Azul Rules Explained | How to Play and Score

Azul is for 2 to 4 players aged 8 and up, takes 30 to 45 minutes, and is won by having the most points after you move tiles onto your wall, pay your floor line penalties, and add the end of game bonuses of 2 points per complete row, 7 per complete column, and 10 per complete color.

Azul is a tile drafting game where you decorate the wall of a Portuguese palace. Every round you take colored tiles from the factory displays, sort them into five pattern lines on your board, and move the finished ones onto your wall to score. Three rules do almost all the work: take all the tiles of one color, fill a pattern line from right to left, and score by what a tile touches when it lands on the wall.

The whole rulebook teaches in about five minutes. That is why I keep it in the family rotation, and why this page is the reference I come back to instead of the box.

I am Spector, a dad to Alex, 7, and Emma, 10. Emma drafted the color she needed three times in a row in her first game, won by nine points, and now tells everyone she is a Azul expert. She is not wrong, but she was guessing.

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Which Azul Box Do You Need?

One table, one decision. If you are here for the rules, buy the base box and stop reading. Everything else is optional.

Game	Players	Playtime	What it changes	Buy it if
Azul	2 to 4	30 to 45 min	The complete base game, no add ons needed	This is the one to learn on
Azul: Summer Pavilion	2 to 4	40 to 45 min	Drafting from a bag of bonus tiles all game, with a different board each round	You want the easiest, friendlier follow up
Azul: Crystal Mosaic	2 to 4	30 to 45 min	Adds abstract wild tile slots to the wall	You want more decisions, same box
Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra	2 to 4	30 to 45 min	Adds wild tiles and new scoring patterns	You already play the base game weekly

The base game is the rules on this page. The expansions all change drafting or scoring, and our Azul expansion buying guide covers which one suits which family.

Azul Rules at a Glance

Rule	What it actually is
Players	2 to 4
Age	8 and up
Playtime	30 to 45 minutes
Designer and publisher	Michael Kiesling, Plan B Games, 2017
Award	Spiel des Jahres winner, 2018
Tiles	100 total, 20 in each of 5 colors
Factory displays in play	5 with 2 players, 7 with 3, 9 with 4
Your pattern lines	5 lines holding 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 tiles, one color each
Your wall	A 5 by 5 grid, each tile must match the printed color
Your turn	Take all tiles of one color from one factory or from the center, then place them
Score a tile	Count the tiles it touches horizontally, add the vertical count
Floor line	Every tile you cannot place costs the number printed above its space
Game ends	After the wall tiling phase in which any player completes a row of 5 on the wall
Win the game	Most points, then most complete horizontal rows, otherwise shared

All of this comes from the printed Plan B Games rulebook, not from a forum.

How to Set Up Azul

Setup takes about two minutes. The old version of this post told you to use 9 factory displays and to use one per player plus one extra, which is wrong and is the reason so many first games have a lopsided supply of tiles.

1. Give every player a player board and turn it to the side with the colored wall. Everyone must use the same side.
2. Each player takes one scoring marker and puts it on the 0 space of their score track.
3. Set out the factory displays in a circle around the middle of the table. Two players use 5, three players use 7, four players use 9. Unused displays go back in the box.
4. Fill the cloth bag with all 100 tiles, 20 of each color.
5. The player who most recently visited Portugal takes the starting player marker, then fills each factory display with exactly 4 tiles drawn at random from the bag.
6. That player puts the starting player marker in the center of the table and takes the first turn. Play moves clockwise.

The Three Phases of Every Azul Round

Each round is the same three phases in the same order. Once you know them you can teach the whole game from memory.

Phase 1: Factory Offer

On your turn you take tiles one of two ways:

• Take all the tiles of one color from a single factory display, then slide everything left in that display into the center of the table.
• Or take all the tiles of one color from the center of the table. If you are the first player this round to take from the center, you also take the starting player marker and drop it on the leftmost free space of your floor line.

Then place the tiles you took into one of your five pattern lines:

• Place them one at a time, from right to left.
• A pattern line can only ever hold one color. If it already holds tiles, they must be the same color.
• Each pattern line fills and completes on its own. You never have to finish one line before starting another, which is the rule the internet gets wrong most often.
• If you took more tiles than your chosen line can hold, the extras go to the floor line.
• From the second round onward, you may not put a color into a pattern line whose matching line on your wall already holds that color.

Phase 2: Wall Tiling

Once the center and all factory displays are empty, everyone walls their tiles. Players can do this at the same time.

1. Go through your pattern lines from top to bottom. For each complete line, move the rightmost tile onto the matching color space of your wall and score it immediately.
2. Take the leftover tiles out of any line you just completed and drop them in the box lid. They are out of the game.
3. Any pattern line that is not complete stays on your board for the next round.
4. Pay your floor line. Each tile costs the number printed above its space, and your score can never drop below 0. The starting player marker counts as a normal floor tile, and when the round ends you put it in front of you rather than in the lid.

Phase 3: Preparing the Next Round

If nobody has completed a horizontal line of five on their wall, the player holding the starting player marker refills every factory display with 4 tiles from the bag. If the bag is empty, refill it from the tiles in the box lid. Then start the next round.

How Azul Scoring Actually Works

Each tile you move onto the wall scores 1 point on its own, or if it touches other tiles it scores the number of tiles in its horizontal line plus the number in its vertical line, counting the new tile in both.

Take the tile straight off your pattern line, look at what it touches on the wall, and count:

• Nothing touching it: 1 point.
• Tiles touching it horizontally: count every tile in that horizontal run, including the new one, and score that many.
• Tiles touching it vertically: count every tile in that vertical run, including the new one, and add it.
• A tile can score in both directions at once. The rulebook example places a yellow tile next to 4 horizontal neighbors and 3 vertical ones and scores 7.

Then, at the end of the game, everyone adds the bonuses:

End of game bonus	Points	How many you can get
Complete horizontal line of 5 on your wall	2 each	Up to 5
Complete vertical line of 5 on your wall	7 each	Up to 5
All 5 tiles of one color placed on your wall	10 each	Up to 5

The most points wins. In a tie, the tied player with more complete horizontal lines wins. If that does not settle it, the victory is shared.

A myth worth killing now: a long run does not score the square of its length. A four tile run scores 4, not 16.

The Floor Line Is Where Games Are Lost

The floor line has 7 spaces, and each tile you dump there costs the number printed above it. Those numbers grow as the line fills, which is the whole point. The rulebook’s own worked example has a player losing 8 points from four tiles plus the starting player marker.

Two things catch beginners out:

• The starting player marker sits on the floor line and costs you a point like a tile. Taking from the center early is a real cost, not a free grab.
• If the floor line is full, further tiles go into the box lid and cost you nothing. A disaster draft can be expensive, but it is not unbounded.

The Rule That Only Applies From Round Two

From the second round on, you may not place a color into a pattern line whose matching wall line already holds that color. In plain terms: once your wall has a blue tile in that row, blue tiles can no longer go into that pattern line.

This is the rule that makes the last three rounds of Azul feel completely different from the first two, and it is the one most rules summaries leave out. It also means a pattern line you have half filled can become dead space, which is why finishing lines early matters.

Official Variant: The Gray Side of the Board

Every player board has a second side. Flip to the gray side and the rules are identical, with one change: when you move a tile from a pattern line to the wall, you may place it on any space of that color’s wall line. The only restriction is that no color may appear twice in the same vertical line.

It is an official variant printed in the rulebook, not a house rule, and it turns the wall into a genuine optimization puzzle. Our Azul review covers whether it is worth playing.

Playing Azul With Two, Three, or Four Players

Azul works best with two players. Two players use 5 factory displays, so the center pile refills faster, the stealing is more direct, and the game is sharper than the four player version.

The player count changes the factory displays, and that changes everything about the draft:

• Two players, 5 displays. The center grows quickly, so almost everything is available and every tile you refuse goes to your opponent. This is the sharpest way to play it.
• Three players, 7 displays. A middle ground. Scarcity shows up more slowly, so bad drafts hurt less.
• Four players, 9 displays. The most tiles in play, the least conflict, and the most forgiving game. New players often start here and wonder why it feels slow.

If two players is your normal table, our games like Azul comparison covers calmer and more interactive two player tile games.

Five Rules Worth Teaching a Child

The game is genuinely good for kids aged 8 and up, and the teaching is short. These are the five things I say out loud the first time:

1. One color at a time, all of them. Take every tile of that color from that display, not the two you fancy.
2. Right to left, always. Tiles fill a pattern line from the right end, so the tile you place last is the one that reaches the wall.
3. Look before you take. Count your free spaces before you commit. That single habit prevents most floor line disasters.
4. The first tiles are the cheapest ones. Putting a tile where it touches three others early is how you build a big scoring cluster.
5. Losing points is normal. The floor line is not a mistake to be punished for. It is the pressure that makes the drafting interesting.

Winning Tips, Briefly

The full strategy breakdown lives in our 7 expert Azul strategies post. The short version, all of it house strategy rather than official rules:

• Decide your wall pattern in the first round and draft toward it.
• Finish pattern lines early, because partial lines can go dead under the round two restriction.
• Keep the floor line empty. An empty floor line is worth more than most single row completions.
• In a two player game, take from the center early to load the pile, then pay the marker cost once.

If you want the design background behind the tiles, the history of azulejos and the Azul series is a good read with older kids.

Frequently Asked Questions About Azul Rules

How do you set up Azul?

Put one player board and one scoring marker in front of each player, turn the boards to the colored wall side, then set out 5 factory displays for 2 players, 7 for 3, or 9 for 4. Fill the bag with all 100 tiles, and the starting player draws 4 random tiles into each display.

How many tiles do you take on a turn?

You take every tile of one color from a single factory display, or every tile of one color from the center of the table. You may never take part of a color from two places at once.

Do you have to fill a pattern line in order?

No. All five pattern lines fill and complete independently, and you may work on any of them in any round. The old belief that rows must be finished in sequence is not a rule in the official manual.

What happens if you cannot place all the tiles you take?

The excess goes on your floor line, filling from left to right, and each tile costs the number printed above its space. Once all 7 floor spaces are full, further tiles go into the box lid and cost nothing.

How many points is a tile worth on the wall?

One point if it touches nothing. If it touches other tiles, it scores the number of tiles in its horizontal run plus the number in its vertical run, counting itself in each.

When does an Azul game end?

The game ends after the wall tiling phase in which at least one player completes a horizontal line of 5 consecutive tiles on their wall. Then everyone adds the end of game bonuses.

How do you win Azul?

Most points on the score track wins. In a tie, the tied player with more complete horizontal lines wins, and if that is also tied the victory is shared.

Can you play Azul with 2 players?

Yes, and it is the sharpest player count. Two players use only 5 factory displays, so the center pile refills faster and every tile you refuse is handed straight to your opponent.

How long does a game of Azul take?

About 30 to 45 minutes per the publisher, which makes it an easy fit between dinner and a bedtime routine.

What age is Azul suitable for?

Age 8 and up officially. Younger children can play it as a color matching game, since the pattern line and wall scoring are the only hard parts.

Do you need the expansions to play Azul?

No. The base box is a complete game, and it is the one to learn the rules on. Expansions change drafting or scoring, so they are worth adding once you know the base game cold.

Learn Azul From Someone Who Has Taught It Wrong Once

I taught the ordered row rule to Emma before I read the rulebook properly, and it cost her a round of floor line tiles. The rules above are taken from the printed manual, and everything under winning tips is clearly labelled as house strategy. If you want the second half of the story, the strategy post goes deeper on drafting and blocking. The design history explains why a 2017 game about Portuguese tiles still feels like the best gateway game in the hobby.

If you would rather not explain rules at all, our roundup of board games that need no rulebook lecture lists the ones we play with guests who will not read.