How To Play: Brew

If you’re like me and can’t resist a shiny new board game, Brew will steal your heart and fry your brain in the best way. This guide lays out the basics with an outline of the rules and, most importantly, spills my best secrets for winning. Spoiler: You might even beat my friend Greg, who thinks he’s the king of How To Play brew!

Overview

What’s in the box

• 1 Forest Board
• 4 Player Boards
• 16 Forage Dice (4 colors, 4 each)
• 8 Element Dice (2 each: Fire, Water, Air, Earth)
• 36 Forest Cards
• 80 Ingredient Tokens
• 54 Creature Cards
• 18 Potion Cards
• 42 Energy Tokens
• 1 Day/Night Marker
• 24 Foraged Goods Tokens
• 1 Rulebook

How To Play Brew: Rules Summary

Setup

1. First, hand out 1 player board and 6 dice to each player. You choose your color!
2. Next, shuffle the forest cards and reveal four in the center.
3. After that, deal 2 creature cards to every player.
4. Now, place the day and night resource tokens and potion tokens in their piles.
5. Put the season marker on the starting space. Get those snacks ready.

Gameplay

1. On your turn, roll all your dice. Try not to knock over your drink in the process.
2. Take turns placing 1 die on a forest card or the village board. Dice placement powers up your actions.
3. Collect resources, brew potions, or recruit creatures by spending your dice wisely.
4. Remember, each die has a special power. Use them to block your friends and steal forests.
5. After everyone runs out of dice, the round ends. Pass the first player token and do it again.

Winning

1. After four rounds, everyone counts up victory points.
2. Points come from forests claimed, potions brewed, creatures tamed, and unused resources.
3. The player with the most points wins! If it’s a tie, whoever has more leftover potions takes the crown.

Special Rules & Conditions

1. When you place a die with a special symbol, follow its rule: some swap forests, some reroll dice. Spice things up!
2. Certain potion or creature cards break the normal rules—read them and laugh at your friends’ misfortune.
3. If a forest runs out, replace it at the end of the round. Always keep those forests fresh.
4. Don’t forget: If you run out of resource tokens, too bad! Plan ahead.

Now you know How To Play brew, wrangle those creatures, and outwit your friends. Trust me, you’ll get the hang of it by the second round—unless you’re like my cousin Joe, who once brewed a potion with orange juice. That didn’t go well.

Best Brew Strategies

Mastering Resource Management in Brew

Know Your Supplies

First things first, always check what resources you start with. Don’t just grab berries like a hungry squirrel. Make smart choices.

1. Count your dice and ingredients every round.
2. Watch what resources your rivals snatch up.

Plan Your Turns

Secondly, waste nothing! Plan ahead and use what you have, or you’ll end up with nothing but regrets and a lonely mushroom.

1. Spend resources where they give the most points.
2. Trade wisely when the market helps you.

Adapt and React

Lastly, don’t panic if your plan falls apart. Someone will steal your stuff. Adjust quickly and keep your eye on the prize.

1. Switch tactics if competition gets fierce.
2. Take creatures that boost your supplies.

I learned this the hard way when Fran hoarded all the herbs. Now I count my resources before she does!

Unleash the Beasts: Mastering Creature Card Timing in Brew

When To Play Your Creatures

1. Wait for your rivals to waste their best cards. Surprise them by dropping a strong creature when they least expect it.

2. Always check the weather dice. Some creatures work better at certain times. Use this to your edge.

Combo Moves

1. Chain creature cards together if you can. Some beasts pack extra punch when you play them in a row.

2. Plan ahead. Save your creatures for big turns instead of playing them right away. It pays to wait.

Stealing the Lead

1. Grab creatures just before scoring. This can help you snatch zones from rivals at the last second.

So, if you want to win (and annoy your friends), master the timing of your creature cards. After enough tries, I found this was key. No luck needed—just sneaky timing!

Mastering Area Control: Brew’s Battle for the Forest

Pick Your Battles Wisely

First, not every forest is worth fighting for. Focus on those with the best rewards or that block your rivals the most. Here’s how:

1. Target forests with strong bonuses.
2. Ignore low-value spots unless you can snatch them for free.
3. Look for places where opponents have weak presence.

Play Your Dice at Just the Right Moment

Timing matters as much as placement. Try these moves:

1. Save your elemental dice for surprise swings.
2. Place dice late in the round to react to rivals.

Adapt to What Your Friends Do

Next, stay flexible. If someone blocks you, don’t pout—change your plan!

1. Switch targets if a forest is too crowded.
2. Use creature powers to shift control when least expected.

Winning at area control is all about thinking ahead, watching your friends, and never being afraid to change plans on the fly. That’s how I outfoxed everyone last Friday!

Ready to Stir Up Your Brew Victory?

Let me say, after a dozen games and a dozen more friendly arguments over who gets the fox, I can confirm: Brew is a wild ride. The key to winning? Keep an eye on those resources, time your creature cards like a mad scientist, and don’t get too emotionally attached to any one forest (trust me, I’ve lost friendships over less). Remember, when folks search for ‘How To Play brew,’ they’re really asking how to play smart. So grab your dice, outwit your rivals, and may the luck be slightly more on your side than anyone else’s! Happy brewing!

Want to know what we think of Brew? Read our detailed review of Brew here