Azul

What you need

• Azul base game: 9 factory displays (5 for 2p / 7 for 3p / 9 for 4p), 100 resin tiles in 5 colors (20 each), 1 starting-player marker, 4 player boards (each with a 5-row pattern area, a 5×5 wall, and a floor line), 4 scoring markers

Setup

1. Place all tiles in the cloth bag. Place the correct number of factory displays in a circle: 5 factories for 2 players, 7 for 3 players, 9 for 4 players.
2. Draw 4 random tiles from the bag onto EACH factory display.
3. Give each player a board. Place scoring marker on 0 of the score track.
4. Place the '1' starting-player marker in the center (the shared 'table center' area).

How to play

1. OBJECTIVE: Complete tile patterns on your 5×5 wall over multiple rounds. The game ends when any player completes a full horizontal row on their wall; highest score at that moment wins.
2. ROUND STRUCTURE: (1) Factory offer (drafting), (2) Wall tiling (scoring), (3) Prepare next round. Continue rounds until end trigger fires.
3. STEP 1 — FACTORY OFFER: On your turn, either (A) take ALL tiles of ONE color from one factory display — remaining tiles slide into the CENTER, or (B) take ALL tiles of ONE color from the CENTER. The first player to take from the center this round also takes the '1' starting-player marker (they'll go first next round; it also lands on their floor line as −1).
4. PLACING DRAFTED TILES: Place the tiles you took into ONE pattern row on your board (rows are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 spaces from top to bottom). Rules: the row must be empty OR contain the same color; you cannot place a color in a pattern row if that color is ALREADY on your wall in that same row's column.
5. OVERFLOW → FLOOR LINE: Any tiles that don't fit in your chosen pattern row (or can't be placed anywhere legal) go on your floor line — penalty spaces worth −1, −1, −2, −2, −2, −3, −3.
6. Play continues clockwise until ALL factories AND the center are empty for the round.
7. STEP 2 — WALL TILING: For each COMPLETE pattern row (row 1 filled, row 2 filled, etc.): move the RIGHTMOST tile of that row to the matching-color space in the same wall row. Discard the remaining tiles from that row.
8. SCORE THE PLACED TILE: 1 point if it's alone. If it touches other tiles horizontally, score 1 point per tile in that horizontal chain (including itself). If it also touches vertically, score both horizontal AND vertical chains separately.
9. FLOOR PENALTIES: Subtract the printed floor-line penalties from your score (min score is 0). Discard all floor line tiles.
10. STEP 3 — PREPARE NEXT ROUND: Return the starting-player marker to the next round's starter. Refill factories from the bag (reshuffle discards if bag empties).
11. END TRIGGER: At the end of a round (after wall tiling), if ANY player has completed a full horizontal row on their wall, the game ends.
12. FINAL BONUSES: +2 per completed horizontal row, +7 per completed vertical column, +10 for each color you have all 5 tiles of on your wall.

Host tips

• Strategy board game — read the rulebook once before hosting.
• Use the in-app Scorekeeper to track running totals.
• Tap 'Ask AI Judge' if a rules dispute comes up.

Snack & drink pairings

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