Azul Rules

An abstract strategy game inspired by Portuguese azulejo tiles. Draft tiles by color from factories to fill the pattern lines on your board, then move filled lines to the wall each round to score. The game ends after the round in which any player completes a wall row.

• Tiles: 5 colors (blue, yellow, red, black, white) × 20 = 100 tiles.
• Factories: players × 2 + 1 (5/7/9 for 2/3/4 players). Each factory holds 4 tiles.
• Center: collects leftover tiles displaced from factories. Begins with only the first-player token.
• Player board: five pattern lines (sizes 1-5), a 5×5 wall, and a 7-space floor (penalty) line.

1. Take: Take all tiles of one color from a single factory or the center. Leftovers from a factory go to the center. The first taker from the center this round picks up the first-player token onto the floor.
2. Place: Place all taken tiles in one pattern line — same color only, and only if that wall row doesn't already contain that color. Excess tiles overflow to the floor (or you may dump the whole pickup onto the floor).

• Each fully-filled pattern line sends 1 tile to its color spot on the wall; the rest are discarded.
• Score the new wall tile by counting connected horizontal + vertical tiles (sum both if each is greater than 1).
• Floor penalties: -1, -1, -2, -2, -2, -3, -3 (score cannot drop below 0).
• Whoever holds the first-player token starts the next round.

When any player completes a wall row, finish that round and end the game. Final bonuses:

• +2 per completed row
• +7 per completed column
• +10 per color with all 5 tiles placed on the wall

Highest score wins. Tiebreaker: most completed rows.

• Pattern lines only score when fully filled at round end — count carefully before committing.
• Force opponents to dump tiles onto their floor by emptying factories that hold their needed color first.
• The first-player token costs -1 point, but securing the next round's first turn becomes valuable late game.
• Column (+7) and color (+10) bonuses swing the late game — plan toward them.