Plan B Games Azul

Azul, published by Plan B Games, is an abstract strategy board game that invites players into the role of artisans tasked with decorating the walls of the royal palace of Evora with beautiful ceramic tiles. Designed by Michael Kiesling, the game combines elegant simplicity with deep strategic tension, making it accessible to newcomers while offering layers of complexity for seasoned tabletop gamers. Players draft colorful acrylic tiles from shared factory displays, carefully choosing which colors to take and how many, knowing that every decision affects not only their own board but also what remains available to opponents. The tactile pleasure of handling the smooth, weighty tiles adds a sensory richness that elevates the experience beyond mere mechanics.

At its core, Azul is a game of pattern building and spatial reasoning, where players must plan several turns ahead to avoid wasting tiles or handing opponents an advantage. Each round, tiles are placed into staggered rows on a personal player board, and only when a row is completely filled does a tile move to the corresponding spot on the decorative wall, scoring points based on adjacency to other placed tiles. This scoring system rewards foresight and punishes greed, since leftover tiles that cannot be placed result in penalty points, creating a constant push and pull between ambition and caution. The game's clean visual design, featuring a Portuguese-tile aesthetic, is not just thematic decoration but integral to how players track progress and plan future moves.

Compact and beautifully produced, Azul supports two to four players and typically plays in under an hour, making it a versatile choice for both casual family game nights and more serious strategy sessions. Its components, including the sturdy player boards and vibrant tiles, are built to last and to please the eye, reinforcing the sense that this is a game meant to be displayed as much as played. Since its release, Azul has earned widespread acclaim, including the prestigious Spiel des Jahres award, cementing its reputation as a modern classic in the abstract strategy genre. For collectors and casual players alike, Plan B Games' Azul stands out as a refined, replayable title that rewards careful thought while remaining approachable for all skill levels.

Key features

• Tile-drafting gameplay mechanic
• Beautiful faux-glass acrylic tiles
• Double-sided modular scoring board
• 2-4 player supported
• Quick setup and teardown
• Award-winning design (Spiel des Jahres 2018)

Player reviews