Tabletop games
Azul
Next Move GamesMichael Kiesling2017
- players
- 2–4
- minutes
- 40
- years
- 8+
As d’Or 2018Deutscher Spiele Preis 2018Spiel des Jahres 2018
In the box
100 tiles in 5 colours · 9 Factory displays · 4 player boards · 1 cloth bag · 1 first player marker
Official rules (PDF, publisher's site)
Box details
- Designer
- Michael Kiesling
- Artwork
- Philippe Guérin, Chris Quilliams
- Publisher
- Next Move Games
- Mechanics
- ChainingGrid CoverageOpen DraftingPattern BuildingSet Collection
- Expansions
- Azul: Crystal Mosaic · 2020
Where to buy it
Near you and online
In a shop
Within 50 km.
Online
Affiliate link: Marquoir may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
The basics
Each player builds their wall of azulejos while avoiding surplus tiles. On your turn, take all the tiles of one colour from a factory display or from the centre and place them on a single pattern line; those that do not fit fall to the floor line and cost points. When every tile has been taken, each complete line sends one tile to the wall, which scores straight away; the game ends at the end of the round in which someone completes a horizontal line, and the highest total wins.
Checked against the official rules · September 2026
The rules, step by step
Setup
5, 7 or 9 factories, 4 tiles per factory, 100 tiles in the bag
- As many factory displays as twice the number of players, plus one: 5 with two, 7 with three, 9 with four.
- The bag holds 100 tiles, 20 of each colour. Each factory display gets four tiles drawn from the bag.
- Each player takes a player board, coloured-wall side up, and places their marker on space 0.
- The first player takes the first-player marker and fills the factory displays.
How to play
All of one colour, 1 pattern line, Surplus to the floor
- The first player places the first-player marker in the centre of the table, then play goes clockwise.
- On your turn, take all the tiles of one colour from a factory display, or from the centre.
- The remaining tiles of that factory slide to the centre. The first player to take from the centre also takes the first-player marker and places it on their floor line.
- Place your tiles on a single pattern line, from right to left. A line holds only one colour, and you cannot place a colour already present in the matching row of your wall. Tiles that do not fit, or that you do not want to place, go to the floor line.
- When the factory displays and the centre are empty, each player moves, from top to bottom, one tile from each complete pattern line to the space of the same colour on their wall, and scores it straight away. The rest of those lines go into the box lid; incomplete lines stay in place.
- The holder of the first-player marker fills the factory displays for the next round. If the bag is empty, refill it with the tiles from the box lid.
Scoring
Floor −1 to −3, Row +2, column +7, Complete colour +10
- An isolated tile: 1 point. Otherwise 1 point per tile in the horizontal and vertical rows it belongs to, the placed tile counting in each.
- Floor line: -1, -1, -2, -2, -2, -3, -3 depending on position. The first-player marker counts as a tile there; beyond seven, extra tiles go into the box lid with no further penalty.
- Your score never drops below zero: penalties stop at 0.
- End of game: complete horizontal line +2, complete column +7, all five tiles of one colour +10.
End of the game
Row of 5 on the wall, End of the round, Highest total
- The game ends at the end of the round in which at least one player completes a horizontal line of five tiles on their wall. The end-of-game bonuses are then added.
- The highest total wins. In a tie, the player with the most complete horizontal lines wins; otherwise, the victory is shared.
- Variant: the grey side of the board lets you choose the space for each tile in its row, provided you never repeat a colour in the same column or the same row.
House rules and pitfalls
Taking the first-player marker from the centre costs a floor space: it is rarely free.
- Taking the first-player marker from the centre costs a floor space: it is rarely free.
Going further
Frequently asked questions · Rules on video · In the same family · Play with the game assistant
Frequently asked questions
How do you take tiles?
On your turn, take all the tiles of one colour, either from a factory display or from the centre. The remaining tiles of the chosen factory slide to the centre for the next players.
What happens to the first player to take from the centre?
They take the first-player marker: they will start the next round, but the marker costs them a penalty space on their floor line.
What happens to surplus tiles?
A pattern line can only hold one colour and a fixed number of spaces. Any tile that does not fit falls to the floor line, where each tile costs points, without ever taking your score below zero.
When are tiles placed on the wall?
At the end of the round: each complete pattern line sends one tile to the wall and scores points based on its neighbours already placed. An incomplete line stays in waiting for the next round.
How does the game end?
As soon as a player completes a horizontal line of five tiles on their wall, the round is finished and the bonuses are counted: +2 per line, +7 per column, +10 per complete colour.
Can you refuse to take tiles?
No: on your turn, you must take. If all the available tiles clutter your floor line, you take the penalties — knowing when to inflict them on yourself is part of the game.
Rules on video
- Rules video 1 · L'École du jeu
- Rules video 2 · Videoregles.net
- Rules video 3 · Je vous explique les règles
Videos in French, hosted on YouTube.