Azul Complete Guide: Abstract Strategy Board Game

Azul is an award-winning abstract strategy board game where players take turns drafting beautifully patterned ** Portuguese tiles** from a central market to decorate the walls of a royal palace. With elegant rules and deep tactical decisions, it won the Spiel des Jahres in 2018 and has sold over 2 million copies worldwide.

Game Components

What's in the Box

• 1 game board per player (double-sided: standard + advanced pattern)
• 100 resin tiles in 5 colors (20 each: blue, yellow, red, black, white)
• 5 factory displays (circular discs)
• 1 starting player marker
• 4 player boards with pattern lines and wall grid
• Designed for 2-4 players (best with 2-3)
• Typical game duration 30-45 minutes

How to Play

Setup

1. Each player takes a player board (same side facing up).
2. Place factory displays in the center: 2 players = 5 factories, 3 players = 7 factories, 4 players = 9 factories.
3. Fill each factory with 4 random tiles drawn from the bag.
4. Place all remaining tiles in the bag. The starting player goes first.

Taking a Turn

On your turn, choose one of these actions:

1. Take Tiles from a Factory

• Pick one factory and take all tiles of one color from it.
• Any remaining tiles on that factory go to the center of the table.
• The first player to take from the center also takes the starting player marker (they will go first next round).

2. Take Tiles from the Center

• Take all tiles of one color from the center pool.
• If you are the first to take from center this round, you also take the starting player marker (meaning you go first next round, but you also take 1 penalty tile immediately).

Placing Tiles

After taking tiles, you must place them:

1. On a pattern line (the rows above your wall):

   • Choose a row that matches the tile color AND does not already contain a different color.
   • A row can only hold tiles of one color per round.
   • Fill from left to right. Row 1 holds 1 tile, row 2 holds 2, up to row 5 holding 5.

2. On the floor line (penalty row):

   • Any tiles that cannot or you choose not to place on a pattern line go to your floor line.
   • Each tile on the floor line scores negative points (-1, -1, -2, -2, -2, -3, -3).

3. Overflow rule: If a pattern line is already full, extra tiles of that color go to the floor line.

Wall Tiling (End of Round)

When all tiles have been taken from factories and center, the round ends. For each completed pattern line:

1. Move one tile to the matching space on your wall grid.
2. Clear the pattern line — remaining tiles go to the box lid (out of the game).
3. Score the newly placed wall tile:
   • 1 point for the tile itself.
   • +1 per connected tile horizontally (if adjacent wall tiles exist).
   • +1 per connected tile vertically (if adjacent wall tiles exist).

A single tile touching both a horizontal group of 3 and a vertical group of 2 scores 1 + 3 + 2 = 6 points.

Starting a New Round

1. Refill all factory displays with 4 tiles each from the bag.
2. If the bag is empty, move all tiles from the box lid back into the bag.
3. The player with the starting player marker goes first.

Game End

The game ends at the end of any round where at least one player has a complete horizontal row on their wall (5 tiles in a row). Then calculate final scores with bonus points.

Scoring Bonuses (End of Game)

These bonuses can dramatically swing the final scores — a player with 2 complete rows (4 pts), 1 complete column (7 pts), and 1 full color (10 pts) earns 21 bonus points.

Strategy Tips

1. Plan Your Wall Colors

• Each row and column on the wall has 5 different colors — each color appears exactly once per row and column.
• Before placing tiles, think about which colors you need for vertical columns (7 bonus points each).
• Focus on completing 1-2 specific columns rather than spreading tiles randomly.

2. The Floor Line is Expensive

• Taking tiles you cannot place costs -1 to -3 points each.
• Sometimes it is worth taking extra tiles to deny opponents, but only if the penalty is less than the value of denying them.
• Early penalties (-1) are cheap; late penalties (-3) are devastating.

3. Watch Opponent Walls

• If an opponent needs blue tiles for their next pattern line, you may want to take blue tiles first to deny them.
• Count tiles — there are only 20 of each color. If 16 are visible, only 4 remain.

4. Timing the Game End

• If you are ahead, try to end the game quickly by completing a row.
• If you are behind, extend the game by avoiding completing rows — collect more bonuses.
• The player who triggers the end does NOT necessarily win.

5. Advanced Board Strategy

• The advanced side of the player board has a different color pattern on each row.
• This creates different strategic opportunities — some columns are easier to complete on the advanced board.
• Switch to the advanced board once you are comfortable with the standard board.

Game Variations

Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra

• Cylinder-based gameplay instead of pattern lines
• Players build stained glass window panels
• Different scoring mechanics with glass shards
• Supports 2-4 players

Azul: Summer Pavilion

• Uses diamond-shaped tiles and a star-shaped player board
• Wild tiles that can represent any color
• Six rounds with different colored columns scoring each round
• Supports 2-4 players

Azul: Master Chocolatier

• Chocolate-themed reskin of the original
• Same mechanics with deluxe chocolate-piece tiles
• Limited edition

Game History

Origins

• Designed by Michael Kiesling and published by Plan B Games in 2017
• Kiesling is a veteran game designer who also designed Vikings and Palazzo
• Inspired by Portuguese azulejo tiles — the decorative ceramic tiles found in buildings across Portugal

Awards and Recognition

• Won the Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) in 2018
• Won the Origins Award for Best Board Game
• Over 2 million copies sold worldwide
• Named one of the best abstract strategy games by BoardGameGeek

Statistics

• Designed for 2-4 players (best with 2-3)
• 100 resin tiles in 5 colors (20 each)
• 5-9 factory displays (based on player count)
• 4 tiles per factory per round
• Pattern lines: 1 to 5 tiles per row
• Wall grid: 5x5 with one of each color per row/column
• Floor penalty: -1 to -3 points per tile
• Bonus: +2 per row, +7 per column, +10 per color
• Over 2 million copies sold
• Won Spiel des Jahres 2018
• Typical game duration 30-45 minutes
• Suitable for ages 8 and up
• Designed by Michael Kiesling
• Published by Plan B Games

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