F#¢&ing brass strategy guide

The Big Picture

There are "only" two viable paths to victory.

Path #1 get a bunch of industry points to count both during the canal and rail phase.

Path #2 use canal to get a pile of money and win with shipyards and rail points during rail phase.

Every win I have ever seen is either a variant or a hybrid on these two strategies.


~~~Industry VP win~~~

You need at minimum, 20 points worth of industry that count twice and can not be overbuilt. The closer you are too this minimum, the more of a hybrid cash and rail point strategy you will need.

***Variant #1 Super Cotton***

Super Cotton is really tough to pull off but is viable because most players realize how hard it is and don't compete.

I need specific card requirements before I even try for super cotton. Specifically, I need at least 2 location cards in Lancaster, Preston or Warrington and Runcorn (W&R) AND the ability to build more cotton in other close by cities (cotton mill or city cards). The initial goal is to develop to L3 hotels as quick as possible. You don't necessarily have to get there at 6 actions, but certainly you should be ready to play hotels at action #8 or #9. After developing to L3, they key now is to not be action greedy. Two cotton trades per action is adequately efficient and will help finance your loans. Since you need a coal source and a port location, opponents canals are pretty important, which is why the Lancaster/Preston/W&R locations are critical as they supply both a port and a coal. Cotton trades are capped, so timing is really really important. Ideally, you want to flip multiple hotels with a single action but getting 1 flipped before your opponents claim these trades is much more important. 3 L3's (54 VP that can't be overbuilt) is a fairly strong 'super cotton' canal phase and will give you a chance to win. 3 L3's and a L4 is a very strong canal phase and that puts you in the drivers seat for rail. Rail phase: You cannot neglect rail points and win. You still have to claim at least 25. You do have an advantage here, expanding your personal network is a lot less important to you than your opponents so you can concentrate on the high value links. Consider unlocking Colne, Stockport or Maccelsfield for later cotton builds. Don't actually build cotton until turn 3 and if your opponents are still leaving good rails open delay even further. I have won super cotton games without a single cotton trade in rail phase.

***Variant #2 Ports***

Ports are cheap and spots are strategic. Ports are the only industry that doesn't decrease in economic value as you increase the tiers. Ports are also the only industry your opponents can take advantage of and you get absolutely no benefit from.

My typical port play is to develop to the L3's and play them going from the outer rings (Ellesmere, Fleetwood, Liverpool) and working my way inward (W&R, Preston, Lancaster). You have the time because it will take quite a while for cotton players to actually flip your ports, and you want to make your highest value ports the most easily accessible. An L3 cotton turning an L2 port is a clear win for the cotton player, while an L3 cotton flipping an L4 port is a clear win for the port player. There are less port points available so you will absolutely need secondary VP support whether that is L2 cotton industries or the pile of cash for rail phase. There really is no typical rail phase for a port player, but there are some axioms to follow. 1) Block off Barrow in Furnace (BiF) and Birkenhead whether you intend to build shipyards or not. 2) Be sure to build rail links to unlock your secondary industry tiles at the expense of the slightly more lucrative 6 VP spots. 3) Do not neglect rail points, the minimum for a viable port VP strategy is 35.

***Role of Coal and Iron***

The ONLY supply tile that I count for an industry VP win is the L4 iron. Everything else is a target for overbuilds. Not saying don't build coal and iron, but those builds are simply there to offset your loans. Its advantageous to get the L1 iron and L1 coal played or developed in canal (I prefer playing) but hardly necessary.

~~~Pile of money win~~~

I am actually a lot worse playing for the pile of money win than I am at the VP win. I have programmed myself that using coal and iron is better than supplying coal or iron which really limits my ability to get a pile of money. At the end of canal you need at least $100 and a positive income. An ideal canal phase lands you at $130 with interest payments of not greater than $2.

***Variants? What are those?***

There are simply too many variants to list. Any industry improves your economy enough to offset the loans needed to get to the $100 mark. In general coal and iron are the most advantageous; iron because it is sure to flip and coal because it has the best economic bumps in the game. Ports are viable because even if they don't flip they are at strategic locations. I guess they key here is to not fall in love with your income. The income track is so much easier to climb at the bottom rungs that it usually makes more sense to loan early and often then it is to build towards a double digit income. Rail Phase: This is the the key for the pile of money path. You absolutely can not neglect rail points, but you have to be smart about which ones you get. Shipyard access is a priority, and so is expanding your personal network for secondary scoring. It is much more important to secure a 5 point rail that unlocks some industry cards than it is to claim a 6 point spot already filled. Shipyards are key, about half the games are decided by who claims the shipyard points. Before unlocking with BiF or Birkenhead, take a close look at turn order and development status. If someone can snipe your shipyard build, DON'T UNLOCK IT until you can build the shipyard on the same turn.


~~~Tactics and Tips~~~

*If you are going to loan and flip industries in the same turn always loan first. The lower spots on the income tracks are always easier to climb than the higher ones.
*Similarly, if you are going to build an industry supplying resources and then use those resources in the same turn, always build the industry first. Your total money spent will be slightly less and that can impact the next turn order.
*Liverpool has 3 theoretical 6 point rail connections. In practice these are more like 4 or 5 point rail builds. Don't build to Liverpool early for the rail points, only build there if you want to play a port or a shipyard.
*Manchester iron is simply a target for overbuilds. The only thing safe there is the L4. Its fine to occasionally build a lower tiered ironworks there but only count on the economic bump and not the VP's.
*Coal and cotton compete for the same locations. You can limit cotton trades by building coal mines and you can squeeze the coal supply by building cotton mills.
*This is a restatement from the above variants but it really needs emphasis. It is much more important early in the rail phase to build rails to where you need to go than it is to maximize points.
*Never build canals for VPs. In fact be wary of building canals at all. It's nearly impossible to get through canal phase without building at least one canal, but think carefully before you build them. The best canals are the ones that you want your opponents to use.
*If you are supplying iron you are not consuming iron. Developing is important and blindly supplying cheap iron really helps your opponents, particularly in the canal phase.
*If you are supplying coal you are not consuming coal. This is critical in the rail phase. Coal mines are worth jack for VP's, so building a coal mine has huge opportunity costs; you are making a small VP move while simultaneously making it cheaper for your opponents to take high VP moves.
*Do not, under any circumstances, be lured into offering Mike C. any advice whatsoever. In all cases you will be blamed for steering him into an ill fated strategy (probably for your own benefit)

I'm sure I am forgetting lots of things, Mike will set me straight

--Darren