Azul Review
Azul Review
Deep in the southern region of Spain lies a castle decorated with the most beautiful tiles you have ever seen. The conquistadors tell stories of the magnificent splendor they adored as they admired the walls of the Alhambra Palace. King Manuel I of Portugal rode on an expedition to this castle to enjoy the whispered wonders, and decided that the castle should be as decorated as his own. The idea was born and the Evora Palace began to be built.
Read our full review of the Azul board game below.
A brief overview of Azula
You are tasked as a tiler to beautify the prestigious walls of the Evora Palace with stunning tiles ( Spanish for Tiles). Carefully draw your masterpiece by choosing colored tiles and placing them in line with the dot grid to get the dots. Samples and kits can bring bigger rewards, but they plan effectively so they don’t waste supplies and lose points. Whoever has the most beautiful work of art in the Evora Palace is crowned the winner.
This game works best with two to four players , the more of us, the happier it is. You can expect to lay wall art for about 45 minutes, depending on your ability to lay tiles and quick thinking. The age range is really open, but any player with an eye for detail and generally past 8 years could claim a win at Azul.
- TILE LAYING GAME: Azul is a tile-laying game in which ...
- STRATEGIC COMMITTEE GAME: Draft tiles from the central market and place ...
- COMPETITIVE AND CHALLENGING: Every tile you claim affects what ...
Unpacking Azula
The game includes the following:
- 100 resin tiles (20 each color - blue, yellow, red, black and white)
- 9 Factory screens
- 4 player boards
- 4 Point markers
- 1 Player initial mark
- 1 canvas bag
- 1 Rules
We have no complaints about the quality of Azul. All pieces are made of resin, solid and beautifully painted in the Moorish style of art. The panels are thick and well organized, with designated spaces for everyone in the box. The linen bag gives you the queen of quality texture and makes cleaning / unpacking an organized process. In all aspects of the components, stained glass is an art kit for the royal persona and packaging for which the king would kill.
The grid, which is built into the Crystal Mosaic version, enables the unwavering placement of heavy-duty tiles in the group.
How to play Azul
Gather 2 to 4 of your friends who know the decoration well and get ready to eat from the heart, in the style of tiles. Here's how to get started!
Setting
Each player is given a game board showing a colorful wall. All players use the same side, so make sure none of your opponents face the board on the gray side.
Then pin the scoring marker and set it to 0 on your scoreboard.
Place the factory screens in the center of the table. The number of screens you play with depends on the number of players.
- For 5 players use 5.
- For 3 players use 7.
- For 4 players use 9.
Assemble all 100 tiles or 20 of each color into a bag. Mix them and place 4 for each factory tile. Whoever visited Portugal last goes first, and then the turns continue clockwise.
When turning
Azul is played in three stages in each round:
Phase 1: factory supply
At this stage, the player decides to take all the tiles of one color from one factory screen OR in the middle of the table.
Add the tiles you have selected to the player's grid (pyramid of spaces between tiles 1 to 5). When you place a red tile in the third row - you need to continue to place only the red tiles in that row and any excess red will spill over into your floor line. Because of this, you can lose points if you are not at the peak of your resource management skills - no one likes to waste materials!
Phase 2: laying the walls
Now all together! All players move their FINISHED tiles with the grid to their wall from the top (1) to the bottom (5) behind the far right tile. The excess from the filled lines goes into the game box. Incomplete tile pattern lines will remain on the grid for the next round. Make sure you score points right away!
Scoring
Scoring is determined by the tiles surrounding your new placements. If there are no tiles near your newly installed tile, you only get 1 point. If new placements touch tiles, either vertically or horizontally, score 1 point for each tile that touches.
Note: tiles that touch diagonally do not reward points.
If you placed any tile on the floor line during this round, subtract those points and reduce your losses by throwing these negative Nancy into the playing field.
Phase 3: Preparation of the next round
The simplest stage: just fill the factory screens.
End of the game!
Azul is finished when someone completes one horizontal line of tiles in their wall grid. Just because you finish first doesn't mean victory is yours. Check out the sample bonus board and your scores to see who is the best tiler in Portugal.
- TILE LAYING GAME: Azul is a tile-laying game in which ...
- STRATEGIC COMMITTEE GAME: Draft tiles from the central market and place ...
- COMPETITIVE AND CHALLENGING: Every tile you claim affects what ...
Your first game Azul
Luckily for you, learning this game is pretty easy. Here are some additional tips for your explanation:
- If a player in the factory supply phase is the first to take tiles from the middle in this round, he must take the player’s initial marker and place it in the far left free space in his floor covering line.
- Even during the FO phase, as the game progresses, you will not be allowed to place tiles of this color in a row that matches your type of wall tile. Plan according to resources.
- Floor line - Remember to throw away any unused or surplus materials in the floor line. If all the spaces in your floor line are occupied (you were probably in an ambush), you will take an insurmountable loss of points and move your excess tiles to the playing field.
Variations and extensions
Unfortunately for larger groups looking to test their historically accurate interior design capabilities, Azul does not offer any extensions to increase the number of players. The new versions add more visual elements, similar gameplay routines and a consistently fun player experience.
Azul: Sintra stained glass
In Sintra, your player grid changes from band to band from time to time. Some actions trigger players to adjust their networks, change their strategy, and adapt. There is a system of wild signs and deceptive character to keep your decoration interesting. Mixed gameplay mechanisms add the key to the usual pre-planning that players are accustomed to in the original Azul, they even add a transparent window pane to make things blurry.
- A NEW DEVELOPMENT OF THE AZUL SETTLEMENT GAME: Azul Stained Glass from Sintra ...
- STRATEGIC IMAGINARY GAME: Players carefully choose glass panels for ...
- VERY VARIABILITY: Window panels are double-sided, which ensures ...
Azul: Summer Pavilion
Summer has returned to Portugal and the king is urging his humble tiles to lavishly build the walls of the royal family’s summer pavilion. Don’t leave anything upside down, as this time you’ll only have six laps to build top-notch window art. The king demanded that his windows be in a star pattern, and you would be paid (or rewarded with points) by following your example.
Azul: Crystal mosaic
This extension offers little or no change compared to the original in terms of gameplay. Instead, you can attach a plastic cover to keep your tiles in place and have a new aesthetically pleasing tile. Other than that, the original and the crystal mosaic have no notable differences.
- THIS IS AN EXTENSION FOR AZUL: The basic game Azul is needed to ...
- NEW ELEMENTS OF THE GAME: Azul Crystal Mosaic offers 2 newly designed ...
- STRATEGIC COMMITTEE GAME: Draft tiles from the central market and place ...
Azul: The Queen's Garden
Every king has a queen and every queen needs a garden, so get back to work! In this version of Azul, you are responsible for carefully arranging the queen’s foliage by placing trees, lawn ornaments, and other floral and animal species. This plate is more like the Catan Island grid; not your typical window workspace.
Advantages disadvantages
If you’ve ever played Splendor , it can be comparable. The ability to do more of your tile collection while writing down your opponent’s needs in your mind can win you over.
Advantages:
- Great for any number of players up to 4.
- Different levels of players, with no noticeable advantages.
- Great abstract strategy board game
There are several benefits you can take for yourself from this review, but you can’t dispute Azula’s ultimate gameplay. It works as smoothly with 2 as with 4 players. Players can sabotage others if they plan future tile plans.
Weaknesses:
- Without a specific story or continuation of the narrative.
Some players prefer to play the game with a detailed story or some sort of narrative that continues. But, like every 9-5, tiling doesn’t have much of an appeal to book chapters.
If you appreciate faster games , with a medium level strategy - Azul is a good choice for players. If you’re looking for something with intense storytelling, you’d miss it and unpack it with Dungeons & Dragons player manuals.
Azul Review (TL; DR)
Azul: A quick breakdown looks like this ...
Factory tile displays from which you can choose at will while competing for colors with your opponents. Laying tiles in a grid is extremely important when designing, but don’t re-use the paint - it’s sticky! Make sure you plan ahead so you don’t get caught pushing excess tiles into the floor line and losing points on the side lines.
- TILE LAYING GAME: Azul is a tile-laying game in which ...
- STRATEGIC COMMITTEE GAME: Draft tiles from the central market and place ...
- COMPETITIVE AND CHALLENGING: Every tile you claim affects what ...
Conclusion: a verdict?
It’s quick to learn, quick to master, and nice to play. Different versions allow you to enhance even the most spectacular palaces with your newly endowed tile-laying expertise. I love this game and it is among my favorites because I can play with anyone, anytime, in less than an hour. Although “Azul” means “blue” in Spanish, you will be all the sooner than when you play this game.
- TILE LAYING GAME: Azul is a tile-laying game in which ...
- STRATEGIC COMMITTEE GAME: Draft tiles from the central market and place ...
- COMPETITIVE AND CHALLENGING: Every tile you claim affects what ...
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