Board Game Spotlight where we take a brief look at games that have come across our table. Today we're taking a look at Brass Empire by Rock Manor Games
Brass Empire
1-5 Players | 30 - 60 Min Playtime | Ages 10+
Designer: Mike Gnade
Brass Empire (http://rockmanorgames.com/) is a 1-5 player deck-building game from Rock Manor Game. In Brass Empire players start by taking the roles of different corporations in the fictional world of Cobalt. Through the course of the game players will use resources to add to their corporations, that is their starting decks in order to be the player with the most brass at the end of the game.
Brass is the heart of the world of cobalt. The kickstarter describes Brass as not only fueling the economy, but literally fuels the technology and transportation of the world.” The world of Cobalt is very interesting. Bits and pieces of the world can be seen through the cards played.
Brass Empire is fairly simple to pick up and play. It plays like most deck builders where every player starts with a deck of cards that are identical. The major resources of the game is construction, labor and of course Brass. You have a starting faction reserve deck that only you can buy from, or you can purchase from the labor market (top row) and the design department (bottom row). The labor market is where employees can be found. All factions make an appearance here, with the addition of a grey neutral faction. The design department is where you will gain units or buildings.
The game is competitive with all players competing for brass. The game can be quick, or if you have players who like messing with the others, it can take quite a bit. The corporations synergize well with each other, while it can be fun to mix things up a little bit with hiring or building other corporation cards into your deck.
The artwork on this game is really good. It brings about the love of the ingenuity and unique designs that the steampunk genre is noted for. I really dig the different corporation cards and how the artwork seems to fit their style.
Brass is the heart of the world of cobalt. The kickstarter describes Brass as not only fueling the economy, but literally fuels the technology and transportation of the world.” The world of Cobalt is very interesting. Bits and pieces of the world can be seen through the cards played.
Brass Empire is fairly simple to pick up and play. It plays like most deck builders where every player starts with a deck of cards that are identical. The major resources of the game is construction, labor and of course Brass. You have a starting faction reserve deck that only you can buy from, or you can purchase from the labor market (top row) and the design department (bottom row). The labor market is where employees can be found. All factions make an appearance here, with the addition of a grey neutral faction. The design department is where you will gain units or buildings.
The game is competitive with all players competing for brass. The game can be quick, or if you have players who like messing with the others, it can take quite a bit. The corporations synergize well with each other, while it can be fun to mix things up a little bit with hiring or building other corporation cards into your deck.
The artwork on this game is really good. It brings about the love of the ingenuity and unique designs that the steampunk genre is noted for. I really dig the different corporation cards and how the artwork seems to fit their style.
Out of the box you have the base game mode. It does come with several variant modes to be able to play. The Reserve Deck Customization Rules allows you to customize your starting deck with faction cards with rules describing how to keep that balanced. There is Team Play, Battle Mode, and solitaire mode.
I have played this game a few times, and it’s definitely a fun game It could use a bit of tweaking though. We have ran into an issue several times when the Labor Market becomes flooded with Managers. The only way to resolve this is to buy more managers. Which does help your deck, but it slows the game a little bit. Beyond that the game is really fun to play. If you like steampunk and deck-builders this is definitely one you should try.
The game has 1 expansion out there with Brass Empire New Canton. This provides a sort of story driven mode as players unveil stories of the different factions. It was kind of a sucker punch with some of the story elements but I won't spoil that here.
Game or Developer Games - (http://rockmanorgames.com/)
Board Game Geek - https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/181393/brass-empire
I have played this game a few times, and it’s definitely a fun game It could use a bit of tweaking though. We have ran into an issue several times when the Labor Market becomes flooded with Managers. The only way to resolve this is to buy more managers. Which does help your deck, but it slows the game a little bit. Beyond that the game is really fun to play. If you like steampunk and deck-builders this is definitely one you should try.
The game has 1 expansion out there with Brass Empire New Canton. This provides a sort of story driven mode as players unveil stories of the different factions. It was kind of a sucker punch with some of the story elements but I won't spoil that here.
Game or Developer Games - (http://rockmanorgames.com/)
Board Game Geek - https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/181393/brass-empire
|
Joseph DeMarcoAuthor:
Joe DeMarco a single father, freelance writer, game designer, quality assurance software tester, and business analyst. I am a big-time gamer, and really enjoy checking out all kinds of games available. Putting my curiosity to the app store I find random games to check out. If you have a game you'd like me to review, contact me and let us see how we can work together. Follow Joe on Twitter @shad0fx |
RSS Feed
