What is the Azul Board Game?

Azul is a highly acclaimed abstract strategy board game where players act as artisans decorating the walls of the Royal Palace of Evora with beautiful ceramic tiles.

Core Concept and Inspiration

The game, whose name translates to "blue" in both Portuguese and Spanish, was designed by Michael Kiesling and first released by Plan B Games in 2017. Its vibrant aesthetic and core mechanics are directly inspired by the traditional Portuguese ceramic tiles known as azulejos. At its heart, Azul challenges players to collect sets of similarly colored tiles and strategically place them onto their individual player boards to create stunning patterns and score the most points.

How to Play: Gameplay Mechanics

Playing Azul involves a unique blend of tile-drafting and pattern-building, making each turn a decision-filled puzzle.

Tile Drafting: The Foundation

Players take turns drafting tiles from several "factory displays" or from the central discard pile. When you choose to draft, you must take all tiles of a single color from your chosen location. Any remaining tiles from that factory are then moved to the center, becoming available for other players to draft. This crucial decision-making phase often involves weighing personal gain against denying opponents the tiles they need.

Strategic Wall Tiling

Once tiles are drafted, players move them onto "pattern lines" on their personal player boards. Each of these lines can hold a specific number of tiles. When a pattern line is completely filled, one tile of that color is moved to the "wall" section of the board, permanently decorating your palace and contributing to your score. The remaining tiles from the filled pattern line are returned to the general supply.

Scoring and End-Game Bonuses

Points are awarded instantly for each tile placed on the wall, with additional bonuses for placing tiles adjacent to others, forming continuous horizontal or vertical lines of azulejos. At the end of the game, players receive further bonus points for completing entire rows or columns on their wall, as well as for collecting specific numbers of all five tile colors.

Managing the Floor Line

A key strategic element involves the "floor line." If a player drafts more tiles than they can place on their pattern lines, or if they are forced to take a specific color they cannot use, these excess tiles go onto their floor line. Tiles on the floor line result in negative points at the end of the round, creating tension and forcing players to make difficult choices about what to take and when, sometimes even intentionally incurring penalties to set up future moves or hinder opponents.

Why Azul Stands Out

Azul has garnered widespread acclaim and numerous awards, including the prestigious Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) 2018, for several reasons:

• Elegant Simplicity: The game's rules are remarkably easy to learn, making it accessible to both new and experienced board gamers.
• Tactical Depth: Despite its simple rules, Azul offers significant strategic depth, requiring players to constantly adapt their plans based on the available tiles and their opponents' actions.
• Beautiful Components: The game's vibrant, tactile ceramic-like tiles and aesthetically pleasing player boards enhance the overall playing experience.
• High Replayability: The variability in tile distribution and player choices ensures that no two games of Azul play out exactly the same.