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How to Play Brass: Birmingham Online

By the Tavernly team ·

Looking for how to play Brass: Birmingham online, Roxley's game by Matt Tolman, Martin Wallace and Gavan Brown? Steam no longer sells the digital edition, and Board Game Arena (BGA) lists only the older game, Brass: Lancashire. Disclosure: we make Kilnworth on Tavernly, free with no sign-up.

The short answer

  • The older game: Board Game Arena lists Brass: Lancashire, a different game.
  • The digital Birmingham edition: Steam no longer sells it.
  • A free browser alternative: Kilnworth on Tavernly has friends, bots and beginner lessons.

Which way is right for you?

Choose according to the game you want and who will join you. An older title, an existing digital purchase and a browser alternative give you different starting points.

You want Where to start
Brass: Lancashire on BGA Board Game Arena's free-to-play beta listing
To check an existing digital Birmingham purchase Your Steam library
Free play with friends, no sign-up Kilnworth on Tavernly
Computer opponents or a guided lesson Kilnworth on Tavernly

Board Game Arena: Brass: Lancashire, the older game (free to join)

Board Game Arena lists Brass: Lancashire, a different game from Birmingham and its older predecessor. The listing says free to play, shows status beta, and gives an average game length of about 67 minutes. We did not test it signed in, so table access needs checking after login.

You need: a Board Game Arena account to check signed-in table options.

  1. Open the listing. Visit Brass: Lancashire on Board Game Arena.
  2. Sign in. Check what your account can access before organising a session.
  3. Check the available tables. Confirm the edition and beta access before inviting anyone.

Steam: the digital version (no longer sold)

Steam credits developer Cublo and publisher Phalanx for Brass: Birmingham, with Windows, Mac and Linux support. Its tags include Single-player, Multi-player and Online PvP. A 24 May 2026 announcement says a licensing change meant withdrawal at month's end; the store page now shows no price.

You need: an existing copy to investigate playing this edition.

  1. Check your library. If you already bought the game, look for your existing copy.
  2. Read the announcement. Open the Steam store page for its withdrawal notice.
  3. Confirm access before making plans. We did not test it, so cannot confirm its current multiplayer service.

A Brass: Birmingham alternative: Kilnworth on Tavernly

Kilnworth on Tavernly: play it free in your browser.

A Brass: Birmingham alternative, Kilnworth on Tavernly is free with no sign-up. It has its own map and names: The Kilnmere contains 18 towns and four market gates. Tavernly has no Birmingham map and no expansions; check that this fits what your group wants to play.

You need: a browser and players aged 13 or over; Tavernly asks your birth date once.

Play against bots

  1. Choose your opponents. On Play against bots, pick a difficulty and one, two or three opponents.
The Kilnworth page offers four ways to start: Play against bots, With friends, At your pace and Beginner.
The Kilnworth page: play against bots, with friends, at your pace, or learn by playing.
  1. Press Play now. Bots take empty seats within five seconds and carry a "bot" label.

Bring friends to a private table

  1. Press Start now under With friends. This opens your private waiting room; Reserve is the option for arranging a later table.
The waiting room of a private table, with a share link, one host seat and three empty seats that bots can take.
The waiting room of a private table. Share the link; bots take any seat that stays empty.
  1. Share the invitation. Press Share invite, or tap the link to copy it.
  2. Start when your friends arrive. Press Start now: bots take the empty seats.

At your pace

  1. Press Find players. Choose the At your pace card for play with real people.
  2. Return when notified. A notification tells you when your turn comes.

Beginner lesson

  1. Press Learn by playing. In Your first turn, build a workshop, link by ferry, then build an apiary with the coach.
  2. Continue with Sell with honey. Build a loom, link it to a gate, then sell the cloth with the gate's jar.
  3. Finish The end of an age. Play the last day of the first age, then score.

The rules in two minutes

In Kilnworth on Tavernly, you spend cards and coins to build across a shared map, then score twice. These numbers describe our version. Coins you spend also set who goes first the next day, so spend with care.

  1. Deal and begin the day. Start with 17 coins, income level zero, 14 link pieces, 33 tiles and eight cards. Ferry Age and Road Age are the two halves; a day is a round in which everyone takes a turn.

  2. Take two actions. Spend one card per action, except Scout; on the very first day, take only one action. After your turn, draw back to eight cards while the deck lasts.

A Kilnworth game on day 2: the lake map with works built in several towns, the action buttons and a hand of eight cards.
Day 2 of a game against three bots: pick an action, a card, then a ringed town.

  1. Build. Discard a card to build your lowest industry tile, called a works, in a free slot; pay coins and required raw goods, peat or copper. Town cards specify a town; industry cards need your network, meaning towns containing your tiles or either end of your links.

  2. Link. In the Ferry Age, a ferry costs three coins. In the Road Age, a road costs five coins and one peat. A second road in the same action costs ten coins, one peat and one honey more. Peat, a raw good, comes from the nearest linked peat cut, else its market through a linked gate.

  3. Develop. Remove your lowest industry tile from your mat for one copper, or remove two for two copper. Take copper from any forge, a works that makes copper, or else buy it at the copper market.

  4. Sell. Sell a linked loom, workshop or kiln to a gate at the map edge whose token buys its goods. Pay honey from your own apiary, a linked rival's apiary, or the gate's jar. You can sell several works in one action.

  5. Flip. Turn a sold tile over. A peat cut, forge or apiary turns over when its last cube leaves. Each turn-over is a flip, and each flip raises your income.

  6. Choose Loan, Scout or Pass. Loan gives 30 coins and lowers income three levels; Pass discards a card without another effect. Scout discards three cards for a Compass card (a wild town card) and a Guild seal card (a wild industry card). You can scout only when you hold no wild card.

  7. End the day. Order next day's turns from least coins spent to most; income level tells you how many coins to collect or, if negative, pay. If you cannot pay, tiles are sold individually, then you lose one victory point (VP) per missing coin.

  8. Score the age. Score your links, then flipped tiles, as below; return ferries, remove every level-one tile and refill gate jars. Other tiles remain, and everyone gets eight fresh cards; each age lasts ten days with two players, nine with three, eight with four.

  9. Score the second age. Score roads and flipped tiles again, including surviving flipped tiles from the first age. Most VP wins; a tie goes to the higher income level, then more coins.

What Points
Flipped tile VP printed on it; unflipped tiles do not score
Link Link points of flipped tiles at both ends; gates have their own points
Gate jar A selling bonus: VP, coins, income spaces or a free develop

Tips for playing online

  • Set down your move. Plan your action, then tap an action, a card and a ringed town or lane, then Set down. Press Back to reconsider.
  • Follow the table. What happened helps you follow what changed while other players took their turns.
  • Find your view. The first map tap zooms in; Whole map restores the overview.
  • Watch the clock. The turn timer allows 90 seconds per action; if it expires, the table passes for you.
  • Leave time to finish. Games take 60 to 100 minutes, with bot games around 60.
  • Plan around the connection. The table lives on the server and closes if the server restarts.

Warning: Loans reduce future income. If payments exceed your coins, you can lose tiles and VP; plan the next day's payment first.

Questions people ask

Can I play Brass: Birmingham online for free?

The withdrawn Steam edition is not a free purchase option for Brass: Birmingham. Board Game Arena lists the older Brass: Lancashire as free to play. Kilnworth on Tavernly is a free alternative with no sign-up, but has its own board and names.

Do I need to download anything?

Kilnworth on Tavernly runs in your browser, so you can open its game page without downloading a game client. Brass: Birmingham's Steam edition is a separate digital product for Windows, Mac and Linux. On the browser game page, choose bots, friends, At your pace or a beginner lesson.

Can I play alone?

You can start Kilnworth on Tavernly against bots without gathering a group. The difficulty choices are Easy, Medium and Hard, and the default opponent count is two. Brass: Birmingham's Steam listing includes Single-player. Choose Play now on the browser game's bot card to start.

Can I play with friends?

For Kilnworth on Tavernly, friends open your private-table invitation in a browser. The waiting room has a six-character code and a copyable link, so send the invitation before starting. You can also reserve a table for later. Brass: Birmingham's Steam listing includes Online PvP.

Can I play on my phone?

For Kilnworth on Tavernly, open the game page in your phone's browser. Try the map's zoom and overview controls before settling into a session. You can choose bots, friends or a beginner lesson. Brass: Birmingham's Steam edition lists Windows, Mac and Linux.

How many players?

Kilnworth on Tavernly supports two to four players, including bots in empty seats. Against computers, choosing one, two or three opponents sets your group size. Brass: Birmingham's Steam listing has Single-player, Multi-player and Online PvP tags. Choose your browser game's opponent count before pressing Play now.

Is Brass: Birmingham on Board Game Arena?

We found Brass: Lancashire on Board Game Arena, not Brass: Birmingham. Roxley describes Birmingham as a stand-alone sequel to Lancashire, so these are separate games. Check the game's full title before organising a table; the listing covered here should not be treated as a Birmingham listing.

Sources

Kilnworth is not affiliated with or endorsed by the owner of Brass: Birmingham. Brass: Birmingham is a trademark of its owner. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

If you want the physical game, here is Brass: Birmingham on Amazon.

We did not test Steam, Board Game Arena signed in, or any phone app.