azul

Azul is the Spanish and Portuguese word for the color blue. The term appears in art, design, and everyday language to describe that hue, and in Iberian architectural contexts it denotes decorative ceramic tiles called azulejos.

Azul (board game) is a Euro-style game designed by Michael Kiesling and published in 2017 by Plan B Games. The game supports 2–4 players and typically lasts 30–45 minutes. Players act as artisans who decorate a royal palace with azulejos by drafting tiles from factory displays or a central market and then placing them on a personal mosaic. Tiles must be placed according to color and position constraints; when a row on a player's mosaic becomes eligible, tiles are placed on the wall and scoring occurs. Points are awarded for completed rows and columns, for matching color sequences, and for meeting certain pattern bonuses; excess tiles are discarded and may incur penalties. The game ends at the end of a round when a player completes a horizontal row on their wall, and the player with the most points wins. The original Azul is known for accessible rules and strategic depth, with tactile components that emphasize pattern thinking.

The Azul series expanded with stand-alone titles such as Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra (2018), Azul: Summer Pavilion (2019), and Azul: Queen's Garden (2021). Each adds new tile types and palettes while preserving the core drafting-and-placement mechanic. Azul has received widespread acclaim in the board game community and won the 2018 Kennerspiel des Jahres award.