How to Play

Brass: Lancashire

2-4 players 60-120 min 8.2 Board Game Geek Rating

Players compete as cotton entrepreneurs during Lancashire's industrial revolution, building industries and transportation networks across canal and rail phases. Each turn, spend two cards to construct buildings, develop industries, or sell cotton. Victory points come from established industries and connections. Cards restrict building locations, creating strategic timing decisions. Resources are shared, so using opponents' coal mines helps them score. Highest total points after both phases wins.

Published 2007

Brass: Lancashire

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

1
Place the board
Set up the board showing the Full Map in the center of the table
2
Remove incompatible components
Remove Cards and Distant Cotton Market Tiles that don't match the player count
3
Prepare the draw deck
Shuffle the deck and place it on its designated space
4
Insert the deck tile
Place the Deck Tile with Rocket face up, with 1 card per player below it (these cards are not used in the Canal Era)
5
Prepare the Cotton Market
Shuffle Distant Cotton Market Tiles and place them facedown on the Tile Draw Area
6
Place the market marker
Position the Distant Cotton Market Marker on the topmost space of the Track
7
Fill the Coal Market
Place coal cubes in all Coal Market spaces
8
Fill the Iron Market
Place iron cubes in all Iron Market spaces
9
Create the general supply
Remaining Coal and Iron form the General Supply
10
Place the bank
Set up the bank with money accessible to all players
11
Distribute player mats
Each player takes a Player Mat
12
Distribute starting money
Each player receives £30
13
Take character components
Each player takes a Character Tile and matching Link tiles
14
Arrange industry tiles
Place tiles with black strip face down on their spaces on the Player Board
15
Place VP marker
Position each player's VP marker on 0 of the Progress Track
16
Place income marker
Position each player's Income Marker on 10 of the Progress Track
17
Draw starting hand
Each player draws 8 cards
18
Determine turn order
Randomly assign initial turn order and place Character tiles on the Turn Order Track
19
First round exception
In the first round of the Canal Era, each player takes just 1 action instead of 2

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Take two actions
Perform 2 actions per turn, discarding a card for each action taken
2
Refill your hand
After taking actions, refill your hand to 8 cards if the deck isn't empty
3
Discard a card
Use a Location Card for the specific location, an Industry Card for the industry type, or discard any 2 cards to treat as any 1 Location card (uses both actions)
4
Check network requirements
Location Cards don't require the location to be in your network; Industry Cards require the location to be in your network
5
Verify building space
The location must have an undeveloped space with that Industry's icon, or you may Overbuild
6
Respect era restrictions
In Canal Era: only build Lvl I Cotton, Port, Shipyard, Iron and Coal; in Rail Era: only Lvl II Shipyard available
7
Pay costs
Pay the money cost and consume necessary Coal and Iron resources
8
Place resources
Place indicated resources (coal or iron) on the tile if applicable
9
Sell to market
Move Coal to Market if connected to a Market space; Iron always moves to Market
10
Overbuild your own industry
Return any iron or coal on the tile to the Supply
11
Overbuild another player
Only Coal or Iron tiles may be overbuilt, and only if there are no matching resources on the board or market
12
Check connection
Must have a connection from an unflipped Cotton Tile to a Port Tile or Location with the trade icon
13
Discard one card
Discard a single card for the entire action
14
Use a connected Port
Flip the Port Tile and move the owner's Income Marker
15
Use Distant Cotton Market
Flip and discard top Market Tile, move Marker along track as shown; if Marker reaches X, end the Sell Action immediately; advance Income by spaces indicated
16
Flip Cotton tiles
Flip 1 or more Cotton Tiles in a single action, moving Income marker for each
17
Multiple sales allowed
You may sell more than 1 unflipped tile in a single action
18
Check restrictions
Loan must not cause Income to go below -10
19
Observe timing limits
May not take a loan during the final 4 rounds of Rail Era
20
Watch for Rothschild tile
When it appears, the next round is the last for taking loans
21
Discard a card
Discard one card from your hand
22
Receive money
Take £10, £20, or £30 from the bank
23
Reduce income
Move Income token down 1, 2, or 3 Income Levels to the highest space of the new level
24
Discard a card
Discard one card from your hand
25
Remove tiles
Remove 1 or 2 Industry tiles (the lowest level of their type) from your player board
26
Consume iron
Pay 1 Iron per tile removed from board or Market
27
Verify placement
The line must be undeveloped, match the current era, and be adjacent to a Location in your network
28
Discard a card
Discard one card from your hand
29
Place the link tile
Place Link Tile with the matching era face up
30
Pay the appropriate cost
£3 for a Canal; £5 and 1 Coal for a Single Rail; £15 and 2 Coal for 2 Rail
31
Ensure coal connection
Each rail link must be connected to an available source of Coal when placed
32
Consume coal
Take from the closest unexhausted Coal Mine connected to the tile, or purchase from the Market if connected to a Market Location or Port with trade icon
33
Consume iron
Take from any unexhausted Ironworks on the board, or purchase from the Market if unavailable
34
Adjust turn order
Reorder from least money spent to most, with least going first
35
Return spent money
Return money on Turn Order track to the bank
36
Receive income
Each player takes income from the bank (or pays bank if income is negative)
37
Score links
Earn 1 VP per trade icon on Adjacent Locations to your Link tiles
38
Score industries
Earn VP shown on each flipped Industry Tile
39
Remove temporary components
Remove all Canal Links and Level 1 Industry Tiles from the board
40
Reset Cotton Market
Return Marker to top and shuffle discarded tiles back into the draw pile
41
Rebuild the deck
Combine player discards and cards below the Deck Tile, shuffle into new deck, place Deck Tile Rothschild side up with 2 cards per player beneath it

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
End the Rail Era
The game ends when all players' hands are empty (8/9/10 rounds at 4/3/2 players)
2
Score final links
Earn 1 VP per trade icon on Adjacent Locations to your Link tiles
3
Score final industries
Earn VP shown on each flipped Industry Tile
4
Convert money to VP
Score 1 VP for every £10 remaining
5
Determine the winner
The player with the most Victory Points wins
6
Break ties
If tied, compare highest Income, then most Money, then declare a draw
7
Handle bankruptcy
If a player cannot pay a debt, they remove an Industry tile and receive half its build value; if still unable to pay, they lose 1 VP per £1 they cannot repay

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Rules of Brass: Lancashire

Rules of Brass: Lancashire

Instructional

¡No es lo que construyes, es DÓNDE! Brass Lancashire #BrassLancashire #JuegosDeMesa #Estrategia

¡No es lo que construyes, es DÓNDE! Brass Lancashire #BrassLancashire #JuegosDeMesa #Estrategia

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FULL rules

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