Objective of the Game

Welcome, stained glass artisans, to the vibrant world of Sintra! Your goal in *Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra* is to become the most renowned artisan by having the most points at the end of the game. You'll achieve this by skillfully furnishing the palace windows with stunning panes of stained glass over six exciting rounds, followed by a final scoring phase.

Preparation (Setup)

Let's get your workshop ready! Here's how to set up your game:

1. First, place the **Factory displays** (the orange-framed side up) in a circle in the center of your table. The number of displays depends on your player count:
   • For a 2-player game, use 5 **Factory displays**.
   • For a 3-player game, use 7 **Factory displays**.
   • For a 4-player game, use 9 **Factory displays**.
   Return any unused **Factory displays** to the box.
2. Place the **glass tower** within reach of all players, beside the **Factory displays**.
3. Each player chooses a color and takes their matching **palace board**. Place it in front of you. Make sure everyone uses the same side (either side A or B), as this affects final scoring.
4. Each player then takes their 8 double-sided **pattern strips**. Shuffle them and place one at random above each of the 8 spires on your **palace board**. If you have a strip with 2 gray joker spaces facing up, flip it over so the joker spaces face downwards.
5. Take your **glazier** of your chosen color and place it above your leftmost **pattern strip**.
6. The player who most recently cleaned a window gets the **starting player tile** and places it next to their **palace board**.
7. One player will be in charge of the **scoring board**. This player places the **scoring board** next to their **palace board**, puts one **marker** of each player's color onto space 0 of the **score track** and one **marker** of each player's color onto the top space of the **broken glass track**. Next, they take 1 **pane piece** of each of the 5 colors, shake them in their hands, and then drop them one at a time onto the table. Place them in the order they fall onto spaces II to VI of the **round indicator**. Finally, fill the **bag** with the remaining 95 **pane pieces**, draw one more at random, and place it onto space I of the **round indicator**.
8. The player with the **starting player tile** now fills each **Factory display** with 4 **pane pieces** randomly drawn from the **bag**, then places the **bag** nearby.

The Turn of Play

The game unfolds over 6 rounds. Each round begins with the player holding the **starting player tile** placing it in the center of the table and taking the first turn. Play then proceeds clockwise. A round ends when all **pane pieces** are gone from the **Factory displays** and the center of the table. On your turn, you *must* perform one of two actions:

A) Advance a Pattern

This is the main way you'll be collecting and placing glass! If you choose this action, follow these three steps:

Step 1 - Pick Pane Pieces of One Color

You have two options for picking **pane pieces**:

• a) Pick from a Factory Display: Take *all* **pane pieces** of one color from *any* one **Factory display**. Then, move any *remaining* **pane pieces** from that **Factory display** to the center of the table.

  Example: Amanda picks the pink pane piece from a Factory display and moves the other 3 non-pink pieces to the center of the table.

• b) Pick from the Center of the Table: Take *all* **pane pieces** of one color from the center of the table.

  Attention: If you are the first player in this round to pick **pane pieces** from the center of the table, you also take the **starting player tile** from the center, place it next to your **palace board**, and have the player in charge of the **scoring board** move your **marker** on the **broken glass track** 1 space down.

  Example: Amanda picks 3 orange pane pieces from the center. Since she's the first to do so, she takes the starting player tile, and her marker on the broken glass track moves down 1 space.

Step 2 - Place the Pane Pieces on One of Your Pattern Strips

Now, place each of the **pane pieces** you just picked onto an empty **pattern space** of its matching color on one of your **strips**. Keep these rules in mind:

• All the pieces you picked *must* be placed onto spaces of the *same* **pattern strip** (you can't spread them across different strips).
• This **pattern strip** can be either the one directly beneath your **glazier** or any one of those to its right (never those to its left).
• If you choose to place pieces onto a strip to the right of your **glazier**, you must first move your **glazier** to that strip (placing it directly above it).
• If you don't have enough empty matching spaces on your chosen strip, any excess pieces are considered "broken pieces." For each "broken piece," your **marker** on the **broken glass track** moves one space down. Then, drop these "broken pieces" into the **glass tower**.
• If you have *no* matching space for *any* of the pieces you picked, all of them are considered "broken pieces." However, as long as you have a strip with at least one empty matching space that your **glazier** can reach, you *must* place the pieces on that strip – even if you'd prefer to drop them all on the floor.

Attention: Each player has one strip that shows 2 gray joker spaces, which can hold a **pane piece** of any color.

Example: Amanda picked 3 orange pieces. She can't place them on a strip to her glazier's left. She could place one on an empty orange space beneath her glazier and break the other two, or move her glazier to a strip with 3 empty orange spaces and place all three there.

Step 3 - Check if the Pattern is Complete

After placing your pieces:

• If one or more **pattern spaces** on the strip beneath your **glazier** are still empty, your turn is over.
• If *all five* spaces on the strip beneath your **glazier** now contain a **pane piece**, you've completed a pattern! Carry out these three steps in order:
  1. 3a) Color Bonus Points: Count how many pieces on your completed strip match the top piece of the **round indicator**. Gain that many points on the **score track**. If none match, no bonus points.

     Note: At the end of each round, the top piece of the **round indicator** is removed, helping you track the current round.

     Example: Amanda completes a strip. The round indicator's top piece is yellow. Her completed strip has 2 yellow pieces, so she gains 2 points.

  2. 3b) Remove and Place Pieces: Remove all five **pane pieces** from the completed strip. Choose one to keep, and drop the other four into the **glass tower**. Place the piece you kept onto the **palace window** directly below that strip.
     • If that **palace window** is still empty, put the **pane piece** onto that window's top frame space and then flip the strip above the window to its other side. Leave your **glazier** above it.
     • If the top frame space already has a **pane piece**, put the new **pane piece** onto the bottom frame space of that window. Since the window is now complete, remove the strip above it from its slot and return it to the box. Leave your **glazier** above that empty slot.

     Note: If playing with side A of the **palace boards**, the choice of which piece to move doesn't matter for this step. For side B, it can be important for final scoring.

  3. 3c) Score the Window: Whether the **palace window** you just furnished holds one or two **pane pieces**, score it now! Gain the points printed below that window and, in addition, all the points printed below those windows to its right that also contain one or two **pane pieces** themselves.
  After these steps, your turn is over.

B) Move Your Glazier Back to the Leftmost Pattern Strip

Instead of picking **pane pieces**, you can choose to move your **glazier** back to above your leftmost **pattern strip**. (Important: you can't move him above an empty slot!) Your turn then ends.

Important: If your **glazier** is already above your leftmost strip, you cannot choose this action and must pick **pane pieces** instead.

Attention: If, during the game, any **marker** on the **broken glass track** reaches the bottom space (-18), its owner loses 18 points immediately, and the **marker** is returned to the top space. Ouch!

End of Game and Scoring

A round ends when there are no **pane pieces** left on any **Factory displays** AND in the center of the table. The player in charge of the **scoring board** removes the top **pane piece** of the **round indicator** and drops it in the **glass tower**. When all spaces of the **round indicator** are empty, six rounds have been played, and the game ends! It's time for the final scoring phase. To determine your final score, each player must carry out these 3 steps:

1. Remaining Pane Pieces: On the **score track**, gain 1 point for every 3 **pane pieces** left on your **pattern strips**.

   Example: Amanda has 7 pane pieces left, so she gains 2 points.

2. Broken Glass Penalty: Lose the points shown to the right of your **marker** on the **broken glass track**.

   Example: Amanda's marker is on -8, so her score track marker moves back 8 spaces.

3. Palace Board Bonus Points: Gain bonus points depending on which side of the **palace board** was used:
   • Side A: There are 4 ornaments on your board. For each ornament, count how many of the 4 frame spaces around it hold a **pane piece**:
     • If all 4 frame spaces hold a **pane piece**, you gain 10 points.
     • If any 3 of them hold a **pane piece**, you gain 6 points.
     • If any 2 of them hold a **pane piece**, you gain 3 points.
     • If one or none holds a **pane piece**, you gain 0 points.

     Example: Amanda gains 23 points because she has surrounded the first and second ornaments with 4 pane pieces each (2 x 10 points) and the last ornament with 2 pane pieces (3 points).

   • Side B: Count how many completed windows you have on your **palace board**. (A window is complete if both of its frame spaces hold a **pane piece**.) Then choose one color and count how many **pane pieces** of that color you have placed on the windows of your **palace board**. Multiply this number by your number of completed windows and gain the result as points on the **score track**.

     Example: Amanda has 4 completed windows and 5 orange pane pieces on her palace board. Therefore, she gains 20 points (4 x 5).

The player with the most points wins the game! In case of a tie, the tied player who has lost fewer points via the **broken glass track** wins. If this doesn't break the tie, victory is shared.

Tips for Winning

To truly master the art of stained glass in Sintra, keep these tactical insights in mind:

1. Manage Your Glazier's Position: Your **glazier** dictates which **pattern strips** you can use. Planning ahead to move your **glazier** to the right spot can save you from breaking pieces or force you into taking unwanted pieces. Remember, moving your **glazier** back to the leftmost strip costs you a turn, so use it strategically!
2. Watch the Broken Glass Track: Taking too many "broken pieces" can severely impact your final score. Sometimes, it's worth taking a smaller penalty now to avoid a larger one later, or even to deny your opponents crucial pieces. Keep an eye on your opponents' **broken glass track** as well!
3. Prioritize Round Indicator Colors: The **color bonus points** from the **round indicator** can be a significant boost. Try to complete **pattern strips** with pieces matching the current round's bonus color, especially if you can get multiple matching pieces on one strip. This is a great way to score immediate points!