Sun Nov 29 2020
- Bugfixes
As an enthusiast of complex economic simulations, I find the digital adaptation of Brass to be an absolute masterclass in board game porting. It captures the cutthroat spirit of the Industrial Revolution with terrifying precision. The game demands that you think three steps ahead—not just about your own cotton mills and iron works, but about how your opponents might inadvertently help you by providing the coal you need to flip your tiles.
The interface is remarkably clean for a game with so many moving parts, and the artwork maintains that moody, soot-stained atmosphere of Lancashire. What I appreciate most is the 'connected' nature of the gameplay; you aren't just playing on a map, you're building a living infrastructure. It’s a deep, rewarding challenge that rewards patient strategy over flashy tactics. For fans of heavy strategy, this is an essential mobile experience.
Faithful digital adaptation of the award-winning board game
Challenging AI opponents with multiple difficulty levels
Online and local 'Pass & Play' multiplayer modes
Detailed in-game tutorial and comprehensive manual
Cross-platform play and Game Center integration
Focus on building a strong foundation in the Canal Age by placing industries that will provide high victory points when flipped. Transitioning to the Rail Age requires a shift in focus toward expansive rail networks and higher-tier industries that don't get removed during the era shift.
Every industry you build starts 'unflipped.' To gain victory points and income, you must satisfy the industry's requirements—such as selling cotton to a port or exhausting a coal mine's supply—to flip the tile and reap the rewards.
The game supports 3 to 4 players, either as human competitors online/locally or against AI opponents.
This is an excellent implementation of a great boardgame for playing on iPad. Brass (2007), now called Brass:Lancashire). The screen displays, game board, scoreboard, turn play animations, and turn action options are very clearly presented, and make playing easy for the experienced player. The AI that controls the computer opponents (if played solo) also seems excellent. I have the actual boardgame but I reached an impasse trying to learn the rules, and so I did the full tutorial in this app for iPad, and then with the printed rulebook in hand, the app ready to play, and the actual boardgame set up identically on my table, I just played through a solo learning game. Overall it’s helped me better understand the game play, but I wish I could stop or at least slow down the computer turn moves so I could learn from how they were playing. I also wish there was a button I could tap to get recommendations for my next move. So, overall, this is a great implementation for experienced players, and with a couple additional Help features it would be a valuable tool for learning Brass.
Nothing kills the time sitting in the washroom like a great eurogame port, and boy am I happy to find a solid app version of Brass. The art is lovely, the interface functional, and the game is, of course, fantastic. The only reason this app does not earn a full 5 star rating is that I, like a few other folks before me it seems, am bothered by the lack of an undo button available before finalizing your turn. Nothing ruins a good game of Brass like gambling it all for a shipyard in Birkenhead only to realize you’ve just accidentally spent 8 quid on port development. Weak a critique as that is, you should definitely still buy this port if you love Brass.
This is a great implementation of the board game Brass: Lancashire by Martin Wallace. It is a tense economic board game where you try to outsmart your opponents - building coal mines, iron works, and cotton mills at the right time. The hard part is that as you build across England, you can only access the cities connected to your network of canals and railways. When you spend more money than your opponents, you move after them in the following turn. It ends up being a delicate balance of spending and saving money, while striking at the right time to score points. The AI is good enough that I have problems beating them in a four-player game, but it really shines with multiplayer. I've been having fun playing with my board game group that moved across the country. The notifications sometimes don't work, so we use Discord to let the next player know when it's their turn. We also noticed a minor display bug with the distant markets, but it doesn't really affect gameplay. Overall a great game, even if there is somewhat of a learning curve.
Me and my buddies LOVE this game. This iOS implementation is wonderful. Each week we create a few online games and here’s what we hate: new online games get placed at bottom of the game list. Why is that a problem? No search or scroll mechanics are available and that means 2 or 3 minutes of endless finger swipes just to get down to our game. Doing anything to fix that would be sweet. I also wish played games could be reviewed and analyzed. Sadly, once game completes, there is no return to look over the board or statistics.
Good game. Good interface. Can’t register or login to play online. When I try to register, it says check your internet connection and try again later. When I try to login, it says connecting and freezes forever. And yes, my internet is fine. And yes, I’ve rebooted the app and my iPad multiple times and retried. Same issues every time. Developers…please help!
It’s a real solid version of the classic Wallace board game. The interface is clear and it’s easy to follow what’s going on. The A.I. Is mostly competent and doesn’t make a lot of moves that leave you scratching your head. Only drawback is it takes a while to figure out all the rules if this is your first introduction to Brass. There’s no avoiding it as it’s the nature of the source material. They do an ok job with the tutorial; once you understand all the complex mechanics and the strategic impact of your choices it’s quite engaging.
I enjoy playing Brass on both my iPad and iPhone, and it works great in the canal era, but once the rail era starts, I’ve encountered a bug where I am unable to complete my turns as the check box to complete turns is unresponsive. A work around is to go to the main menu and then continue the game, but it’s cumbersome and sometimes skips the rest of your turn - for example if I attempt to develop two items on a turn, I am only able to develop once and when I go to the main menu and continue, it won’t let me develop a second time. Same applies when attempting to sell cotton twice on a turn. Would be a great implementation once this bug gets fixed.
I was introduced to the world of Brass through the Birmingham version of the board game, which I have played a couple of times. Someone in my playgroup told me that an app is available so I checked it out. I understand the game a lot better now and have really enjoyed being able to take on the AI, which is pretty good at the difficult level.