Azul is a game that is intricately designed, both visually and in terms of gameplay. Thematically, you're laying wall tiles for a royal palace in Portugal. This is attributed to a visit King Manuel I made to Southern Spain, where he observed the decorative Moorish tiles of the Alhambra Palace and ordered that similar tiles adorn his palace.
The learning curve for Azul seems steep when you dive in, but its interior logic is consistent and the fun of it all soon takes over. Still, the game is layered and nuanced. As a result, so is the path to developing a successful strategy. It's worth the effort, though, because if your opponents show more of a knack for coming out on top than you do, it's game over before you I have a chance to hit your stride. Each round is divided into three phases, and any hope of strategizing effectively has to be planned in the first phase.
THE THREE PHASES OF A ROUND
Factory offer - Players take turns drafting all tiles of the same color from any one factory display or the center of the table, then add them to one of their pattern lines.
CE Wall-tiling - Players simultaneously move a tile from each completed pattern line to their walls, scoring points for each one.
Preparing the next round - Tiles are drawn from the bag to refill all of the factory displays.
This story is from the Fall 2022 edition of Casual Game Insider.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Fall 2022 edition of Casual Game Insider.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
GAME REVIEWS
This little card game takes only a couple of minutes to teach, but is surprisingly engaging and full of fun.
Fun Is No Mystery with: Scorpion masqué
Scorpion Masqué is a Montreal-based board game publisher founded in 2006 by former literature teacher and game enthusiast Christian Lemay
PAGE TURNERS: Games Unfurl Their Majestic Pages
Have you picked up a good book lately? Perhaps you've struggled to find inspirational reading material
Josh Cappel: A Man of Many Hats
The name Josh Cappel is synonymous with variety. If you have a shelf of board games, it's likely that at least one of them has been touched by Cappel
PLAY FUNKOVERSE LIKE A PRO
Have you ever heard about the Funkoverse board game series? If not, then you are in for a real treat
PASSPORT TO FUN: This Summer's Sizzling New Casual Games
From a quaint festival in Portugal to impending doom in ancient China, or from the peaceful tranquility of a Japanese garden to the tarmac of the Montréal airport, the new casual board games of the summer of 2023 read like a captivating travel brochure
Scram! CRITTERS VS. CAMPERS
One team faces another in Bezier Games' latest card-shedding gam
Hand-to-Hand Wombat is Major Fun!
The Concept - No one knows why wombats enjoy architecture. A desire to build towers is buried deep in their bones. But there are exceptions: wicked wombats, born to make trouble.
A Part-Time Venture Creating Full-Time Fun
hawn Stankewich, along with co-founders Robb Melvin and Molly Johnson, started Seattle-based Flatout Games in 2017. Robb and Shawn lived in the same dorm in college and developed a friendship through playing board games. Molly was already into games when she met Shawn and Robb in 2013. After four years of friendship and playing games, they decided to design their own.
THE KULTURE OF GAMES:
How Board Games Continue to Reflect Growing & Emergent Communities
