Hot take: I used to think eurogames were boring, one game of Brass Birmingham changed that

For years I brushed off heavy eurogames as spreadsheets with dice. Then a friend forced me into a 4 hour game of Brass Birmingham last weekend. Watching the canal network grow and shift based on everyone's coal and iron needs finally clicked for me. The tension of someone dropping a beer on your planned route was way more engaging than I expected. Has anyone else had a game completely flip their opinion on a whole genre?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_jenny12d agoTop Commenter

Oh man, yeah, that Brass Birmingham experience is real. I had almost the same thing happen with a game called Great Western Trail. I always thought those heavy euros were just math problems in a box. Then someone walked me through how the cow market and building placement all fed into each other. It was so satisfying when I finally saw the whole system working. It totally changed how I look at games now.

the_jason12d ago

Great Western Trail is another one of those games where it looks like a spreadsheet until it clicks. I had the same moment with it at a game night last year, the guy next to me kept pointing out how one move now would set up a train route three turns later. Once you see how the cows, the buildings, and the train all work together it feels like you cracked a code. Now I get excited when someone brings out a heavy euro because I know the payoff is coming. It's just a matter of sticking with it long enough for the pieces to fall into place.