BoardGameArchiveBrass: Lancashire Scoring Explained
A step-by-step guide to scoring canal and rail links, flipped industries, double-scoring, final cash and tiebreakers.
A step-by-step guide to scoring canal and rail links, flipped industries, double-scoring, final cash and tiebreakers.
Brass: Lancashire scores during two distinct moments — at the end of the Canal Era and at the end of the Rail Era. You earn VP from your link connections and flipped industries at both scoring steps, then add remaining cash after Rail. Industry level and whether a tile remains on the board determine whether it can score more than once.
How scoring works in Brass: Lancashire
Brass: Lancashire gives victory points at the end of both the Canal Era and the Rail Era. Each time, you score your own transport links based on link-VP symbols shown at the two connected locations, then your flipped industry tiles using their printed VP values. At the end of the Rail Era only, you also score 1 VP for each complete £10 of remaining cash.
- Score links. Count the link-VP symbols at both endpoints of every link you own; remove links after scoring them.
- Score flipped industries. Add each flipped industry’s printed VP, ignoring any industry not yet flipped.
- After Canal: retain the VP already earned, remove level-I industries, reset the market and prepare the Rail Era.
- After Rail: score links and industries again, add cash VP, and determine the winner.
Important: level-II and higher industry tiles may remain on the map after Canal and score again in Rail if they are flipped. This makes early high-level development strategically valuable.
Brass: Lancashire scores at the end of both the Canal and Rail eras. Your VP come primarily from transport links and flipped industry tiles, with the Rail Era scoring producing the final total.
Researched rules guide. Original rules summary from September 2026; scoring details reviewed against Roxley’s current rules November 2026.
Score every link tile at era end
Each canal/rail link scores for the link icons in the locations at its ends, using the same rulebook procedure as the current Roxley system. Good links therefore gain value from the industries around them, not merely from existing on the board.
Only flipped industries score their printed VP
After links, score the VP printed on your flipped Cotton Mills, Ports, Coal Mines, Iron Works and Shipyards. An unflipped industry contributes no industry VP at that scoring step.
Resource industries flip when emptied; Cotton/Port flipping follows the Sell Cotton rules; Shipyards flip according to their build/use rules.
Canal VP stay after cleanup
Perform the Canal-era maintenance after scoring. Removed links and obsolete tiles do not erase points already scored. The Rail Era begins with the VP track carrying forward.
Final winner after Rail scoring
After the Rail Era, score links and flipped industries again. Highest accumulated VP wins. If tied, use the rulebook’s income and then remaining-money tiebreak procedure; persistent ties are shared.
Link scoring example: what is each connection worth?
Imagine you have one link connecting two locations that currently display two and three link-VP symbols. At the end of that era, the link is worth 2 + 3 = 5 VP. A different link with one symbol at each endpoint is worth 1 + 1 = 2 VP. These numbers are illustrative; use the visible board symbols in your actual game.
Who owns the connected industries? Link scoring depends on the visible symbols at adjacent locations, not simply whether an industry tile belongs to you. An opponent’s development can increase the value of one of your links. Conversely, your industry may help an opponent’s link score.
Link tiles are removed as they are scored at the end of each era. Canal links therefore do not remain physically on the board when the Rail Era begins, but their victory points remain recorded.
When does each industry flip?
| Industry | What causes it to flip? |
|---|---|
| Cotton Mill | Complete a legal Sell action via a Port or the Distant Cotton Market |
| Port | Used as the selling outlet in a legal Sell action |
| Coal Mine | Last coal cube is removed |
| Iron Works | Last iron cube is removed |
| Shipyard | Immediately when built |
Flipping an industry immediately advances its owner’s income marker by the amount printed on that tile. Victory points are not awarded immediately when it flips: they are awarded when the appropriate era ends. A level-II-or-higher flipped tile still on the board can earn its printed VP again at the second era’s end.
Worked scoring example: Canal plus Rail
Suppose a player has the following illustrative totals. The figures below are an example of the arithmetic, not a reproduction of an actual board position or printed tile layout.
| Scoring source | Canal Era | Rail Era |
|---|---|---|
| Link VP symbols | 9 VP | 14 VP |
| Flipped industry VP | 12 VP | 18 VP |
| Cash (£34 remaining at game end) | — | 3 VP |
| Era total | 21 VP | 35 VP |
Final score = 21 + 35 = 56 VP. The 18 Rail-era industry points can include industries that were already scored in Canal and survived because they were level II or higher. The £34 contributes three points, because only complete £10 increments count; the extra £4 contributes zero VP.
What exactly happens after Canal scoring?
When all players have used their last cards in the Canal Era, complete the normal link and industry VP scoring, then proceed with maintenance:
- Remove every level-I industry tile from the board. Leave level-II and higher industries where they are.
- Reset the Distant Cotton Market marker and reshuffle the market tiles, including the discarded ones.
- Prepare the new Draw Deck from the prescribed discarded and remaining cards, then deal eight-card hands.
- Reinsert the Deck tile according to player count to set the Rail Era length.
All link tiles have already been removed during link scoring. Industries surviving into Rail keep their existing flipped or unflipped state. There is no reversal of Canal VP, and the VP marker continues from its current total.
Rail Era final scoring, remaining money and ties
At the end of Rail, repeat the link-first, flipped-industries-second scoring procedure. Then score one victory point for every full £10 of money you still hold. Income is not paid after the final round, so calculate final cash using what is actually in your player area.
Tiebreak order: most VP wins. If the VP totals tie, the player with the higher income level wins. If income is also tied, the player with the most remaining money wins. If that is still tied, the game ends in a shared win.
For example, a player holding £27 at the end receives 2 VP for cash. A player with £20 also receives 2 VP, but has less remaining money if the final tie reaches that tiebreak.
Common Brass: Lancashire scoring mistakes
- Counting an unflipped tile: industry VP count only if the tile is flipped when the era is scored.
- Ignoring symbols at the other endpoint: a link scores symbols at both adjacent locations, even if your industry is not at that location.
- Removing Canal points: canals are removed from the map, but scored VP stay on your track.
- Removing all industries: only level-I industry tiles are removed during Canal-to-Rail maintenance; higher-level industries survive.
- Scoring an industry just once: a flipped level-II-or-higher industry may score at both era ends if it stays on the board.
- Converting cash into VP in Canal: money is converted to VP only at the final Rail scoring step.
- Counting partial £10: £19 is 1 VP for final cash, not 2 VP.
- Using the wrong game edition: do not apply older Classic Brass tiebreaks or Brass: Birmingham special rules to Roxley’s Brass: Lancashire.
Brass: Lancashire scoring FAQ
Do Canal points carry over to Rail?
Yes. Keep the VP you earn in Canal. Rail scoring adds more points; it does not replace the earlier score.
Can one industry score twice?
Yes. A flipped level-II-or-higher industry that survives Canal cleanup can score its printed VP in both eras.
Does an unflipped industry give link points?
Link scoring uses the link-VP symbols displayed at the adjacent locations. Read those symbols directly, independently of whether the connected industry is flipped. The industry’s own printed VP still require it to be flipped.
When do Coal Mines and Iron Works score?
They score their industry VP at an era end only if all their resource cubes were removed, making the tile flip, and the tile remains on the map at scoring.
Do Shipyards score immediately after being built?
No. A Shipyard flips immediately on construction and grants its income increase then, but its VP are scored at the next era end.
Are Canal links removed at the end of the era?
Yes. All link tiles are removed as they are scored at each era end; the points remain.
Are level-II industries removed after Canal?
No. Level-II and higher industries remain. Only level-I industries on the board are removed during Canal cleanup.
Do you score remaining cash twice?
No. Cash is scored only once, after the Rail Era: one VP per complete £10.
How is a tied game decided?
Higher income is the first tiebreak, followed by more money. If those are also tied, the players share the win.
Where can I check the official scoring rules?
See Roxley’s official rulebook PDF under End of Era Maintenance, or the searchable rulebook transcription.
Sources and editorial scope
This guide describes Brass: Lancashire (Roxley edition), designed by Martin Wallace. End-of-era scoring, Canal cleanup, final £10-to-1-VP cash scoring and the income/money tiebreaks were checked November 1, 2026 against Roxley’s official published rulebook, with RulesPal’s searchable text used for reference.
The worked examples use hypothetical values rather than copied game-board diagrams. This is independent editorial guidance, not a replacement for the publisher’s rules or player aids. Editorial policy and corrections.