Paying the cost of a tile (or a garden expansion) – The price of a tile or expansion is linked to the pattern on it as summarized nicely on the player board. When placing a tile, a player could choose any empty space as far as there are no other tiles next to the one they are placing or the tile next to the new one share the same colour or pattern. Using an innovative drafting mechanism, the signature of the Azul series, players must carefully select colourful tiles to decorate their garden. Only the most incredible garden designers will flourish and win the Queen's blessing. So before you can even start to think about getting pieces onto your garden, you have to plan ahead and ensure you can actually place the tiles you need. But wait: before you can even do that you have to ensure there’s room for them in your storage! Choosing which pieces to draft on your turn can thus become a snake pit where you might want a particular item from those on offer, but end up passing because you don’t want other matching colours or symbols clogging up your store. Azul: Queen’s Garden is the most recent standalone game in the Azul range that arrived on retailers’ shelves in April 2022. This time, King Manuel I has commissioned the best garden designers of Portugal to realize the most extraordinary garden for his wife, Queen Maria of Aragon.

Hate drafting could be a thing, especially when you see your opponent one tile away from collecting all six of a type but that will be a group dependent thing. I will definitely take a tile to stop you from getting all 6 of a type and the bonus that comes with it. Queen’s Garden is the heaviest challenge of the four Azul games. There are strict rules for both drafting and placement. Players who enjoy the chance to create big scoring combinations will enjoy how Queen’s Garden has both round scoring where specific tiles score at the conclusion of each round and end of game scoring where all tiles score again based on their groupings of color and symbol. This creates for the largest puzzle feel among the Azul series. Throughout each round you’ll think and rethink where you can maximize each tile’s scoring potential to the fullest. The scoring systems of Queens Garden are also different to what I am used to in Azul titles. Where the original and Summer Pavilion score as you place pieces and again at the end of the game, Queens Garden scores at the end of each round and then at the end of the game but both scoring phases are very unique to the series. When placing tiles or expansions, each of the six symbols has a cost, from one to six tiles and you must discard as many tiles or expansions, including the one you place to pay for the placement. Each of these tiles must be either the same symbol or colour but not a mix of the two.

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Considering the simplicity of the original Azul, it’s surprising that designer, Michael Kiesling, continues to produce more and more follow-ups. The fourth entry in the series, Azul: Queen’s Garden, was revealed just last month and will be seeing a wider release later this year. Of course, if you happened to be at Essen Spiel 2021 - the biggest board game event in the world - this weekend, then you’d be able to get your hands on the game right there and then. So, unlike the other Azul’s I have played your board is yours to design and yours to fill as you please. There are rules in place, obviously but in all the games I have played of this so far, all players gardens have been massively different at the end of the game. If you are looking for a crunchy abstract game with a large lean toward the puzzle category, Azul: Queen’s Garden could be a good fit for you.

If you’re interested in trying out the original before you buy, we explain how we did so on this post. Azul Stained Glass of Sintra This process will result in the display area being progressively populated by expansions with 0 to 3 tiles on it thus increasing the potential amount of tiles a player could acquire at the same time.

The fourth Azul instalment, Queen’s Garden is probably the furthest departure from the series. Sure, you still have deliciously chunky tiles that you draft onto your player board to make patterns and score points, but that’s where the similarities end. Everyone knows what to expect here. Lovely artwork, nice clean symbology and a lovely presentation make up a game that looks fantastic on the table and after a play or two, is very simple to understand.

If you are looking for an abstract game that is straightforward without sacrificing the depth of strategy Azul Summer Pavilion could be a great choice for you. They can be used as a wild when paying for any placement you see fit. You can get more of these tiles by surrounding certain features in your garden, similar in Summer Pavillion and again, they must be placed in your storage. Damn you storage! Points Make Prizes The game ends suddenly, so if you aren’t paying attention, you can get caught completely unaware. You must always be watching to know just how much longer the game is likely to go on. While going through the material in the box you may have found a clear piece of adhesive: as per the printed instruction, you should add it to the base of the tile tower to make it a bit sturdier. It is not a drama if you missed or discarded it as it does not prevent the game to be played. Assembly The Rotary Wheel Finally, each group of six different patterns or colours scores 6 additional points. Not surprisingly, the player with the highest score wins. How To Store The Game AwayHow you place them, when you place them and what tiles you draft is paramount skills required to win. Each version of Azul has different scoring systems and other systems thinly laid over this simple template and Queens Garden is by far the ‘gamiest’ of them all. Claimed hexagons and garden tiles go in your storage area: you can only have twelve of the former and two of the latter. To get them out of storage and into the garden you’re trying to build you have to pay with other hexes, and the more points on the design the more you have to pay, up to five total. You can only pay using hexes of the same colour or design as the item you want to place, although you start with three very useful jokers which serve as wildcards.

Identical tiles could not be placed next to each other. If a player fully surrounds a garden feature (pavilion, bench, statue, or fountain) by placing a tile, the player immediately receives as many jokers as depicted on the bottom left side of the player board. If the player could not store all the jokers, those in excess are lost. Players Actions In the Azul game series, players will take turns drafting colored tiles from the center circles to their player board. When certain sets of tiles are collected and satisfy placement requirements on their board players are able to score points. If players draft more tiles than they need they must discard the leftovers — this causes them to lose points. With a lot to think about, the game of Azul: Queen’s Garden is unlikely to be a chatty affair everyone will be concentrating on their own garden board. However, the difficulty hits just the right spot where you feel the challenge but also want to figure it out. So, although Azul: Queen’s Garden has lost some component elegance of its predecessor, it is a more than a worthy follow-up. On the other side of the display are you could position the tile tower. You will need first to pour all the tiles out from the tower and into the drafting bag as the tower could be used to store all tiles consumed during each game round. You could also choose to not use the tower and store the tiles where you prefer although the tower is a nice cosmetic addition to the table. Players Setup In addition, most advertising networks offer you a way to opt out of targeted advertising. If you would like to find out more information, please visit http://www.aboutads.info/choices/or http://www.youronlinechoices.com.Players who like the ability to plan their moves based on assessing the tiles available at the start of the round may not enjoy the drafting found in Queen’s Garden. Tiles are revealed progressively as other tiles are taken. This leads to more chance in the game and an inability to plan your moves based on the knowledge of all the tiles available for that round. The design-it-yourself boards really make Queens Garden a lovely thing to play and make sure everyone’s board looks different and unique. The components for this game are great, bright and certainly well-made. It’s one of those games, similar to the other games in the same line, that grabs people’s attention. It’s gorgeous. Final Thoughts As for the main components, along with the player’s board, the garden, Queen’s Garden also comes with honeycomb-shaped cardboard tiles – these are the expansion to your garden – on which the tiles will be placed. The tiles score in a combination of three or more, which could be by colour or pattern. The scoring varies depending on groups, types of tiles and other bonuses, and with several scoring rounds before the end of the game, players need to think both short and long term. Each of Queens Gardens tiles is one of six designs and one of six colours. When drafting you can take any combination of tile and expansion pieces as long as they share the same pattern or colour.