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Brass: Birmingham

60%Game Brain Score
gameplay, graphics
stability, grinding
60% User Score Based on 580 reviews

Platforms

PCPCWindowsWindowsLinuxLinuxMac OSMac OS
Buy Nowfrom $18.99
Buy NowGet on Steam$18.99

About

"Brass: Birmingham" is a strategic economic board game set in the industrial revolution. Players compete as entrepreneurs, building and managing industries, railways, and canals to expand their businesses and earn victory points. The game features a unique hand-management mechanic and encourages strategic decision-making, with gameplay that is both challenging and rewarding.

Genres & Tags
Play Modes
Brass: Birmingham screenshot
Brass: Birmingham screenshot
Brass: Birmingham screenshot
Brass: Birmingham screenshot
Brass: Birmingham screenshot

60%
Audience ScoreBased on 580 reviews
gameplay6 positive mentions
stability50 negative mentions
  • The digital version of Brass: Birmingham is a faithful adaptation of the board game, with smooth and intuitive gameplay that captures the essence of the original.
  • The game is visually appealing, with well-crafted graphics and animations that enhance the industrial era theme.
  • It serves as an excellent tool for learning game mechanics and strategies, making it a great option for both new players and those familiar with the board game.
  • The online multiplayer experience is severely broken, with frequent disconnects, lag, and issues that prevent players from completing games.
  • The AI is poorly designed, often making predictable and suboptimal moves, which diminishes the challenge for experienced players.
  • Many users report significant bugs and interface issues that hinder gameplay, making the game frustrating and unplayable in its current state.
  • stability
    54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability is a significant concern, with numerous reports of freezes, glitches, and server issues that hinder online play. While some users have experienced improvements after updates, many still find the multiplayer experience too buggy to recommend. Overall, the implementation of the board game is praised, but the persistent technical problems detract from its enjoyment.

    • “When the game is consistent, when it's not buggy, it's still a good implementation of one of the best board games around.”
    • “Not buggy for me.”
    • “Currently there are too many freezes and other problems to allow predictably good games against other humans on the internet.”
    • “If you want to play against others though I can’t recommend it; online play remains buggy and prone to freezing years after the game came out.”
    • “Still can't recommend it for multiplayer, which is most of the fun, because the game frequently glitches, fails to save the turn, or just fails to log in.”
  • gameplay
    46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of the digital version of Brass: Birmingham is praised for its smoothness and intuitive mechanics, making it an excellent tool for both new players and veterans to familiarize themselves with the game's strategic elements. While it remains true to the original board game, some users have reported issues with the AI being overly simplistic and bugs that disrupt the experience. Overall, the game is recommended for those looking to deepen their understanding of the mechanics without the need for in-person sessions.

    • “As someone who enjoys the original, I was impressed by how smooth and intuitive the gameplay feels.”
    • “The gameplay is very true to the board game, and if you like that, I really recommend this.”
    • “Birmingham adds a few clever tweaks which add more variety to the proceedings, keeping the strategy fresh with variable set-up elements and alternative industries while maintaining the core mechanics of the original.”
    • “The gameplay is terrible; every time each player needs to play, you need to leave the game and join again to force the game to advance to your turn.”
    • “The AI gameplay is rubbish right now and is far from developed - far too easy (even on the expert level) and predictable - maybe it is good for beginners to learn the mechanics of the game.”
    • “In terms of gameplay, this software has what you'd generally expect from the board game but with extremely limited settings for the user experience; the only settings available to adjust are sound.”
  • graphics
    40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics in the game are widely praised for their beautiful and well-crafted artwork, effectively bringing the industrial era theme to life. Players appreciate the strong visuals, smooth performance, and aesthetically pleasing design, although some note issues with usability and implementation. Overall, the graphics contribute significantly to the game's appeal, enhancing both the gameplay experience and replay value.

    • “The graphics are well-crafted, bringing the industrial era theme to life beautifully.”
    • “Cublo's implementation of Brass: Birmingham has a lot of positives going for it -- very strong visuals, good UI animations, and a solid feel.”
    • “This digital version uses the gorgeous revamped art style from the Roxley game.”
    • “The graphics are adequate.”
    • “Great game, pretty graphics, nice music, bad implementation, terrible usability.”
  • replayability
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers significant replayability, with players noting its complexity and engaging mechanics that require a few sessions to master. The beautiful artwork and evolving gameplay, especially after recent patches, enhance its replay value, making it a compelling choice for repeated playthroughs. Overall, users find it entertaining and rewarding, with plenty of depth to explore.

    • “Complex, entertaining, beautiful artwork; not difficult to pick up but takes a few plays to get a good handle on it and definitely has good replay value.”
    • “This game has tons of replayability once you understand the mechanics.”
    • “Great game with high replay value.”
  • optimization
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The digital version is well-optimized for screens, offering smooth performance and impressive graphics, enhancing the overall gameplay experience.

    • “Having played the physical version several times, I can say that the digital layout is well optimized for screens.”
    • “Runs smoothly, great graphics.”
    • “Beyond that, here are my notes about gameplay optimization:”
    • “Beyond that, here are my notes about gameplay optimization:”
  • music
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is consistently praised for its atmospheric quality, enhancing the overall experience alongside the appealing graphics. While some users noted issues with implementation and usability, the positive feedback on the music remains a highlight.

    • “The game is actually really close to the board game and the music is atmospheric!”
    • “The graphics and music are nice, the UI is well made and easy to understand.”
    • “Great game, pretty graphics, nice music.”
    • “Great game, pretty graphics, nice music, bad implementation, terrible usability.”
  • atmosphere
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its strong thematic elements and immersive music, closely aligning with the original board game experience. Reviewers consistently highlight the game's ability to create a captivating and engaging environment.

    • “The game is actually really close to the board game and the music is atmospheric!”
    • “Very thematic and atmospheric.”
  • grinding
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly due to the lengthy setup of player boards and the time-consuming nature of operations like counting money and visualizing networks. The experience is notably improved when using a computer to handle these tasks, making gameplay smoother and more efficient.

    • “The 3-player game took longer than the 4-player game at the table, including the tedious setup of the player boards.”
    • “Brass really benefits from having the computer perform tedious operations, such as counting money spent to determine the next turn order, or visualizing your network and building options.”
  • humor
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the humor in the game to stem from the amusing disputes that arise over the rules and scorekeeping, suggesting that these interactions contribute to a fun and entertaining experience.

    • “I am tempted to buy the board game, and I can imagine it takes far longer to play and involves some hilarious disputes over the rules and totting up the scores.”

Buy Brass: Birmingham

9h Median play time
9h Average play time
9-9h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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