Azul is a Board Game of Beauty

By Christopher Guyton | October 22nd, 2018 | Categories: Board Game Reviews, Board Games, Product Review

Add your own embellishments to the walls of the Royal Palace of Evora with Azul, a board game by Plan B Games. Maximize the beauty of the tiled patterns but be careful not to waste supplies in the process!

In Azul, you play as artisans hired by the Portuguese King to re-tile the palace in the style of the moorish Alhambra of Spain. Inspired by his visit the King of Portugal demanded his palace look just as beautiful. The tiles you are placing represent the Azulejos (blue and white tiles).

Azul $39.99

Introduced by the Moors, azulejos (originally white and blue ceramic tiles) were fully embraced by the Portuguese when their king Manuel I, on a visit to the Alhambra palace in Southern Spain, was mesmerized by the stunning beauty of the Moorish decorative tiles. The king, awestruck by the interior beauty of the Alhambra, immediately ordered that his own palace in Portugal be decorated with similar wall tiles. As a tile-laying artist, you have been challenged to embellish the walls of the Royal Palace of Evora.

In the game Azul, players take turns drafting colored tiles from suppliers to their player board. Later in the round, players score points based on how they’ve placed their tiles to decorate the palace. Extra points are scored for specific patterns and completing sets; wasted supplies harm the player’s score. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.

Azul is a 2-4 player designed by Michael Keisling and published by Plan B Games. Azul plays for 30-45 minutes. Azul is a very lightweight game perfect for new players and veteran gamers alike.

Each player takes turns picking all the same colored tiles from any factory space or the center pile. Any tiles not picked from a factory all move to the center pile. You then place the tiles you chose onto one of your five lines which have space for anywhere from one to five tiles. Chosen tiles are placed on your board on a grid with the matching colors.

You cannot place two of the same colored tiles into the same row. Tiles are scored for themselves and each tile adjacent in the same row and column. So it pays off to group your tiles up as you pick them. Choosing more tiles than you have space for and the extras fall to the floor and you will lose points. The first player to choose from the center also gets the first player marker which will go into your negative points slot. So there is a bit of puzzle solving involved in what color tiles to grab and when and where to take them from since you must take all the ones that match.

Azul is definitely one of my favorite games right now. It’s perfect for anyone who wants to play a lightweight, quick, enjoyable game. It’s always a hit at game night so I highly recommend this game. I feel it should be in every gamer’s collection.

Plan B Games is one of those publishers who I’m looking at closer now. Between Azul and Century Spice Road, they are knocking it out of the park.