Here are our thoughts on the positive and negative elements of each game in the Azul series. Azul What Azul does best: Using an innovative drafting mechanism, the signature of the Azul series, players must carefully select colourful tiles to decorate their garden. Only the most incredible garden designers will flourish and win the Queen's blessing. When placing tiles or expansions, each of the six symbols has a cost, from one to six tiles and you must discard as many tiles or expansions, including the one you place to pay for the placement. Each of these tiles must be either the same symbol or colour but not a mix of the two. Over the course of six rounds players will draft tiles to create a summer pavilion, carefully avoiding wasting any supplies. Each of the six tile colors takes a turn being wild during a round, helping players complete sections on their player board. Players earn progressively more points as they place tiles and begin to fill in each section on their board. Bonuses are earned for surrounding sections of the board and for completely filling in stars at the end of the six rounds. What Azul: Summer Pavilion does best:

How you place them, when you place them and what tiles you draft is paramount skills required to win. Each version of Azul has different scoring systems and other systems thinly laid over this simple template and Queens Garden is by far the ‘gamiest’ of them all. Updated to include Azul: Queen’s Garden* Azul is one of the most popular modern board games of the last 5 years. Azul, once a title for a single game, has since become the name of a series. With four stand alone games that each sound and look similar, you might be wondering which game is right for you. In the paper tile tower, you will find 5 identical series of tiles divided into numbered bags. All coloured tiles could be stored in the tile tower itself once you have opened the bag while the grey ones (the wild tiles called “jokers” in-game) have 4 dedicated slots in the tray. Each player takes a player board and a player marker in the same colour (the boards are coloured on the upper and lower side although is not immediate to see them at first), a storage board in the same colour, 1 fountain board, and three jokers. Each round a new color tile is wild which gives you something to plan for and work towards to help complete valuable sections on your board.

The cost could be covered by any combination of tile/ garden expansion/ Joker as far as there are no duplications and each of them counts as one when used to pay a cost, disregarding the pattern they are showing. The tiles used to pay the cost are discarded into the tile tower and not added to the bag. This juggling of both strategic and tactical aspects, alongside spatial play and pattern-building, is rich and engaging. There’s a lot to consider at every stage of the turn yet, as the game progresses, you won’t feel boxed in by your earlier decisions. Even the draft has interesting repercussions as garden tiles aren’t flipped face up until they’re clear of drafted hexes. So taking a hex you want might inadvertently create an opportunity for the following player. In addition, most advertising networks offer you a way to opt out of targeted advertising. If you would like to find out more information, please visit http://www.aboutads.info/choices/or http://www.youronlinechoices.com. With a lot to think about, the game of Azul: Queen’s Garden is unlikely to be a chatty affair everyone will be concentrating on their own garden board. However, the difficulty hits just the right spot where you feel the challenge but also want to figure it out. So, although Azul: Queen’s Garden has lost some component elegance of its predecessor, it is a more than a worthy follow-up.

Queen’s Garden plays out in four rounds. However players can choose to pass and end their participation in the round when either they can’t or do not wish to continue. Rounds continue until all players have passed. Why You May Not Like Azul Queen’s Garden: Azul: Queen's Garden ups the complexity compared to previous titles, so beginners beware! It takes the mechanics introduced in previous versions and mixes them up a little in a new and elegant way. There are more decisions to make than ever before. While some will definitely like keeping tiles from round to round, others may not find it restrictive or punishing enough.At the end of the fourth round, players score as usual and then a final scoring takes place. During the final scoring, each group of at least 3 patterns or colours scores 3 points. The same tile could be scored multiple times if part of multiple groups. Once the game is completed, each component can be easily returned to the corresponding slot in the game tray. The tower could be used to store all the tiles with/without the bag and all boards could be placed over the game tray.

When placing a tile, it can only touch a tile of the same colour or symbol so when it comes to end-game scoring, planning and how you build your board is vital. Due to the heavier nature and the considerable playtime for an abstract game, this can push Queen’s Garden outside the realm of “welcoming” for those looking for an easy to teach game for new players. If you are looking for an abstract game with a bit more depth and don’t mind a lot of moving parts, Azul Stained Glass of Sintra could be a great choice for you. Considering the simplicity of the original Azul, it’s surprising that designer, Michael Kiesling, continues to produce more and more follow-ups. The fourth entry in the series, Azul: Queen’s Garden, was revealed just last month and will be seeing a wider release later this year. Of course, if you happened to be at Essen Spiel 2021 - the biggest board game event in the world - this weekend, then you’d be able to get your hands on the game right there and then.

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I originally bought this for someone who loves Azul games but little did I know this would be, not only the most unique title in the series but by far my favourite. It offers more choice, has more malleability and is a little bit more thinky than the other games in the series. As well as drafting tiles you are now drafting Garden Expansions to put your tiles onto as well, a massive change from what I have played before in these games. More Freedom As for the main components, along with the player’s board, the garden, Queen’s Garden also comes with honeycomb-shaped cardboard tiles – these are the expansion to your garden – on which the tiles will be placed. The tiles score in a combination of three or more, which could be by colour or pattern. The scoring varies depending on groups, types of tiles and other bonuses, and with several scoring rounds before the end of the game, players need to think both short and long term.

The game ends suddenly, so if you aren’t paying attention, you can get caught completely unaware. You must always be watching to know just how much longer the game is likely to go on.On one side of the display area, you could place the scoring board with the rotatory wheel. The rotatory wheel dents should be aligned with the two markers on the top quadrant (first round). You could either keep the game box close to easily access the game tokens and the jokers or prepare a pile of each close to the scoring board. The other tokens could be retrieved from the fox as needed. Player action, Pass – Passing is final and once passed the players could not do any further actions. The first players that pass will receive the first player tile and once all players have passed, the round is over. Queen’s Garden is also quite a bit heavier than the previous four games due to all of the drafting and placement restrictions. This leads to a much longer play time and Queen’s Garden outstaying its welcome. (All our games lasted 70+ minutes.) On the other side of the display are you could position the tile tower. You will need first to pour all the tiles out from the tower and into the drafting bag as the tower could be used to store all tiles consumed during each game round. You could also choose to not use the tower and store the tiles where you prefer although the tower is a nice cosmetic addition to the table. Players Setup Tokens and Garden expansions. The first setup requires the players to unpunch all the garden expansions and the tokens first.