Azul Strategy | 7 Tips to Win the Tile Game

You win Azul by drafting, not by filling your board fastest: take all the tiles of one color each turn, keep your floor line empty, and finish a color for the 10 point bonus, because the most points wins after one player completes a row of five.

I am Spector, dad to Alex, 7, and Emma, 10. Emma beat me three games in a row last month by doing one thing I kept forgetting: she never took a color she could not place. That single habit is the whole difference between a beginner and a player who wins Azul, and it is where these seven tips start.

This page is the strategy half of our Azul coverage. If you are still learning how a turn works, start with our Azul rules guide and come back, because every tip below assumes you already know how to draft.

Affiliate disclosure: this page contains Amazon links. If you buy through one we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you, and it never changes what we recommend.

A note on the old version of this page. It said that completing rows earns bonus points during play and told you to discard leftover tiles strategically. Neither is right. The row, column, and color bonuses are end of game only, and you never choose to discard a tile, because every tile you take but cannot place goes straight to your floor line at a penalty. Every rule on this page has been checked against the printed rulebook.

The official Azul rules my strategy stands on

Everything in this section is the official rule, so you can trust the numbers the tips rest on. The strategy comes after, and it is clearly labelled.

Azul is a 2 to 4 player game for ages 8 and up, and it takes about 30 to 45 minutes. There are 100 tiles in the bag, 20 in each of the 5 colors. On your turn you take all the tiles of one color from a single factory display, or all the tiles of one color from the center, and the remaining factory tiles slide into the center. Then you place the tiles you took into one pattern line, filling it from right to left. If you took more tiles than the line can hold, the extra tiles go to your floor line.

The first player to take from the center in a round also takes the starting player marker and drops it on the leftmost free space of their floor line. That marker counts as a floor tile when you pay penalties, so the center is not free.

Wall scoring is adjacency based, and this is the number that decides most games:

Each tile scores as it reaches the wall: 1 point if it touches nothing, or the number of tiles linked to it horizontally plus the number linked vertically when it touches others.

A complete pattern line moves one tile onto your wall at the end of the round, and every tile you cannot place costs you points from the floor line. The game ends after the wall tiling phase in which one player completes a horizontal line of five, and the player with the most points wins.

Here is the scoring and floor line reference, which is the table I keep open when I teach a new player.

Azul scoring and floor line	Value
A tile with no neighbors	1 point
A tile with horizontal neighbors	count every linked tile, including the new one
A tile with vertical neighbors	add every linked tile, including the new one
Complete horizontal line of 5, end of game	2 points each
Complete vertical line of 5, end of game	7 points each
All 5 tiles of one color, end of game	10 points each
Floor line spaces 1 and 2	1 point each
Floor line spaces 3, 4, and 5	2 points each
Floor line spaces 6 and 7	3 points each

A full floor line is 14 points, which is more than any single row or column you will ever score. That is the first number that changes how a beginner plays.

The floor line values match the rulebook’s own worked example, where a player loses 8 points from four tiles plus the starting player marker: 1 plus 1 plus 2 plus 2 plus 2.

What is a rule and what is house strategy in Azul

The section above is the official rulebook. The section below is our house strategy, plus the advice strong Azul players repeat, and none of it is a rule. If you ever disagree with a tip, the rulebook wins, and that is true for every strategy article you read.

Our seven Azul strategies, and none of it is official rules

This is how our family plays to win, and how the sharpest players I have faced online think about the game. Take what helps and leave the rest.

1. Take the center early, once. The center pile grows all round as factories empty, so being the first to take from it hands you the starting player marker and lets you pick again first. Take from the center at the moment it holds a color you actually want, not just because it is early.

2. Keep the floor line empty. Every floor tile costs you points, so a tile you cannot place is a double loss: no points on the wall and points off your score. Before you commit to a color, count whether your pattern line can hold it.

3. Finish one color at a time. Placing all 5 tiles of one color is worth 10 bonus points at the end, and it is the largest single swing in the game. Spreading across five rows gets you lots of single tiles and few bonuses.

4. Build a connected cluster, not scattered singles. A tile touching nothing scores 1 point, but a tile dropped into the middle of a run scores the whole run in both directions. Point your drafting at one corner of the wall and grow it.

5. Count tiles to read the table. There are only 20 tiles of each color. When you know how many are left in the bag and the factories, you know what your opponent needs, and you can take it first. This is how blocking works in Azul, and it is the biggest gap between casual and strong play.

6. Fill the short lines first, protect the long line. The 1 and 2 tile pattern lines complete quickly and rarely send you to the floor line. The 5 tile line is a commitment, so only start it when you can see the tiles to finish it.

7. Plan the endgame around the row of five. The game ends after the wall tiling phase in which any player completes a horizontal line of five. Finish that line on your turn if you can, especially when a full column or color is about to pay off for you at the end.

If you are still choosing between boxes, our Azul expansion guide explains which one adds the most without changing these seven ideas.

Azul strategy for two players versus four players

The player count changes how sharp the draft feels, so the same seven tips apply differently. With two players you use 5 factory displays, the center fills faster, and every tile you refuse goes straight to your opponent, so blocking and center timing matter most. With four players you use 9 displays, there are more tiles in play, and it is more forgiving, so the end of game bonuses usually decide the game rather than the blocking.

Which Azul box to buy

Box	What it is	Best for
Azul	The base game, 2 to 4 players, 5 tile colors, the version every strategy here is built on	Anyone learning the game first
Azul: Summer Pavilion	The friendliest follow up, it adds a 6th color and a bonus tile bag	Families who want a gentler second box
Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra	Adds wild tiles and new scoring patterns	Players who already know the base game cold

The base box is where these strategies live, so buy it first. Our full Azul review covers whether it is worth it, and if you want other tile games to try next, our games like Azul list covers the family.

• Similarities: Both are Azul tile drafting games where you take all the tiles of one color and fill lines on your own board.
• Differences: Summer Pavilion opens a bag of bonus tiles every round and swaps the base wall for a different board each game, so the pattern you learn does not carry over.
• Why this game fans will enjoy it: If your family loves the draft in Azul but wants a new puzzle to solve, Summer Pavilion keeps the best part and changes the rest.

If the history behind those tiles is what drew you in, our story of the azulejos that inspired Azul is a nice read with older kids.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Azul strategy for beginners?

The best beginner Azul strategy is to take from the center early, keep your floor line empty, and finish one color at a time instead of spreading tiles across five rows. Those three habits protect your score while your wall fills in.

How do you score points in Azul?

You score in Azul by moving completed pattern line tiles to your wall, where each tile scores 1 point alone or the number of tiles it touches horizontally plus the number it touches vertically. End of game bonuses then add 2 points per full row, 7 per full column, and 10 per color you complete.

What are the Azul floor line penalties?

The Azul floor line penalties are 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, and 3 points for the seven spaces, so a full floor line costs you 14 points. The starting player marker also sits on the floor line and costs 1 point like a tile.

Should you take tiles from the center in Azul?

Yes, taking from the center in Azul is often the strongest opening because the first player to do it also takes the starting player marker and controls the pace of the round. The marker costs a floor line point, so the trade is tempo for a tiny penalty.

How do you block opponents in Azul?

You block opponents in Azul by counting the tiles left in the bag and the factories, then taking a color they still need so it never reaches their board. A wasted tile for them lands on their floor line, which costs them points twice.

Is it better to finish rows or columns in Azul?

In Azul, complete rows to end the game and complete columns and colors for the big end of game bonuses, so build a connected cluster that works toward both. A full column pays 7 points and a full color pays 10, far more than any single tile placement.

How many tiles of each color are in Azul?

Azul has 100 tiles, made up of 20 tiles in each of the 5 colors, so 5 tile types in the base game. Summer Pavilion is the box that adds a 6th color, which is why players sometimes say Azul has 6 tile types.