# Azul Duel ## General Info - **Year Published**: 2025 - **BGG Rating**: 7.0 - **BGG Rank**: #1909 - **Players**: 2 (Best with: 2) - **Duration**: 30-45 min - **Weight**: 2.29 / 5 - **Designers**: Michael Kiesling - **Artists**: Maëva da Silva - **Publishers**: Next Move Games, ADC Blackfire Entertainment, Belleville (Бельвіль), Enigma (Bergsala Enigma), Galápagos Jogos, Gémklub, Hobby Japan, MIPL, One Moment Games, Rebel Sp. z o.o., Zvezda - **Categories**: Abstract Strategy, Puzzle - **Mechanics**: End Game Bonuses, Layering, Open Drafting, Pattern Building, Set Collection, Tile Placement, Turn Order: Claim Action ## Verdict Perfect for couples or friends who love competitive puzzles and fast-thinking games.Stunning and elegant visualsTight tactical duelingSimple rules, high depthFast and dynamic sessionsStrictly for two playersCan be cruel when blockingRECOMMENDED ## Description You know that satisfying feeling when everything just clicks into place? Azul Duel brings that sensation to the ceilings of a magnificent palace. If you're already a fan of the original Azul, get ready: things just got more intense. This is a pure strategic duel for two players, where aesthetic beauty goes hand-in-hand with tactical cunning. The theme revolves around the contrast between day and night, and this duality is mirrored in the gameplay. The core essence of 'drafting tiles and filling spaces' remains, but with a fresh twist. In Azul Duel, you don't just pick the tiles to complete your pattern; you also have the opportunity to influence the very pattern in which those tiles must be placed. It's the kind of game where you plan your move, but must keep a close eye on your opponent's intentions, because one wrong step could hand them the perfect tile they need. The game preserves the visual elegance that made the series famous while adding layers of complexity that make the experience more cerebral. You'll need precision to build your mosaics and a keen instinct to block your rival. It's a competitive puzzle where every tile placed is either a step toward victory or a fatal mistake. If you're looking for a fast-paced game that still requires thinking three moves ahead, Azul Duel is the perfect choice for your next game night for two. ## How to Play Game Objective In Azul Duel, you and your opponent are tile artists chosen by King Manuel I to decorate the ceiling of the Sintra palace. The goal is to show the king who is the best artist in Portugal, being the player with the most points at the end of the 5th round. Setup Each player receives a Player Board (A) and the corresponding Player Tokens (B). Place the 4 small Factories and the large Factory (C) in a circle, with the moon sides facing each other. Place the Scoring Board (D) next to the Factories, ensuring players face their own color. Each player takes 2 Scoring Markers (E) and places them on 0 and 5 of their section. Shuffle the 18 Dome Tiles and form a face-down pile (F), placing it next to the Scoring Board. Draw 3 Dome Tiles and place them face-up in the middle spaces (G) of the Scoring Board. Unfold the Tower and place it nearby. For your first game, find the 3 Scoring Tablets (H) with an "a" and place them, "a" side up, next to the Scoring Board (D) as end-game scoring objectives. After you become familiar with the game, choose or randomly determine which sides and which 3 (or 4) Scoring Tablets to use. From the 75 round tiles, separate the 9 Special tiles as a separate supply (I). Place the Starting Player tile in the corresponding space (J) of the large Factory. Place the remaining 65 tiles (13 of each of the 5 colors) into the bag. Fill the sun section of the large Factory with 5 tiles* and the 4 small Factories with 4 tiles each (K), drawing randomly from the bag. *In the extreme case that all 5 tiles are of the same color, return them to the bag and draw until at least one of them is of a different color. Form a face-down supply with the 20 Bonus Tokens (L). Place 1 face-down Bonus Token on the moon of each of the 4 small Factories (M). Randomly determine the starting player. The other player takes 1 of the 3 visible Dome Tiles and places it, in any orientation, in any Dome space on their Player Board. Refill the Scoring Board by revealing the next Dome Tile from the pile. Then, the starting player does the same, choosing 1 Dome Tile, placing it on their board, and refilling the Scoring Board. Game Flow The game is played over 5 rounds, each consisting of the following phases: Phase 1: Acquisition Phase 2: Dome Tiling and Scoring Phase 3: Preparation The starting player begins Phase 1: Acquisition. Players take turns until the end of this phase. Phase 1 ends when: All Factories are completely empty (no tiles and no Bonus Tokens on them), AND Both players have used their 2 Player Tokens (except during the 5th round). If you cannot perform any of the four actions, you must pass for the remainder of Phase 1. You cannot pass otherwise. Phase 3: Preparation is skipped during the 5th round. Actions and How to Play On your turn, during Phase 1: Acquisition, you must perform one of the following actions: A) Place a Player Token to take a Dome Tile Place a Player Token on your side of the Scoring Board to take a Dome Tile and place that tile in one of your empty Dome spaces in any orientation. The same color can appear many times in a row or column of your Dome. Once placed, tiles cannot be moved or rotated. When taking a tile, EITHER: Take 1 of the face-up Dome Tiles from the Scoring Board display (do not refill), OR Pay 1 point to buy 1 face-down Dome Tile from the pile. You can do this as many times as you wish, one tile at a time, paying 1 point per tile you buy. You cannot look at the front of the tile(s) until you decide to stop buying. After buying, look at the tiles, choose 1, and return the others face-down to the bottom of the pile in the order of your choice. Important: You must use both of your Player Tokens during each of the first four rounds. They are not used during the last round. B) Take all tiles of the same color from the sun of a Factory Take all tiles of the same color from the sun of any Factory. Then, if it is a: Small Factory: create a stack, in the order of your choice, with the remaining tiles and place it on top of the Bonus Token* on the moon of that Factory; Large Factory: place the remaining tiles separately in the indicated spaces of the moon of that Factory (not all spaces may be filled). *If 4 tiles of the same color are in a small Factory, the associated Bonus Token is revealed as soon as a player takes those 4 tiles. The tiles you took are added to exactly 1 of the 6 pattern lines on your Player Board (the first line can hold 1 tile, the second 2 tiles, etc.), following these rules: Place the tiles, from right to left, one by one in your chosen pattern line. If the pattern line already contains tiles, you can only add tiles of the same color to it. Once all spaces of a pattern line are filled, that line is considered complete. If you took more tiles than you can place in your chosen pattern line, place the excess tiles in your broken tile space. Tiles can be added to a pattern line, even if they cannot be scored yet during Phase 2. C) Take all top tiles of the same color from the moon of all Factories Take all top tiles of the same color from the moon of all 5 Factories. When taking from small Factories, even if there are 1 or more tiles of the same color below the top tile, you only take the topmost tile from that stack. Important: The first player to take 1 or more tiles from the moon of the large Factory must also take the Starting Player tile and place it in the indicated space (with the -2) of their Player Board. When the last tile is removed from the moon of a small Factory, reveal the Bonus Token that was underneath. The tiles you took are added to exactly 1 of the 6 pattern lines on your Player Board, following the same rules as action B. You must stack in your broken tile space all taken tiles that you cannot or do not want to place according to the rules. These tiles are considered broken and cost points at the end of the dome tiling phase. If your broken tile space already contains 4 tiles, discard any additional broken tiles to the Tower. D) Take a revealed Bonus Token Take a revealed Bonus Token and place it face-up in your Bonus Token storage. You will take exactly 2 Bonus Tokens each round. Remember that a Bonus Token becomes accessible as soon as all tiles are removed from a small Factory; that is, all tiles have been taken from both the sun and the moon of that small Factory. The Bonus Token storage is divided into 5 sections to help track the rounds. Phase 2: Dome Tiling and Scoring Both players can resolve this phase simultaneously. In it, players move tiles from their complete pattern lines to their Dome. Go through your pattern lines from top to bottom. Move the rightmost tile from each complete line to an empty space of the same color on a Dome Tile in the corresponding line. Each time you move a tile, score points immediately. Even if there is currently no matching color space for a complete or incomplete line, keep the tiles in place until you have placed a suitable tile in your Dome. If there are already 3 tiles assigned to a pattern line and no corresponding space available for the color of the tiles in that line, you must move these "unplaceable" tiles to your broken tile space now. There can be multiple tiles of the same color in the rows and columns of your Dome. Types of Dome Tiles: Special Tiles: Have a "no color" space that can only be filled with a Special tile. This tile is placed immediately after the other 3 spaces of the tile have been filled. After placing a Special tile, immediately score the points shown on the right side of that line. This is the only way to place a Special tile. Wildcard Tiles: Have a multicolored space in which a tile of any color can be placed, according to the usual Dome tiling rules. Using Bonus Tokens: You can use your Bonus Tokens to help complete pattern line(s) during this phase: If an incomplete pattern line includes at least 1 tile, you can use Bonus Tokens to complete this line. Each pair (2) of Bonus Tokens in the color corresponding to the tiles in a pattern line, or any 3 Bonus Tokens, can be used to replace 1 tile. Flip the used Bonus Tokens face-down in your storage area. You can do this as many times as you have usable Bonus Tokens, but there must be at least 1 tile. After going through all 6 pattern lines, remove all tiles from any pattern lines that now have no tile in their rightmost space and discard them to the Tower. Any remaining tiles in the pattern lines remain on your Player Board for the next round. Scoring during Phase 2: Each tile you move to your Dome is always placed in a space that matches its color (or a multicolored space) and scores immediately as follows: If there are no tiles directly adjacent vertically or horizontally to the newly placed tile, score 1 point. If there are adjacent tiles, do the following: Check if there are 1 or more tiles horizontally connected to the newly placed tile. If so, count all these connected tiles, including the newly placed one, (and Special tiles, if any) and score that amount of points. Then, if there are 1 or more tiles vertically connected to the newly placed tile, count all of them, including the newly placed one, (and Special tiles, if any) and score that amount of points. If the tile fills the 3rd space of a Special Tile, add a Special tile to the corresponding space and score the points on the right side of that line. A Special tile does not score for adjacent tiles. Finally, check if you have any tiles in your broken tile space. For each tile there, lose the number of points per tile indicated (e.g., if you have 2 tiles, you lose a total of 3 points). Adjust your Scoring Marker on your scoring track accordingly and discard these broken tiles to the Tower. Additionally, the player with the Starting Player tile loses 2 points. Note: You can never fall below 0 points. Phase 3: Preparation This phase is skipped during the 5th round, otherwise, prepare the next round as follows: Take back your 2 Player Tokens from the Scoring Board. Refill the Dome Tile display to 3 Dome Tiles. Refill the large Factory with 5 tiles*, and each small Factory with 4 tiles and a Bonus Token. *In the extreme case that all 5 tiles in the large Factory are of the same color, return them to the bag and draw until at least one of them is of a different color. If the bag is empty, refill it with all tiles from the ## FAQ ### Can I play with more than two people? No, Azul Duel was specifically designed as a 2-player game. ### Is it much harder than the original Azul? The foundation is the same, but it adds an extra tactical layer regarding pattern definition, making it slightly more cerebral. ### How long does a game last? Usually between 30 to 45 minutes, perfect for those who want something quick yet strategic. ### Do I need other Azul games to play this? Not at all! It is a complete and standalone game. ### Is there a lot of luck involved? Very little. 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