Azul Mini Review

Love playing Azul but frustrated you can’t play it outside? On the move? Worried the tiles will fly off in every direction? Not any more! The team at Next Move have created this mini version of the classic game for Azul on the go - Azul Mini!

Differences Between Azul Mini & Azul

Azul mini has several new features not seen in its full-size counterpart. The Mini version comes with thinner and smaller tiles which have a cut-out part on the back of tile to connect it to the studs on the player board. Player boards are smaller and come with studs to hold the tiles on during play as well as black plastic sliders at the top of the board to keep the score. The factory cards are also smaller and can fit into a plastic tray to hold them in place during play.

The new Azul mini helps keep things secure whist you’re travelling by storing everything in a blue Azul branded fabric mini tote bag which can be used to transport the game on its own or can be fitted back into the cardboard box for extra security.

Gameplay

Azul Mini is a tile-drafting game for 2 to 4 players, it’s easy to learn but difficult to master. It is a game with a mix of strategy and luck and the aim of the game is to score the most points for your tile placing. Players take turns in selecting tiles from the round tile factories which are drawn randomly from the bag, 4 tiles to a factory. In Azul Mini the factories are placed in a handy plastic tray which stop them from slipping. For a two player game you place 5 factories out, for a 3 player game you place 7 factories our and for a 4 player game you use all 9 factories.

Each turn, players choose a colour and take all tiles of that colour from one of the factories or from the middle pile if there are tiles there. This could be just one tile on a factory or all the tiles on a factory if they happen to be all the same colour! Any leftover tiles are moved into the middle of the factories. You place the tile/s on the left hand side of your board with the aim of filling a row. You can only add tiles you claim in that turn to one row. If in future turns you pick up more tiles of that colour you can add them to an incomplete row to complete it but any extra tiles need to be placed in the row at the bottom right from right to left, these lose you points. At the end of the round, if you have filled a row with matching coloured tiles you can move one over to the right to your wall. As the game progresses, things get harder as you can only place tiles on the left hand side row if you don’t already have that coloured tile on display in your wall on the right hand side.

Tile scoring takes place at the end of each round. To keep a note of your score in this mini edition you move the black sliders at the top of the board. Starting from the top row on the left, you score one point if the tile moved over to the right is placed on its own with no tiles adjacent to it vertically or horizontally. If there are tiles adjacent to the new one just placed you score an additional point for each tile horizontal and vertical to the new one. As you go through the game, try to place your tiles in blocks for maximum scoring!

Play then restarts and new tiles are randomly placed on the factories. The rounds continue until the first player completes a row of tiles, this signals the end game. Players will score their tile placing as normal in the final round but before the game ends there are some end game scoring factors to be taken into account. Players score an extra 5 points for any completed rows, an extra 7 points for completed columns and an extra 10 points if you have completed a colour collection.

The player with the highest score in the end wins the game! This is not always necessarily the player who ended the game as the end game scoring can boost other players scores.

Final Thoughts

Azul mini contains all the greatness of the main game but in a small package. The tiles are thinner and smaller than the original game. The quality of the components and thought which has gone into making this travel sized version make this a must own mini game! The player boards have been placed into a plastic tray which the tiles fit into and the scoring is now counted with a plastic marker. The factories even have their own plastic tray so nothing will fall off the table if you are playing on the move. With the small cotton tote to hold it all in, the game is perfect for playing outside or on the go!