Fantastic family game with surprising outcome:Azul

Wallpapering a wall with wall tiles? My first critical look at the Azul game left me with a frown. Because who disagrees with me on this? It sounds a bit special that the goal of the game is to provide a wall with wall tiles. But hey - open-minded as I am- I'm going to work with a fresh mind to master Azul. First Frank and I go through the rules of the game together and we already play it just the two of us. In preparation for the game night with Luc and Lotte. Below you can read our experiences with the Azul game in the review.

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Azul game; an asset to your game collection!

Let's get him right in there. As far as we're concerned, Azul is a real asset to our game collection. It's something different than playing with Lego or making a jigsaw puzzle. In this review you will find out why we think so. But first I would like to briefly discuss the rules of the game and the purpose of this family game.

The-goal-of-the-azul-game

Quite simply put, the goal of this game is to get the most points. Because whoever has the most points wins the game. And not the one who is the first to 'end' the game. And this is a huge difference from all the other games I know. In addition to your own strategy for laying the wall tiles, you have to be very aware of what your opponent does. Can you finish the game? First make sure you know how many points your opponents have. Because when the game is over, the most points count.

A simple 'I finished the game, so I win' does not count here. And I personally think that is a big plus of this game. In addition, this goal of Azul gives a new dimension to the game as far as we are concerned.

Rules of Azul in short:

The rules of the game are not that difficult in themselves, but you just have to understand it:

• As a starting point to start the game, place 4 wall tiles on each factory disc
• Each participant gets a scoreboard with a wall on it where you have to save the wall tiles
• The rest of the tiles go into the bag
• Of course everyone starts with the score 0
• Whoever has been to Portugal last gets to start and gets the start token

You play the game in different rounds:

• In round 1, all players take their own tiles from the game. This can be done in 2 ways; or you choose all tiles of the same color from one of the factory checkers that are there. Or you take all tiles of the same color from the middle of the game. Will you be the first player to grab from the middle of the game? Then the start token is also yours (and you can start the next turn).
• Round 2:When each player has chosen tiles, it is time for everyone to place the wall tiles in the rows in front of the wall. Note:Only tiles with the same pattern may be placed in one row. ps… do you have tiles of that pattern left? Then you have to place them on the floor tiles (these will become your penalty points which you have to deduct from the score afterwards)
• On round 3 you will cover the wall. Have you completed a row of the same tiles? Then you can place one of those tiles in the correct position in your wall. The rest of the tiles go into the box and don't come back into play until the bag is empty. When lining the wall, you immediately count how many points you get when you place the tile on the wall and move your black cube on the scoreboard. (Don't forget to count the obtained floor tiles as deduction points).

As long as the game has not yet been completed by one of the players, you can play the above rounds again.

Conclusion:our experiences playing family-game Azul

to begin with, the simplicity of the rules made me happy. It is not difficult to play the game and that makes it easy for younger players to understand. It is a challenge to come up with the best strategy to win. And that is precisely where Azul's advantage lies. Although it is not difficult to play, you can make it quite a challenge for yourself.

In fact… we've played it a number of times now and I really don't have the faintest idea what strategy to use to get as many points as possible. In any case, it is clear that you do not want to 'end the game' too quickly by placing 5 wall tiles on a horizontal line.

The first time I played the game with Frank he hit me with all kinds of extra points and I lost big. Still, I was eager to play the game again. Luc and Lotte were also quickly over. They both really like the Azul game, although I have to say that Luc was somewhat annoyed by his score 😉 . Lotte, on the other hand, was very enthusiastic, because he won with the greatest of ease. And then it turns out that these kind of family games are really the best way to have a pleasant evening. In any case, the Azul game is at the front of our closet!

Do you already know Azul and if so, what do you think?