Azul is a simple board game where players take turns drafting coloured tiles to their player board and score points based on how they’ve placed them. Bonus points are earned when specific sets or patterns are completed. Players are given negative points if there are unused tiles.
Get ahead of your friends with some of these Azul board game strategy tips:
The objective of the game:
Score as many tiles as possible every round (total of 5). For example, if you score 5 tiles every round for 5 rounds, you’ve achieved the highest attainable score
Strategy Tips:
Plays that lead to negative points are not always bad
It’s better to accept some negative points if it lets you score a tile in that round.
Tile placement tips for newcomers
For newcomers to the game, try building your board starting from the centre. This will give you options when placing your next tiles (you can place either left or right).
Pay attention to your opponents
Pay attention to your opponent’s board, so that you are alert to what tiles they’re planning to get
Place tiles on 1st row
Whenever possible, place a tile on the 1st row, until you have 4 tiles there. It will give you the option to end the game and can be powerful as it may place pressure on your opponents to make risky plays.
Regardless of this, this gives you the chance to end the game for the win when you are ahead.
Do not end the round with a single tile in the bottom 2 rows
Never finish the round with a single tile in the bottom two rows. Doing so will force you to take tiles of that colour in the next turn as you will need to fill up those rows. If you don’t fill up those rows, they will remain blocked. You will also find yourself in negative points if the opponents take advantage and force you to pick multiple tiles you cannot hold.
