Azul Duel... A Ceiling of Colour!
- Alex Critchell
- Apr 2
- 5 min read
Journey back to the Palace of Sintra and become a decorator for King Manuel the First with us as we explore what Azul Duel is all about. Will this game be another masterpiece in the collection or another broken tile to be discarded from the shelf of fame? Read on to find out our thoughts and opinions.
I first came across this title on Instagram while browsing through various board game content when an advert from Asmodee popped up and intrigued me. It caught my attention as I enjoy Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra and I like playing the original, so I was intrigued by what this version could offer that was different, other than being a two-player version of the game.
First Impressions
Upon receiving the game, the first thing I always check out is the artwork on the front of the box. As has come to be expected from games by Next Move Games, the artwork is simplistic in many ways but impactful. The golden yellow and the blue really pair nicely, nodding to the two players in the game playing as night and day. There is also some lovely detail work within the art of the patterns in each section and the scuffed details in the background, giving it depth. The name on the background really draws your eye to the center of the box, which I really liked. The back of the box has a good illustration of the items, showing some aspects of the gameplay while displaying all the components. I also found the small blurb intriguing and it made me want to give it a try. The only thing I disliked was that the playtime, player count, and age limit were not given on the back; they are only provided on the sides of the box. When opening the box, I found many of the components were well made, specifically the tiles and the bag, though the player boards and central display I found a little flimsy and would have been more enjoyable if they were made from a thicker cardstock.
Game Play Overview
In Azul Duel, you will be trying to complete sections of the ceiling to meet objectives and score points to be crowned the finest artist. Each game is played over five rounds that are split into three phases: Acquisition, Dome-tiling, and Scoring and Preparation.
The Acquisition Phase begins with the first player, and then players will alternate taking turns to complete an action until the end of the phase. The actions a player can take on their turn are placing a player token to claim a dome, picking all the tiles of a single color from the sun of a Factory, picking all the top tiles of the same color from the moon of all Factories, or taking a revealed bonus chip. When both players cannot take any more actions, this phase ends.
Next, you move on to the Dome-tiling and Scoring Phase, where you will first check to see if any pattern lines are complete and there is an empty space in the same line on a dome plate. If there is, you can place one tile onto it and score points. However, if you can't and the row is full of dome plates, it counts as a broken tile and loses you points. If the pattern line is complete and you cannot place a tile onto a dome plate that is out, but all 3 dome plates are not on your player board for that line, you may keep that pattern line until a final dome plate is placed in that spot. During this phase, you can use your bonus chips to complete incomplete pattern lines, and you may place special plates for dome plates that have all other spaces except the special plate covered. Each new tile placed on the board earns you one victory point and additional points equal to the tiles linked to them in vertical and horizontal rows. If you place a special plate tile, you will get points equal to the points on the right-hand side of the board instead of how tiles are normally scored.
After scoring, you then move on to the Preparation Phase, where you will collect your two player tokens and refill the dome plate display. You then refill the large factory with five tiles and the small factories with four tiles and a bonus chip. The player with the start player tile then returns the tile to the space on the large factory tile, and a new round begins.
The game ends at the end of round five after the Dome-tiling and Scoring Phase, which is then followed by scoring the bonus tablets that were used in the game. The player with the most points at the end is the winner.
Pros and Cons
From playing the game, I found that there was a lot of fun decision space within the game, from choosing tiles to selecting and placing ceiling domes to filling up your board, which made every turn interesting. In my experience, reading the rules and putting them into action is a little confusing in places, though after you start playing, the game makes a lot of sense in how it works. I really liked how the sun and moon sections of the factory worked and felt it offered a new depth to the game to explore. From a components perspective, I felt the player board and central display were way too thin and lacked the finish of everything else, which did detract slightly from the gameplay. On the flip side of this, though, I did really enjoy the quality of the bag for the tiles and the texture and weight of the tiles in the game, and the card stock for the other components is good.
Final Verdict
In conclusion, I can definitely see a good reason to have both this and the original game in your collection, as the gameplay they offer is quite different. I can honestly see my wife and me playing this version a lot more than the original when it is just the two of us. The gameplay is nice and fast-paced, with a large enough amount of strategic depth to keep you coming back for more. This is a duel game I would recommend having a go at if you get the opportunity and enjoy pattern-building, tile-laying games.
In conclusion, we would rate this game a 7.8/10
You can watch a video on how it plays and pick up your own copy at:
You can find the other games mentioned in this article at:
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