For St. Valentine’s Day, my wife blessed me with a few new games to add to our growing collection. One of the games we were introduce to by a friend and wanted to pick up the expansion so we stopped by Barnes & Noble to find it because we know they carried it (they were out) and of course we found a couple more games that was marked down. Anyways, one of the games from my gift stack was a game that my wife tried out on Board Game Arena and decided to get it because she thought it was fun (even though she didn’t understand it fully after one play). The game is Next Move’s Azul.
AZUL (2017)
Over that past 4 years I had kept seeing more and more posts bout this game, its expansion, and the newer versions but had always been hesitant since the game isn’t our “normal” (if we have such a thing). After just one play, I can now state that this game actually does fit into a game style that we do like and fits really well into our collection. On top of that, I like the BGG description because it goes along with last week’s blog.
BGG Description
Introduced by the Moors, azulejos (originally white and blue ceramic tiles) were fully embraced by the Portuguese when their king Manuel I, on a visit to the Alhambra palace in Southern Spain, was mesmerized by the stunning beauty of the Moorish decorative tiles. The king, awestruck by the interior beauty of the Alhambra, immediately ordered that his own palace in Portugal be decorated with similar wall tiles. As a tile-laying artist, you have been challenged to embellish the walls of the Royal Palace of Evora.
In the game Azul, players take turns drafting colored tiles from suppliers to their player board. Later in the round, players score points based on how they've placed their tiles to decorate the palace. Extra points are scored for specific patterns and completing sets; wasted supplies harm the player's score. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.
Weight 1.76/5
What we like about the game
What we liked about this game first and foremost is that it is not hard to figure out the game play. It does take a bit of strategy to draw the game out a little longer in order to maximize the points you can earn but if you just want to play it as a quick “lightning” speed game, you can end it in as few as five rounds because you need to fill one row up on your player board.
I do like that there is a penalty involved for having to take the first player tile and that if there is excess tiles from your staging rows that you also get a penalized. After the first couple of rounds our scores were low because of penalties but as the game goes further and further, the positive points add up quickly.
Not that I want to sound mean or anything, but the Take That (see below for definition) game play for me is kind of enjoyable. It isn’t that I want to be mean it is just that if I take something that would or could benefit you more but benefit me less for the round, I will have a smile on my face.
What we don’t like about the game
After playing our fourth game of Azul in one day and really picking it apart, we have come to the conclusion that there isn’t anything that we don’t like about the game.
My wife wishes that after filling a row if you have excess the tiles could be placed onto an open row but she fully understands that the reason for the floor line is to maintain a good balance in the game play.
“TAKE THAT” MECHANIC
Board Game Geek lists 4,308 games that use a Take That mechanic. Some games in this category include Uno, Magic: the Gathering, Dominion, Smash Up, Potion Explosion, Tapestry, Sorry!, and much, much, more. But what exactly is it?
BGG Definition
Competitive maneuvers that directly attack an opponent's progress toward victory, but do not directly eliminate any characters or components representing the opponent. Such mechanics include stealing, nullifying, or force-discarding of an opponent's resources, actions, or abilities. A take-that maneuver often results in a dramatic change in the players' position of power over a relatively short period of time.
Popularity
The “Take That” mechanic in games ranks high in popularity and is considered a core mechanic in board games. With four games in the top 16 having this mechanic (twenty four in the top 250), this game mechanic is definitely here to stay.
One of the best examples of a Take That game is Uno. With the Draw 2 and Draw 4 cards, a person who is one card away from winning the round can easily be knocked back to last place in an instant.
In modern gaming, some of the easiest games to more complex games that are popular among the gaming community contain some form of the mechanic, you would be amazed as to what games actually use it. You can check out the full list here.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I am thrilled that my wife bought me Azul for Valentine’s Day and that we were able play a handful of games already. For people who are very analytical, this game definitely does the job well. It fits right in with games like Sagrada.
Do I see us picking up the rest in the series? Probably since we do like games that adds some beauty to our lives.
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