Board Game Break Time: Azul Summer Pavilon

Board Game Break Time is a new feature we're bringing in, where we play board games and review them. 

Title: Azul Summer Pavilion
Publisher:  Next Move Games

Release Date: 2019
Designer: Michael Kieslng

Game Mechanism: Pattern Building, Set Collection

# of Players: 2-4  Best: 3

Ages: 8+

Play Time: 30-45 minutes

  

Average Rating: 7.9

Average Rating: 5

In Azul: Summer Pavilion, players return to Portugal to accomplish the task that never began. As a master artisan, you must use the finest materials to create the summer pavilion while carefully avoiding wasting supplies. Only the best will rise to the challenge to honor the Portuguese royal family.

Azul: Summer Pavilion lasts six rounds, and in each round players draft tiles, then place them on their individual player board to score points. Each of the six colors of tiles is wild during one of the rounds.

At the start of each round, draw tiles at random from the bag to refill each of the five, seven, or nine factories with four tiles each. Draw tiles as needed to refill the ten supply spaces on the central scoring board. Players then take turns drafting tiles. You can choose to take all of the tiles of a non-wild color on a factory and place them next to your board; if any wild tiles are on this factory, you must take one of them. Place all remaining tiles in the center of the table. Alternatively, you can take all tiles of a non-wild color from the center of play; you must also take one wild tile, if present.

After all tiles have been claimed, players then take turns placing tiles on their individual boards. Each board depicts seven stars that would be composed of six tiles; each space on a star shows a number from 1-6, and six of the stars are for tiles of a single color while the seventh will be composed of one tile of each color. To place a tile on the blue 5, for example, you must discard five blue or wild tiles from next to your player board (with at least one blue being required), placing one blue tile in the blue 5 space and the rest in the discard tower. You score 1 point for this tile and 1 point for each tile within this star connected to the newly placed tile.

If you completely surround a pillar, statue, or window on your game board with tiles, you get an immediate bonus, taking 1-3 tiles from the central supply spaces and placing them next to your board. At the end of the round, you can carry over at most four tiles to the next round; discard any others, losing 1 point for each such tile.

After six rounds, you score a bonus for each of the seven stars that you've filled completely. Additionally, you score a bonus for having covered all seven spaces of value 1, 2, 3 or 4. You lose 1 point for each remaining tile unused, then whoever has the most points wins.

—description from the publisher

So quick low down of the game... You draft tiles, you place tiles depending on color and cost on the board, you collect points. There are a set number of rounds, each round has a color that is a wild color, scoring depends on color and placement. There is immediate scoring and end of game scoring. 

This is the third Azul game published and I have played all three. I can say that this one by far is my favorite. There are many things I love about this game. The colors are so bright and so vibrant. I love the shape of the times and the feel of the times. They feel great in my hands and they look so good on the board. I also really love the layout of the board. Aesthetically its just gorgeous! 

The game play in all three Azuls are great, but in this one there seems to be a bit more strategy and a little more crunchy. There are more rules to placement of the tiles, harder to get sets down, and just more thinking of how to maximize your points. Even though this game play is a bit more involved its still a pretty quick game play and easy to learn and teach others.  I have played this game with two and with four and it scales well. 

I love all the Azul games but this one is the star for me! 

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