Azul: Vitrales de Sintra

EvEvanstar5,9

This game uses the basic tile selection mechanism from Azul 1, and applies it to a new puzzle. The player boards get randomized at the start of the game, so each player is going for different colors at different points. You no longer have a prep area, rather your tiles are placed directly into columns. When a column is full, it scores for itself, and for each column completed to it's right. Then you mark the completion, flush the tiles out of it and flip it over so it's available for a second completion but this time with different colors. You also have a meeple who starts on the left, and clicks to the right above whichever column you place your tiles into, who prevents you from placing tiles to the left of his current position. A new option during your turn is essentially passing to reset him to the left most position. It's so hard to judge this game on it's own merits for me at this point. I know I should allow this game to be it's own beautiful creature, but to me Azul 1 is such a perfectly designed game. To meddle with it to the extent here feels uncomfortable. My brain is telling me, this is just Azul, with much harder to track information. With the new players boards it's harder to see who needs what when. There's a mechanism where starting round 2, one color of tile is more valuable to complete which alters the math. Players can pass, which changes the flow of knowing who will get stuck with the giant pool of solid color nonsense. It's like Azul but more chaos. I do think that this impression might just be the natural result of meeting a brand new, unfamiliar game, yet because it's called Azul, and uses the same tile selection as Azul, I feel like I should intuitively know and understand it like Azul, a game I've played a lot of. The puzzle here is compelling once you can see and understand it. Predicting the flow of the game should come with more time and plays. I do think this isn't as elegant as Azul 1. I don't see this unseating Azul 1 in my heart. ★ Art, Iconography and components functional ★ Clever or interesting mechanisms ★ Reasonably low downtime between turns with mildly AP players ★ Multiple plays stay interesting ★ Low or mitigatable luck elements ★★☆☆☆ Raw enjoyment

Toni Cutillasstar7,5

- Base [ 02 ] -