Azul is a wonderful board game that strikes the balance between simplicity and strategy with rare elegance. In this short post we ranked each Azul version, highlighting each version’s strong suits. We hope this short roundup review helps you choose which Azul version to get.
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1. Azul: Summer Pavilion
- Most streamlined version
- Simple yet intricate
Summer Pavilion is still as accessible as the original Azul, but it’s a bit more intricate and it fixes some small problems of the original version.
Firstly, it’s nice that you can’t get punished as hard with hate drafts in this version. This was a minor problem in the original Azul because it sometimes felt you just got a bad beat and you couldn’t do much about it. And it’s especially welcome for beginning players who won’t get punished as hard when they do make a few mistakes.
Secondly, Summer Pavilion allows more powerful combinations for advances players.
So overall, we think Azul Summer Pavilion is the best version of the game. It corrects some issues of the original version, it’s still simple enough for completely new players, but it also ages better because you can take your strategies a bit deeper. Make sure to pick it up!
- Players: 2 - 4
- Duration: 30 - 40 minutes
- Simplest version
- Gateway game
Compared to the other versions, the original Azul stands out for its simplicity. Although Summer Pavilion is also simple enough in our opinion, the original Azul is simpler still. So if you only care about simplicity you should get the original version.
- Players: 2 - 4
- Duration: 30 - 40 minutes
- Most strategic
- For advanced Azul players
This version is fantastic for players that played the original Azul, and want to get their hands dirty with a heavier version. Through its high skill cap Azul Sintra entices you to keep playing and improving your strategy.
- Players: 2 - 4
- Duration: 30 - 45 minutes
- New double sided player boards
- Adds plastic board overlay
Now, the new player boards that this version introduce are fine. They make Azule more challenging and fun, pretty good for the more experienced players that got fed up with the old boards.
But, the plastic board overlay is the real selling point of this expansion, and frankly it’s disappointing. It’s very flimsy and the scoring cubes of the original Azul don’t even fit in them. Therefore, we don’t recommend getting this version. You’re better off getting a custom Azul overlay (scroll down to find out which one we recommend).
- Players: 2 - 4
- Duration: 30 - 45 minutes
- Most streamlined version
- Simple yet intricate
Ever since the release of the first Azul version players started to ask for an overlay to keep the tiles from sliding.
We finally got this overlay in the Crystal Mosiac expansion. But, like we discuss above, this overlay was disappointing. It’s flimsy and the pieces don’t even fit.
Fortunately, there’s a sturdy overlay available that does fit the pieces. It’s also beautiful and completely in line with the Azul style.
We recommend this overlay to all Azul players. It just really smooths out your games if you don’t have to worry about sliding or knocking all your tiles out of their place.
Rounding Up
We hope our ranking helps you pick the best Azul version for you.
If you still have further questions, please send them to us through our contact form. We’re happy to help. We also periodically review and update our posts, so any questions you ask may end up in future versions of our ranking. This way, we can help future readers decide which Azul version to get even better 🙂
