I recently had the chance to play this amazing game, despite it having been around for two years and won a lot of awards. The first time I played it, I wasn't quite sure I was doing it right, but for some weird reason, I won. I hadn't really grasped the amazingness that Azul is, so I was a little taken aback when my friend Kristin ordered it right away so we could play it at home. She had seen the game's potential that had, at the time, gone completely over my head. Thank you, Kristin. You are wise. The mechanisms of this game are quite simple. Every turn, you basically get to choose same-color tiles from 5, 7 or 9 supply trays (depending on the number of players) and then you fill in the rows in your personal board. At the end of every round, you can move one of the tiles to the right, in its corresponding box as long as you have completed the row on the left. Completing a row can vary in difficulty because the five rows require you to fill them in with one up to five tiles. I have played this game plenty of times since that first, awkward one, and every time, I catch myself admiring the artwork and the "neatness" of it. As I repeatedly told Kristin, Azul has great table presence. Since the tiles represent wall tiles that you, a tile-laying artist in Portugal, have to place in the Royal Palace of Evora, the whole visual result is very aesthetically pleasing. Other than that, I realized something else. Azul creates the opportunity for every player to develop a unique strategy in order to accumulate more points. Some might go for a lot of points at the beginning, but others might start small, creating the basis for getting exponentially more points in the following rounds. Moreover, a great feature this game has is that, despite its very competitive nature, it's not so in-your-face as Settlers of Catan might be, for example. Yes, you still might deprive another player the chance of getting certain tiles, but deep down, you're not doing it just because you can, but because you're focused on creating your own personal masterpiece. What should I read with this?
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AuthorMy interests include reading, playing, learning, admiring and dreaming. If you are a creative type, I will probably become your fan. moreGoodreads
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