mat are not affected.
The rulebook answers this in "3. Remove Obsolete Industries".
Cubes and barrels on removed level 1 tiles go back to the General Supply with the tiles — not to the markets. Level 2+ tiles keep whatever is on them into the Rail Era, unflipped tiles included.
The designer confirmed the markets are not reset.
No — nothing resets them between eras. The markets only gain cubes when new Coal Mines or Iron Works are built.
Several players agree; nothing in the rules adds beer between eras.
No — the number of barrels is set when the Brewery is built (1 in the Canal Era, 2 in the Rail Era). It keeps whatever it has left; nothing is added at the era change.
The designer confirmed this, and the rulebook's tips say the same.
Yes — a flipped level 2+ tile still on the board scores at the end of both eras, so a level 3 Pottery flipped in the Canal Era scores twice. It misses the second scoring only if it leaves the board first, for example by being overbuilt. Unflipped tiles never score.
The designer confirmed it is scored and removed at the end of whichever era it was built in.
Yes — like every level 1 tile it is scored and then removed. The difference is that Pottery I may also be built in the Rail Era, in which case it scores at the end of the game. Either way it scores in only one era.
The designer confirmed you total the icons in all connected locations, matching the rulebook.
At the end of each era, every link scores 1 VP for each link icon in the locations it touches. Count icons on flipped tiles of any player plus icons printed at merchant locations; unflipped tiles add nothing. If one end has no icons, the link simply scores what the other end shows.
No — it varies by tile: some give two or more, and some Manufacturer tiles give none. Building a 0-icon tile in a busy location is a known way to lower the value of opponents' links there.
The rulebook answers this in "Farm Breweries".
It is one link touching three locations, and it scores once: add the link icons in Kidderminster, Worcester and the farm brewery. It is not scored separately for each branch.
The rulebook removes links as they are scored; players confirm they are reused as rails.
Yes — every canal link is scored and then removed, whether or not it scored anything. The tiles go back to their owners, who flip them to the rail side for the Rail Era.
Several players agree; no official ruling.
Yes — those locations still show their printed link icons and score normally, even with no Merchant tile in that player count.
No — that picture is not a worked example, and its track positions do not match a correct count. Score by adding up link icons beside your links and the VPs on your flipped tiles.
The rulebook's Winning the Game section lists the tiebreakers; the older designer comment predates the published rules.
By highest income first, then by most money left; if still tied, those players draw. Before release, a 2017 designer comment said money would not be the second tiebreaker, but the published rules settled on income and then money.
Unsettled. Most players read it as marker position: further along the Progress Track wins, even within the same income level, and a player reported the designer agreeing by private message. Others read the rules literally as income level and go straight to money if the levels match. The marker-position reading has more support.
The designer explained that money no longer scores in Birmingham.
No — money is worth nothing in the full game; it only breaks ties after income. The £4 = 1 VP conversion belongs to the Introductory Game.
The designer confirmed this, and the rulebook's Your Network definition says the same.
Yes — any location adjacent to one of your Link tiles is in your network, whether or not you have an industry there. You can keep extending with links alone, and build there with an Industry card.
The designer ruled that markets count as locations for your network.
Yes — merchant locations count as locations. A merchant touched by your link is in your network, so you may build onward from it, e.g. Worcester–Gloucester and then Gloucester–Redditch.
The rulebook's Your Network definition covers it.
Yes — having one of your Industry tiles there is enough. You can build there with an Industry card, overbuild there, and place links out of it.
The rulebook defines your network by your own tiles only.
No — only your own Industry tiles and Link tiles define your network. Opponents' links count for connections (moving coal and beer, and selling), but not for where you may build with an Industry card or place new links.
The rulebook's network definition has no connectivity requirement, and players agree.
Yes — your network is simply every location with your industry or touching your link, and the parts need not join up. Building somewhere with a Location card adds that spot, and you can extend links from any part.
The rulebook defines the two terms in separate sections.
Network is about your own tiles: locations with your industry or touching your link. It governs building with an Industry card and placing links. Connected means an unbroken chain of links of any colour joins two locations; it governs consuming coal, using opponents' beer or merchant beer, selling, and sending coal to the market. Iron and your own beer need neither.
The rulebook's Connected Locations section counts Link tiles owned by any player.
Yes — connections can be traced along anyone's links. Locations along the way need no industries, and their contents do not matter.
Many players agree, consistent with the designer treating markets as locations.
Yes — a merchant location is an ordinary location for connections. If Redditch links to Oxford and Oxford links to Birmingham, the two are connected, and a Coal Mine reached that way must be used before market coal.
Several players agree; no official ruling.
No — there is no off-board link between merchants. Coal, beer or a sale reached only through one merchant cannot be used at a location connected only to a different merchant; that location must buy market coal or sell through its own connection.
The rulebook answers this in "YOUR NETWORK".
Yes — the location stays in your network because your link touches it, no matter who holds its spaces or whether any remain.
The rulebook answers this in "To perform the Build action:".
Not by links alone. A Location card (or a Wild Location card from Scouting) lets you build in its named location regardless of your network, and you can extend from there. You are only shut out of a location once all its suitable spaces are taken, and farm breweries cannot be reached with a Wild Location.
The rulebook's Consuming Coal order is explicit.
Yes — coal must come from the closest connected unflipped Coal Mine, whoever owns it, counted in links. The Coal Market is used only when no connected mine has coal left, even if a merchant location is nearer than the mine. Mines that are not connected do not count.
The designer issued this ruling in 2022, in line with the rulebook's wording.
No — choose one of the tied mines and take all the coal you need from it. Move on to the next closest mine only if that one runs out.
“Ruling: choose one and take all coal from there (don't split).”
— RoosterJuice, designer
The rulebook's Consuming Coal order allows this.
Yes — take what the connected mines have, closest first, then buy the remainder from the Coal Market, provided the location is connected to a merchant.
Many players agree; the rulebook doesn't address distance zero directly.
Yes, and you must — a mine in the same location is zero links away, so it is the closest source and has to be used first. That applies to an opponent's mine too.
The rulebook requires a connection to a merchant to buy market coal.
No — the location where the coal is consumed must itself be connected (by anyone's links) to a merchant location showing the market icon. A connection elsewhere in your network does not help, and neither does holding the Location card: it waives the network requirement, not the coal one.
The designer confirmed it, and the rulebook says Coal Mines may connect to Merchant spaces without tiles.
Yes — every merchant location with the market icon connects you to the Coal Market at any player count, even with no tile or a blank tile. You can buy coal there, and a new Coal Mine connected to it sends cubes to the market; you just cannot sell goods there.
The rulebook says to buy starting at the cheapest price and gives the empty-market price.
No — you buy one cube at a time from the cheapest filled space, so the price rises as the market empties. If the market is empty you still buy coal at £8 each (iron at £6).
The rulebook lists coal only for rail links and some industries.
No — only rail links and certain Industry tiles consume coal. A canal link costs £3 and nothing else.
The rulebook's Consuming Iron rules state this.
Neither — iron can be taken from any unflipped Iron Works on the board, each cube from a different one if you like, with no connection. You must use Iron Works on the board before buying from the Iron Market, which also needs no connection.
The designer explained the owner's reward is the flip, and the rulebook says this consumption is free.
No — consuming from any player's tile is free. The owner benefits because the tile empties and flips sooner, giving them income and points.
The designer stated you need not take the closest beer, and the rulebook lists the sources without an order.
No — beer has no distance rule and no priority order. Combine any legal sources as you like: your own Breweries, connected opponents' Breweries, and the beer beside the merchant you are selling to.
Only an opponent's beer. Your own Breweries' beer can be used anywhere without a connection. An opponent's unflipped Brewery must be connected to the location that needs the beer — when selling, the industry tile being flipped (which is itself connected to the merchant).
The designer explained the hat icon, and the icons summarise the rulebook's consumption rules.
They summarise transport rules: coal must travel along links to where it is used; iron needs no connection; an opponent's beer must be connected; your own beer, marked by the top hat, can be used from anywhere. The hat represents you.
The rulebook lets you use your own Breweries without a connection.
Yes — your own Brewery's beer needs no connection, so you are never cut off from it. Any opponent connected to it can use it too.
The rulebook's Reset Merchant Beer step is the only refill.
No — once taken, a merchant's barrel is gone until the end of the Canal Era, when every empty barrel space beside a goods-showing Merchant tile is refilled once. Consumed beer always goes back to the General Supply.
The rulebook sends a new Iron Works' iron to the market and uses board iron first.
No — a new Iron Works always moves as many cubes as possible into the Iron Market, so iron is left on the board only when the market is full. And since iron on the board must be used before market iron, the market cannot empty out while those cubes remain.
A Location card builds any industry in the named location, even outside your network. An Industry card builds that industry in any location already in your network. Either way it is one action with one card, and you still need money, iron and, if required, a coal connection.
The rulebook says the Wild Industry card is played as an Industry card.
No — it acts as any Industry card, so the location must be in your network. Only a Wild Location card (or the matching Location card) builds outside your network.
The designer said the slight imbalance is by design.
A slight imbalance is intentional. The Wild Industry card still has a niche: it is the only Wild that can build on a farm brewery.
The note sits in the rulebook's Build action, and players read it consistently.
No — every normal build rule still applies. The note only says that locations whose cards were removed are still in play: reach them with a Wild Location card, or with an Industry card once they are in your network.
The rulebook's no-tiles exception spells this out, and players confirm it applies whenever you have nothing on the board.
Yes — while you have no Industry or Link tiles on the board, an Industry card builds that industry in any location with a free matching space. This is not limited to the first turn; it applies whenever you have nothing on the board, e.g. at the start of the Rail Era. Costs, iron and coal connection still apply.
The rulebook's exception requires no Industry or Link tiles.
No — it applies only when you have no Industry tiles and no Link tiles on the board at all. Once anything of yours is on the board, links and Industry-card builds must be in your network.
The rulebook frames the exception as additional options.
Yes — the no-tiles rule only adds options (the bolded "also"). Location cards always work at their named location.
The designer confirmed you must link a farm brewery to your network first, matching the rulebook.
Only with a Brewery Industry card or a Wild Industry card, never a Location or Wild Location card, because farm breweries are unnamed. That means the spot must be in your network, which in practice means you own the link to it (the Cannock link, or the Kidderminster–Worcester link). Owning tiles in Cannock, Kidderminster or Worcester is not enough. The exception is when you have no tiles on the board.
The designer confirmed both points in 2018.
Yes — with nothing on the board, a Brewery or Wild Industry card can build on a farm brewery. A link to a farm brewery locks it for players who already have tiles, but not for a player with nothing on the board, who can still build there.
The rulebook's Farm Breweries section describes both connections.
The Cannock farm brewery needs its own link from Cannock. The other sits on the Kidderminster–Worcester line: one link there connects all three, and no second link can be placed to it.
The rulebook's Build placement rule applies within the chosen location.
Only for the industry you are building, within your chosen location. If that location has both a space showing only your industry's icon and a shared space, you must use the single-icon one. It does not restrict which location you choose, and built tiles never move later.
The rulebook's Canal Era Building rule sets the limit.
No — in the Canal Era you may have at most one Industry tile per location, and a flipped tile still counts. Other players can still build there. In the Rail Era you may build several tiles per location, even of the same type.
The rulebook's Build action places a single tile.
No — each Build action places exactly one tile and costs one card. Use both actions of your turn to build two.
The designer explained both icons, matching the rulebook.
It can be built in the Rail Era: unlike other level 1 tiles, it has no Canal-only marking. It cannot be developed: Pottery I and III carry the lightbulb icon, so you must build them to reach the higher Pottery levels.
The rulebook's Rail Era Building rule and tips cover it.
They stay on your mat and cannot be built. To build that industry in the Rail Era you must first remove them with the Develop action, which is why the rulebook advises building or developing a Coal Mine and Iron Works during the Canal Era.
The rulebook's Brewery rule states the amounts.
One barrel from the General Supply if built in the Canal Era, two if built in the Rail Era.
The rulebook's Moving Coal and Iron to the Market rules say this.
Only during the action that builds it, and only if the mine is connected to a merchant location at that moment. It then must fill as many empty market spaces as possible, most expensive first, and you collect their prices. Connecting the mine later, or spaces opening up later, never sends its coal to the market.
The rulebook moves iron to the market regardless of connection.
No — iron always moves to empty Iron Market spaces when the Iron Works is built, wherever it is. Since the market starts with two empty spaces, the first Iron Works always sells at least two cubes.
The rulebook says you must move as many cubes as possible.
No — it is mandatory. Move as many cubes as fit into empty spaces (for coal, only with a merchant connection); any that don't fit stay on the tile. If the last cube leaves, the tile flips right away.
The rulebook's Build steps put payment before moving cubes.
No — you pay the build cost first; the cubes go to the market only after the tile is placed and paid for.
No — you can build a Coal Mine at any location your card allows; the merchant connection only decides whether its coal goes to the market. Without a merchant connection its coal simply stays on the tile, and you can then build rail links out of that location using it.
The designer explained why only market industries can be taken from opponents, matching the rulebook.
Any of your own tiles, Breweries included, at any time. An opponent's tile only if it is a Coal Mine or Iron Works, and only when no cube of that resource is left anywhere — none on any tile on the board and none in its market. Opponents' Breweries, Cotton Mills, Manufacturers and Potteries can never be overbuilt, because only industries with a market qualify.
The designer ruled same type only.
No — the new tile must be the same industry type as the one it replaces.
The rulebook's Build steps take the lowest tile, and Overbuilding requires a higher level.
No — as with any build, you take the lowest-level tile of that industry from your mat, and it must be higher than the tile being replaced (not necessarily the next level). Build or develop away lower tiles first. A level IV Iron Works can never be overbuilt, since nothing is higher.
The rulebook treats overbuilding as a build with the usual costs.
It is a normal Build action. You need the matching Location card, or the matching Industry card with the location in your network (or a Wild card), and you pay the new tile's full cost including coal and iron — not the difference.
The designer confirmed breweries work the same as mines and works here.
It goes back to the General Supply, beer from a Brewery included. The new tile then gets its own fresh cubes or barrels.
The rulebook answers this in "Overbuilding".
Yes — it is a normal build: the new tile enters unflipped with its full load, and a new Coal Mine or Iron Works moves cubes to the market as usual if it can.
The designer ruled in 2019 that overbuilding yourself is allowed in this situation.
Yes — an open matching space elsewhere in the location does not stop you overbuilding your own tile. The placement priority for empty spaces applies only when you build on an empty space.
The rulebook says overbuilt tiles don't score and nobody loses gained income or VPs.
It never scores, because it leaves the game before scoring. You keep the income it gave when it flipped, and any VPs it already scored in an earlier era. The same applies when you overbuild your own tile.
The rulebook allows overbuilding in either era, and the Canal limit counts tiles you have per location.
Overbuilding your own tile is fine, since you still have only one tile there. Overbuilding an opponent's Coal Mine or Iron Works where you already have a tile is not allowed, because it would leave you with two.
The rulebook answers this in "YOUR NETWORK".
Yes — a location holding your industry is always in your network, so you can overbuild it with a Brewery or Wild Industry card.
The rulebook's Sell steps let you repeat for each tile, including different industries.
Yes — for one card you can sell as many of your unflipped Cotton Mills, Manufacturers and Potteries as you can, one at a time and in any order. Each sale picks its own merchant that accepts that good and pays its own beer, and the tiles need not be connected to each other.
No — each tile is sold to one specific Merchant tile, and only the barrel beside that tile can be used for that sale. A tile needing two beer can take at most one merchant beer; the other must come from a Brewery. Selling two cotton to a location with cotton and pottery merchants, only the cotton merchant's beer is available.
Several players agree; it follows from one merchant beer per sale.
Yes — each sale is resolved separately, and each Merchant tile has its own barrel and bonus. As long as each good is accepted by the tile it is sold to, both barrels and both bonuses can be taken.
The designer confirmed the bonus is tied to taking the free beer.
No — the bonus comes only with consuming the barrel beside the merchant you sell to. Once that barrel is gone, later sellers can still sell there with Brewery beer but get no bonus until it is refilled at the end of the Canal Era.
Many players agree; no official ruling on this exact case.
No — choose either. The rule preferring single-icon spaces applies only to building industries. Choosing a merchant to grab, or deny, its beer is legitimate play.
The designer confirmed that no icon means no beer.
No — a tile needs exactly the number of barrels shown in its top-right corner, from 0 to 2. Tiles showing none sell without beer, though you still need a Sell action and a connection to a merchant that buys them.
Two players agree; no official ruling.
No, by the common reading — players who have answered say the merchant barrel can only be consumed as part of the beer a sale requires, so a tile needing no beer cannot take it or the bonus. The rulebook doesn't address the case directly, and there is no official ruling.
The designer explained the options for getting more beer.
Then you cannot sell that tile; beer is required. Get beer onto the board: build a Brewery (Scout for Wild cards if needed), or overbuild one of your own Breweries for a fresh supply. There is always a way, but it may take actions.
The Sell action only requires a connected merchant showing your icon; the merchant beer is optional.
Yes — the merchant keeps buying all game; demand never runs out. You just pay the beer from your own or a connected opponent's Brewery, and you get no merchant bonus.
The rulebook requires a connection to a matching Merchant tile for every sale.
Yes — your own beer needs no connection, but the tile being sold must always be connected to a merchant showing its icon.
The rulebook says merchant beer is only for selling and that double-rail beer must come from a Brewery.
No — merchant beer can only be consumed in a Sell action, for a sale to that merchant tile. The beer for a second rail link must come from a Brewery: your own anywhere, or an opponent's connected one.
The designer confirmed it is a free develop of one tile, matching the rulebook.
No iron, and exactly one tile — it is a free single develop, not a Develop action. You remove the lowest-level tile of any one industry from your mat, but not a Pottery tile showing the lightbulb icon.
The rulebook says to advance your Income Marker 2 spaces.
Two spaces on the Progress Track, just like the income icons on tiles.
Shrewsbury gives 4 VP and Nottingham 3 VP, as printed beside each location. These are scored immediately — the only VPs gained mid-era.
The designer confirmed the English rule and flagged the Italian translation for correction.
No — it only has to be adjacent to a location in your network, and any location touched by your existing link counts even with no industry. The Italian rulebook's wording suggesting otherwise was a translation error; the English rule is correct.
No — every new link must touch a location already in your network. You can build toward a market or Coal Mine, not out of one you don't touch. Discarding that location's card doesn't help, since only Build cares about the card; build an industry there first instead. The only exception is having no tiles on the board.
Several players agree; no official ruling.
Yes — a link only has to touch your network; it need not reach a new location. Closing a loop or joining two separate parts is legal, and the link scores normally.
The rulebook places links only on undeveloped lines.
No — each line holds one Link tile. Links only go on undeveloped lines.
The rulebook's Network exception allows any line and keeps the coal requirement.
It can go on any undeveloped line, but it is not free: you pay the normal Network cost, and a rail link still needs its coal. This is a Birmingham rule; Brass: Lancashire differs.
The rulebook's Network During Canal Era rules set the limit.
No — in the Canal Era a Network action builds one canal link for £3. The two-link option exists only for rail links in the Rail Era.
The rulebook requires 1 coal per rail link.
Yes — every rail link consumes 1 coal, even when you build only one (£5 plus a coal). Two separate single-link Network actions avoid the beer cost but use two cards and still need a coal each.
The designer confirmed coal is needed after each rail is placed, from either end, matching the rulebook.
Yes — coal is checked after the link is placed, from either end. A rail into Oxford can buy market coal through itself, and a rail reaching a Coal Mine can use that mine.
The designer ruled that coal is needed after each rail, not after both.
No — links are placed one at a time, and each must reach coal right after it is placed. If the nearest coal is two links away, the first link can't be built.
“Coal for each rail is needed after each rail is placed. They are not placed simultaneously.”
— mopeymatt, designer
The designer confirmed the first link counts as your network for the second.
Yes — the first link is on the board when the second is placed, so it extends your network and can carry coal or an opponent's beer to the second link.
The designer explained that the beer belongs to the second rail, matching the rulebook.
From a Brewery, never a merchant. Your own Brewery's beer works from anywhere. An opponent's Brewery has to link up with the second rail once that rail is down, via anyone's links, and the second link itself may create that connection. The first link need not reach the beer.
The designer gave this breakdown.
Think of it as two single rail builds in a row with different prices: the first link costs £5 and 1 coal, the second £10, 1 coal and 1 beer — £15, 2 coal and 1 beer in total.
Many players agree; the rulebook doesn't require adjacency.
No — each link just needs a legal placement touching your network, so they can be in different parts of the board. Each must reach coal when placed, and the beer is checked against the second.
Several players agree; it follows from placing each rail separately.
Each link takes its coal separately from the mine closest to it right after it is placed. The two links may therefore draw from different mines, and placing the first can change which mine is closest for the second. Ties are your choice.
The designer ruled that the beer goes with the second rail.
No — the beer pays for the second link, so if you can't place a second link you can't pay for it. With one link left you may only build a single rail for £5 and a coal. Without any links left you can't take the Network action at all.
The designer explained both cases.
If your level 2+ industries survived, links must extend from your network as usual, and each must reach coal. If you have nothing left on the board, your first link may go on any line where it can get coal.
The rulebook's Beginner Tips suggest building a Coal Mine if you lack coal access.
No — use a Location card to build a Coal Mine in that location (it needs no coal) and link out from it. Or build something that needs no coal, build where coal is connected, or Scout for Wild cards. The rulebook's tips recommend planning a coal source into the Rail Era.
The rulebook's Develop steps state this.
One or two tiles for a single card, paying 1 iron per tile. The tiles can be from different industries, but each must be the lowest-level tile of its industry at the moment you remove it — so removing both level 1 Coal Mines uses both removals and 2 iron. Taking Develop twice in a turn can remove up to four tiles.
The designer explained the icon, matching the rulebook.
Those tiles cannot be developed away — not with the Develop action, nor with the Gloucester merchant bonus. You must build them to reach the higher Pottery levels. Pottery II and IV can be developed normally.
The rulebook's Loan action defines the drop and the −10 floor.
Three income levels, then put your marker on the highest space of the new level. Below 0 each level is a single space, so a loan at income 0 takes you to −3, and you pay that every round. You cannot take a loan that would take you below −10; landing exactly on −10 is allowed.
The designer explained why the Lancashire restriction was dropped.
Yes — Birmingham has no late-game loan restriction, unlike Brass: Lancashire. The designer removed it because money no longer scores VP, so a final loan only costs income, which is the first tiebreaker.
The rulebook's Scout action spells this out.
Three in total: the card for the action plus two more, all to your discard pile. You then take one Wild Location and one Wild Industry card. Your hand ends one card smaller, as with any action, so hands still run out together.
The rulebook forbids Scouting with a Wild card in hand.
No — you cannot take Scout at all while any Wild card is in your hand. Play the Wild card on an earlier action first.
The rulebook requires discarding the action card plus 2 more.
No — Scout needs three cards (the action card plus two more), so it is impossible with only two in hand. You cannot discard fewer cards for a single Wild.
Several players agree; the rulebook treats Scout as a single action.
No, and yes — Scout is one action, so you still have your other action, and you may spend one of the new Wild cards on it right away.
The rulebook's income exception applies to the last round of whatever game you are playing.
No — the Introductory Game is played like the full game but ends after the Canal Era, and income is never collected after the final round of the game.
The rulebook's Introductory Game scoring defines both effects.
Yes — nothing forbids it. The loss of income costs you VPs in the income-level scoring, and money scoring is capped at 15 VPs (1 per £4), which limits the gain. The intro game is a teaching tool rather than a finely balanced mode.
The rulebook's Introductory Game section lists these steps.
Play the Canal Era and its normal end-of-era scoring. Then add 1 VP per £4 (max 15), VPs equal to your income level (negative income subtracts), and the VPs of all your level 2+ Industry tiles a second time.
One player cited the solo mode's FAQ; no official post confirms it here.
No — according to a player citing the Mautoma FAQ, the bot never overbuilds.
A single player's reading of the solo rules; no official ruling.
No — it works like a human playing a Location card, so the city need not be in the bot's network. It still needs a coal connection if the industry consumes coal.