Azul – First Impressions
Azul could probably be called a modern classic. It’s got enough industry recognition and mass-market appeal. It’s one of the board games you see on the shelves at those stores that now carry much more than just Monopoly and Life.
But it’s not been on my radar since I’ve been a reviewer (since that’s only been the last two years) and it also hasn’t come up while I’ve been collecting and playing board games more rabidly (since about 2014). I’ve had friends and family who mentioned it previously, but I’ve not really had an interest in searching it out.
My son is now seven years old, though, and he’s really becoming more intrigued by games and interested in playing them with us adults. Maybe it’s a ploy to stay up past his bedtime but I’ll worry about that some other day…
Anywho, Azul was designed by Michael Kiesling, published by Plan B and Next Move Games, with artwork from Philippe Guérin and Chris Quilliams. It’s a 2017 release and, four years later, it’s one of the most recognizable games on the market.
So, whether you’re new to the hobby, been here for years, or you’re just a little duck who's lost in the pond and wondering what these humans are yammering about, let’s look at Azul.
What It Does
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. Azul brings you, a tile-laying artist, to embellish the walls of the Royal Palace of Evora.
My mom probably knew this because she adores blue and white pottery, but I found this to be an educational passage of flavor text, which is rarely the case as far as flavor text goes!
In a game of Azul, however, players are going to be creating a mosaic wall of ceramic tiles by drafting them from a shared pool and trying to fill up their wall with the best (and highest scoring) arrangement of azulejos. Technically, you are a tile-laying artist in the Royal Palace of Evora. But……. the thematic aspect of the game will not necessarily overwhelm you. This is an abstract design that largely works just as it is; it doesn’t immerse the player in the world.
Does that matter? Not really. You’re here for one thing and one thing only: to be better at grabbing tiles than other players.
How do you do something like this better, you ask? Well, it’s all about tile placement in relation to existing tiles. Put a tile off by itself and it won’t score much. Place it next to other tiles and you can score it horizontally and vertically. Chaining those tiles together is how you’ll score much more and where the strategy in Azul lies. Figuring out that will take you from average scores to quite high ones after some time. And the endgame scoring rewards players who get full rows or columns of tiles, as well as all of one tile pattern.
It’s a simple game to learn and an enjoyable one to play. I’m still in the process of discovering the right combination of vertical and horizontal configuration, but it’s also a toss-up each game since any player who finishes a horizontal row triggers the end of the game.
How It Does It
Azul uses drafting, tile-laying, and set collection to round out its set of mechanics. While everything comes out of a central bag, there is no bag-building here as it’s just a draw pool that is replenished by excess tiles when it goes empty.
Circular discs are laid out in front of the players. The number varies by player count. Then, in each round, four tiles are placed on those discs. Starting with the first player, each tile-layer grabs one pattern from either the outer ring of discs or the inner shared pool. When one pattern is taken from a disc, all other patterns go to the middle pool, creating an incentive for players to start grabbing mosaic tiles from the center. Whoever does so first takes the first player marker for the next round.
When you take all of one pattern from a disc or the center, you then have to slot them into the left-side rows in an attempt to fill them up. When a row is filled up, it will push one of those tiles into your wall of azulejos. Any remaining tiles are then set aside until the bag needs to be refilled.
So, you’re drafting. Then you’re tile-laying. And, by the end of the game, you’re focused on the set collection, with either one of each pattern across horizontal and vertical lines or all of one pattern for some big bonus points.
The real strategy is in determining which tiles to take when. I personally try to focus on getting my smaller rows filled up first, which leaves big rows open for the forced grabs that you take at the end of the round—as players grab tiles from the outer discs, the inner circle grows and grows, which usually leaves multiples of one pattern that players are forced to take. Any tiles that you can’t place in a row when you grab them must be discarded to the lower row of negative points, which increases as you get more tiles there. You don’t want that. This is why understanding what tiles to take when and how to place them on your wall is very important. Get the right ones and you’ll rarely get negative points. Position them poorly and you may lose just as many points as you gain.
It’s easy to understand but there is a little bit of depth in discovering what decisions are best.
Why You Might Like It
This is a beautiful game. The mosaic tiles, the two-sided boards, and the patterned bag will really make an impression. Abstract games are not always appealing to players but the visual elegance here proves why those games can be big hits.
I can teach Azul to someone in under five minutes and we can start playing just as fast. Also, the game time is short enough that you could play multiple times in one night. In the age of miniatures, thick rulebooks, and other mechanical obstacles, the brevity and accessibility in Azul cannot be overstated.
Why You Might Not
Azul will not sustain a hobbyist gamer with nuanced experiences over a long time. The gameplay is simple (which is part of its appeal and beauty) and hoping that it will continue to impress with iterations of the original joy isn’t a guarantee. Once you figure out the best ways to gain tiles for maximum points, you’re playing a game of optimization.
If you use it as a filler game or an introductory game, then you might avoid that downside, but it’s a real possibility if you get the game expecting it to be something that will maintain a high level of engagement over time.
Final Thoughts
Azul is not a game that would have been on my radar a year ago. It doesn’t fit the typical aesthetic or mechanical background of most of the games I look into. But with my son becoming interested in playing games, I decided to take the plunge and see what everyone else was talking about. And, ultimately, I’m glad I did. My son likes to play it. My wife enjoys sitting down with us. And it’s a simple game that can get us to sit around the table and play board games together.
It’s not a game that I would break out for repeated play on my own or with friends and family who enjoy the hobby a lot. I’d spend my time on other things. But that doesn’t devalue what Azul is and the space it holds in the hobby. It’s a light and inviting game that is beautiful to look at and a breeze to play. That’s definitely valuable. It also encourages my son to ask to play board games, which is something I’m wholeheartedly behind. I want him to be engaged in off-screen activities like this.
If you’re looking for a set-collecting and tile-laying modern classic, then Azul will fit the bill. It’s one that will pique the curiosity of non-gamers and it will satisfy the craving of most gamers who sit down at your table. Use it as something to bridge the gap between kids or people new to the hobby. Use it as a filler or warm-up game before setting up something crunchier.
Playing with my son has made me more aware of the different audiences that games are designed for or that games may resonate with. Azul isn’t a go-to game for me, but I’m happy that I have it and I can understand the appeal.
If you’re interested in looking at the game and its other versions, check out the Plan B Games website.
And for an extra special treat, if you want some delightful photos of Azul in the Arkansas snow-pocalypse of 2021, then check out Kidsplaining on Facebook because Alison is a fantastic photographer!
Have you played Azul before? Of the three versions out there, which is your favorite? What other games do you think are similar to Azul?
Let us know in the comments and give a recommendation for other games of which to share our first impressions.