Matthew BaileyGame #20 and the fourth “Then” game of the “Now & Then Summer Marathon 2024” is “Azul,” played with Jack (9).
“Azul” is the 55th game that I reviewed here on Little Board Gamers and is probably one of the later ones before I started reviewing games in a lot more detail and providing a lot more depth to what I wrote.
Jack is a massive fan of “Azul,” and it’s always a game that comes out, especially around family gatherings. It is also incredibly popular at the school where I work and is a hit among students aged 11 to 16. Outside of Unmatched, it’s probably one of the board games that gets the most play.
The concept of the game is to create tile patterns inspired by Portuguese azulejos and use them to score points.
To begin, each player receives a player board, which is where you’ll build your tile mosaic. Place the factory displays in the centre of the table— the number of these depends on how many people are playing. You’ll also need the tile bag filled with the colourful tiles and a centre tile for discarded tiles. Each player places their scoring marker on the score track of their player board.
The aim of “Azul” is to score the most points by creating patterns on your player board with the tiles you collect. Points are scored based on how you place your tiles and the patterns you complete. To explain scoring, think of it like Scrabble where you continuously build on your previous tiles, getting higher and higher points as the game progresses.
On your turn, you choose all the tiles of one colour from any factory display or from the centre of the table. If you pick from a factory display, the remaining tiles are moved to the centre. If you’re the first to take tiles from the centre, you also take the first player marker. This marker gives you the first turn in the next round but counts as negative points for this round.
Once you’ve chosen your tiles, place them on one of the pattern lines on your player board. Each pattern line can only hold tiles of the same colour. If you have more tiles than needed for a pattern line, the extra tiles go to the floor line, which will cost you negative points.
When all tiles have been taken from the centre and the factory displays, the round ends. For each full pattern line, move one tile to the corresponding space on the wall grid, returning the rest of the tiles from the line to the box. Score points based on the tiles placed on the wall grid: tiles score points for horizontal and vertical connections, and the more connections you make, the higher your score. Tiles on the floor line count as negative points, and the first player marker also counts as a negative point at the end of the round. The game continues with new rounds until at least one player completes a horizontal row of tiles on their wall grid.
When the game ends, final scoring takes place. You score extra points for completed rows and columns on the wall grid, as well as for completing a set of all five tiles of one colour. The player with the most points wins!
In terms of strategy, it’s crucial to think ahead about which tiles you play and how that will affect your board. The fact that you score from top to bottom means that if you lay tiles out in the correct way, you can get quite a few multipliers pretty early on.
Additionally, because no components are hidden and you can see exactly what your opponent is doing, sometimes it’s strategically better to not necessarily take the best tile for you but leave your opponent with something that will cause them problems and result in negative points.
The game ends when the first player completes a row, meaning games of “Azul” typically last for about five turns. However, there are tactics where one player might want to finish the game as quickly as possible, while another player might aim to prolong it.
“Azul” was a deserving winner of the 2018 Spiel des Jahres, as it is an excellent tile-laying puzzle game. I also appreciate the fact that, with nothing hidden, you can help younger players with their turns and guide them through their decision-making.
The quality of the components is extremely high, made from the durable resin plastic that we know and love from games such as “Hive.”
I would also recommend the “Crystal Mosaics” expansion, which comes with plastic overlays that help keep everything straight and flat.
“Azul” is a firm favourite of mine, and if you’re interested, you can actually try it out on Board Game Arena for free, which I would 100% recommend.
If you’re interested but not as keen on the Portuguese tile aesthetic, Zatu offers an exclusive Master Chocolatier limited edition that makes the game look like a box of chocolates instead.
Brilliant stuff!
