Azul

2017 · Renaissance

Azul

Decorate the royal palace by drafting colored ceramic tiles from communal suppliers and placing them on a personal wall grid. Players take turns selecting all tiles of one color from a supplier or the central pool, move remaining tiles to the center, and arrange chosen tiles on pattern lines before transferring them to the wall. At scoring, players gain points for tiles placed on the wall, complete rows/columns/patterns, and adjacency bonuses, while excess tiles and unplaced pieces incur penalties. The game ends after a round in which a player completes a horizontal row; highest total score wins.

Players
2–4 best 2
Playing time
30–45 min
Age
8+
Complexity
1.8 / 5
7.7 on Ludoyafrom $17.59Abstract StrategySet CollectionSquare GridOpen Drafting

On Ludoya's tables

Full stats in Ludoya
7,249
Plays logged
2,930
Players
30m 15s
Average play
1,143
In collections
45
On wishlists
2
Pre-ordered

7.7/10

from 459 Ludoya reviews

By player count

  • 1 playerSkip · 3 votes
  • 2 playersBest · 3 votes
  • 3 playersGood · 3 votes
  • 4 playersGood · 3 votes
  • WhereMyMeepsAt8.0

    Fun 4/5 · Interaction 4/5 · Appeal 4/5 · Uniqueness 4/5 · Replayability 4/5 · Accessibility 4/5

    Played it 7 times

  • Mohasz7.5

    After several 2p games I feel like the game is somewhat overrated. A lot of people compare this one to Sagrada, and I think I prefer the latter. Azul might be more streamlined and have more strategy to it, but I find the puzzle more satisfying in Sagrada, and it has the edge on replayability as well. Still a good game. After more plays with both, I might actually prefer Azul now. It's a cleaner, less fiddly game. I've kinda grown cold to it now. I no longer get excited to pull this off the shelf, although it's still pleasant enough every now and then. + Joker Tiles + Overlays

    First impressions · 1 play

  • Garfield7.0

    #37 BGExpansions in Box I'm waiting since about 8 or more months for my missing start marker tile!!! Will not change rating till I get it! Very good 2-player game that is easy to explain and plays very fast. [c] Theme: ☆☆☆☆☆ <!-- size 7]No theme --> Gameplay: ★☆☆☆☆ <!-- size 7]2 choices --> Interaction: ★☆☆☆☆ <!-- size 7]Almost no interaction --> Artwork: ★★★☆☆ <!-- size 7]The tiles are beautiful, the rest is ok --> Luck: ★★☆☆☆ <!-- size 7]Sosolala --> Strategy: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]If you don't have one, you don't get the max points you could if you had one --> Components: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]Beautiful tiles --> Play duration: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]Very good --> Easy to teach: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]Explained within minutes --> Setup time: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]You only have to draw some tiles --> No downtime: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]Almost no downtime --> [/c]

    No plays logged

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Rules questions

Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.

When I take tiles from the center, do I have to take the starting-player marker too?

If you’re the first player that round to take tiles from the center, you must also take the marker and put it on the leftmost free space of your floor line. It counts as a floor-line tile for penalties (pages 3, 5).

Can I put different colors in the same pattern line, or choose a color that’s already on that wall row?

No. A pattern line can hold only one color, and from the second round onward you can’t place a color in a pattern line if that color is already in the corresponding wall row (pages 3–4).

What happens to tiles I can’t fit in a pattern line?

Put them in your floor line, filling it from left to right; if it’s full, return further tiles to the box lid. At the end of wall-tiling, lose the points shown above each occupied floor space, but your score can’t go below 0 (pages 4–5).

Do I move tiles from incomplete pattern lines to my wall?

No. Move only the rightmost tile from each complete pattern line to its matching space on the wall; remove the other tiles from that completed line. Tiles in incomplete lines stay on your board for the next round (page 4).

How do I score a tile when I put it on my wall?

If it has no tiles adjacent horizontally or vertically, score 1 point. Otherwise, score the length of its horizontal linked group and, separately, the length of its vertical linked group, counting the new tile in each group (page 5).

When does the game end, and are there points at the end?

The game ends after wall-tiling when someone has completed a horizontal row of five tiles. Then score 2 points per complete horizontal row, 7 per complete vertical column, and 10 for each color with all five tiles placed on your wall (page 6).

Official score sheet

Azul score sheet

Every scoring category, from the Ludoya kit. On your phone the totals add up by themselves.

Opens Ludoya's rules assistant, which reads this game's rulebook.

Score sheets and play helpers

  • Full Game Kit
  • Game Kit
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Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.