I heard from a few different people that Azul was a good family game, so I wanted to check it out with my kids. The theme was different from anything I had played before, and my initial reaction to seeing the game was that there was a lot of vibrant color in the game.
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Short Explanation of How to Play
The goal in Azul is to build rows, columns and sets of colors by collecting tiles that are accessible to all of the players in the game. Players gain points for tiles that they are able to move onto their board, in addition to any pieces that are in rows and/or columns with the pieces they move. At the end of the game they get bonus points for completing other tasks. The game ends when someone has completed a horizontal row of 5 colors of tiles.
Why it Works/Doesn't Work For Our Family
What Worked: The straightforward nature of the game and easy setup meant that we were able to play almost immediately after opening the box. My six year old found the game to be very interesting right away, and since he is the one who usually tunes out the games we play, it was good to see him stick with it and enjoy it from beginning to end. The gameplay was quick, simple, and straightforward. There is strategy that is required when deciding which tiles to choose, particularly since you may not have an opportunity to grab the tiles you pass up.
What Was Challenging: While my son loved the game, my daughter got bored of it after a few turns. Apparently our foray into highly complex strategic games has made games like Azul too simplistic in her mind. By the time we finished playing the game, she declared she didn’t want to play it again. She had a change of heart, though, and when we decided to play a game a few days later, she wanted to try it again, and had a lot more fun the second time around. Also, since it is a quick game, my son had things that he wanted to do that he was really sad that he was unable to finish and almost had a meltdown over it. We worked through it, but since this game that works well with his age group, it would be helpful for me as an adult to remind him that this game goes fast and we may not be able to finish everything that he wants to do in a given game.
Why it Works/Doesn't Work With Friends
I haven’t played this with gaming friends, and I would anticipate the issue I would have would be the same one I had with my daughter. While the pro of a short game might be nice, it would probably lose its luster very quickly since there is not a lot of variety of strategy and gameplay, and there are not new layers and/or discoveries that happen along the way. If I was considering games for my friend group, I probably would not have this one on my radar.
Teacher's Corner
This game is great for teaching logical thinking to kids. The game is entirely wordless shapes, so it could be introduced to pre readers to help them recognize the colors and shapes necessary to complete the tasks they are working on. As kids get older, if they enjoy simplicity this can work for them, but if they desire greater challenge, it can be found elsewhere.
Overall opinion, rating, and recommendation
6 year old son - My son enjoyed the game. He had fun completing the tasks and filling out his board. Since the game was quick, he didn’t get to do everything he wanted to do.
9 year old daughter - My daughter was excited to play the game at first, but her interest waned as we got deeper into the game. She gave it a second chance, and she had a better experience the second time around. Instead of focusing on the simplicity, she focused the second time on goals like completing columns, or collecting all 5 tiles of one color so that she would get bonus points. Focusing on the strategy instead of the simple tasks in the game made the game more interesting to her.
Mine - I will rate this game Casual Family. It is a simple game that works well for families who just want to play a short game or want younger kids to be able to be involved in the gameplay. It is not a very long lasting game, but it is strategic and easy to learn. Unless this is a “favorite game” of a playing group, I am not sure how much staying power this game will have for families who enjoy heavier games for kids as they get older. If someone is looking for a longer, bigger, more intense gameplay experience, this game is not the best choice for them.
Games with similarities with this one at each rating level:
Casual Family: Scram / Kingdomino
Heavy Family: - Wingspan
Casual Adult: - 7 Wonders
Heavy Adult: - Power Grid
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