Quick answer
Use this Brass: Birmingham cheat sheet as a turn checklist: each normal turn is two actions, except the first turn of the canal era is only one action. Choose the action, check card and location requirements, resolve coal, iron, and beer from legal sources, flip eligible industries immediately, then score flipped tiles and links at era end.
Action checklist
Most rules mistakes happen because players skip one requirement before placing a tile or selling goods.
- Take one action on the very first turn of the canal era; take two actions on later turns.
- Choose from the core actions: Build, Network, Develop, Sell, Loan, or Scout.
- For Build, check whether the card lets you use the chosen location or industry.
- Confirm network, connection, and merchant requirements when they apply.
- Pay money and consume coal, iron, or beer from a legal source.
- Flip industries immediately when their condition is met.
Rules that players forget
These are the rule areas most likely to slow down a first table.
| Choice | Best for | Risk | Manual note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coal | Network-dependent resource | Medium | Coal movement is tied to connection and market rules. |
| Iron | Flexible resource | Low-medium | Iron is easier to use because it does not require network transport in the same way. |
| Beer | Sales and rail links | High | Beer timing defines whether sales and some links are available. |
| Build cards | Legal builds | High | Only Build needs a specific location, industry, or wild card. |
| Era reset | Canal to rail transition | High | Canal-era links and level 1 industries clear, so plan what survives. |
End-of-era scoring
Score flipped industry tiles and links at the end of each era. Unflipped industries do not pay the points you hoped for, so a late build needs a realistic flip path. After canal scoring, canal links and many lower-level industries are removed before the rail era begins.
Source note
This page is based on the official Roxley product page, the official rulebook structure, and source-aware community context such as BoardGameGeek where relevant, then rewritten as an independent player-facing strategy guide.
FAQ
What is the easiest rules order to teach?
Teach actions first, then resources, then selling, then era scoring. Avoid teaching every exception before players understand a normal turn.
When do industries flip?
They flip when their condition is satisfied, such as selling goods or using all resource cubes from the tile.